Belgrade Book Fair 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The 56th International Belgrade Book Fair will be held between October 23 and October 30, 2011. One extra day has been added to this year's Fair, officially opening on Sunday night. Since the Fair will last eight rather than the usual seven days, book lovers will have more time to browse new publications and meet with local and foreign authors.
The exhibition concept will be very similar to last year's and will include promotion of foreign and national publishers' latest publications, author promotions, and other side events that will be divided into several program units. The Guest of Honor Country will be featured in Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair, next to Serbian and foreign publishers with their original publications. Other Serbian and foreign publishers, distributors, and bookstores will be located on the ground floor of Hall 4 (formerly Hall 14), while used and antiquarian books will occupy the gallery of same hall. State institutions and organizations will present their publications and projects in Hall 1a (formerly Hall 5). Finally, national presentations and foreign publishers, namely publishers of educational materials, academic and professional literature, will be featured in Hall 2a.
Visitors will be able to enjoy the traditionally rich side program, divided into several categories such as the Forum, the Chathouse, Poetry and Surroundings, A Walk through the Novel, the Agora, Conferences, the Comic Book Venue, Publishers' Choice, etc. All side events will take place in Slobodan Selenić and Borislav Pekić halls, in the comic book venue and the exhibition hall, and on the exhibitors' stands.
The Guest of Honor for 2011 is the Portuguese language. Instead of simply bringing one country into the spotlight, the focus has been shifted to language itself. Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language worldwide, used by about 200 million people in eight Lusophone countries. In addition to an elaborate exhibition of books in Portuguese, visitors will be presented a large number of literary works translated from this language especially for this occasion. Moreover, many major contemporary authors from Portuguese-speaking countries have accepted the invitation to be the guests of this year's Belgrade Book Fair.
Visitors will also have the chance to discover who won the Awards for the Publisher of the Year, the Edition of the Year, and the Children's Book of the Year. These awards are given to publications and works remarkable for their quality and relevance of scientific and artistic achievement, created as a result of a major effort of publishers, editors, and writers. All Serbian publishers participating in this year's Belgrade Book Fair are eligible for the awards, decided by the five-member jury appointed by the Belgrade Book Fair Board.
In addition, the annual Dositej Obradović Award will be granted to a selected foreign publisher for their continued contribution to publishing and promotion of Serbian literature.
In order to further motivate schoolchildren and their families, we have once again organized the School Day and the Family Day.