Krakow Book Fair Comes to an End

This informative forum for booksellers, publishers, librarians, book production services and above all ? lovers of literature, is one of the biggest of its kind in Poland. The Krakow Book Fair is held annually in a huge exhibition hall on Krakow’s ul. Centralna.

As every year, the event attracted thousands of people and brought together under one roof about 500 exhibitors from all across Poland and hundreds of celebrated guests. The program included a vast array of exhibitions, meetings with writers and professional seminars. It offered access to the newest books but also business contacts, cultural meetings and discussions about trends in the global publishing industry.

The Krakow Book Fair presents emerging, independent and established authors, from Poland and abroad. This year the leading “star” of the fair was Jonathan Carroll an American writer who achieved fame in Poland with his renowned book “The Land of Laughs.” He was in Krakow to present his latest book titled “Ghost in Love.”

Among the Polish writers signing their works and meeting with the public were Wojciech Cejrowski, Katarzyna Grochola, Roma Ligocka, Malgorzata Musierowicz, Slawomir Mrozek, Marcin Swietlicki, Olga Tokarczuk and Janusz L. Wisniewski, to name but a few. Members of the public took the opportunity to discuss contemporary movements in poetry and prose with established and emerging writers present at the fair. Publishers presented newly available publications along with announcing upcoming titles to be released in time for winter reading. On offer amongst the many treats from publishers was Umberto Eco’s latest work “Storia della bruttezza” (“The History of Ugliness”), which is currently premiering in 16 countries.

Among the “greatest hits” there was also a book by former Polish president and historical leader of “Solidarity” Lech Walesa “Moja III RP” (“My 3rd Republic of Poland”).

Other unique offerings included a new printing of a set of essays and reports by Ryszard Kapuscinski, the new edition of famous historical books by Pawel Jasienica and an interview with one of Poland’s famous philosophers ? Leszek Kolakowski.

Visitors could also buy essays previously unpublished in Poland by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, books by Jose Carlos Somoza, Carlos Fuentes, Etgar Keret, Caroline Graham, Doris Lessing and many more.

The highlight of the fair was the presentation of the prestigious Jan Dlugosz Prize awarded annually to Polish authors who excel in the academic field of humanities. This year’s winner was the esteemed historian Prof. Jerzy Strzelczyk, in recognition of his recent work titled “Zapomniane narody Europy” (“The Forgotten Nations of Europe”).

Over the last decade, the Krakow Book Fair has grown to become one of the most important and prestigious cultural events promoting the printed word. It has established a prominent position amongst literary and publishing communities and continues to draw increasing interest from bookshops and publishing houses alike.

In years past it has played host to an impressive array of important authors including Stanislaw Lem, Slawomir Mrozek, Jerzy Pilch, Andrzej Sapkowski, Andrzej Stasiuk, and Norman Davies, as well as representatives of culture, politics, science, art and the media.

They include politicians like Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, composer Krzysztof Penderecki and renowned Polish actors ? Jerzy Stuhr, Grazyna Szapolowska and Anna Dymna.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *