The International Book Fair Bookfest, now in its 18th edition, opened its doors on Wednesday, May 28, at Romexpo in Bucharest, with a varied program of book launches, debates, and other events. The fair will be open until Sunday, June 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Visitors to Bookfest will have nearly 160 booths to see. Publishers have prepared special packages with the best offers and discounts, but also meetings with many cultural personalities from Romania and Portugal, which is the guest of honor of this edition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guest country has prepared daily events, book launches, debates, and workshops for children.\u00a0On Thursday, for example, on the Arena stage, the public is invited to attend an engaging debate titled \u201cReading as Public Space: How Books Keep a Democratic Society Alive,\u201d supported by Henrique Mota (former president of the Portuguese Publishers Association and of the Federation of European Publishers), literary agent Simona Kessler, editor Lidia Bodea, and professor Mircea Vasilescu, moderated by former Minister of Culture Corina \u015euteu.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Portugal\u2019s booth will also host a roundtable titled \u201cCultural Journalism: Art or a Form of Social Coagulation?\u201d with guests Ana Margarida de Carvalho and Ioana St\u0103ncescu, moderated by Iolanda Frande\u015f-Vasile, according to the organizers cited by News.ro<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Portuguese writer David Machado will talk about the novel Average Happiness Index<\/em>.<\/p>\n The final days of Bookfest include events dedicated to major names of Portuguese literature, such as Antonio Lobo Antunes, who will be honored on Saturday, on the Agora stage, starting at 12:00 PM, with the Romanian translation of the novel Fado Alexandrino<\/em> as a starting point. The event will be attended by professor Carmen Mu\u015fat, writer Radu Paraschivescu, translators Cristina D\u0103sc\u0103lescu Dordea and Dinu Fl\u0103m\u00e2nd, and the director of the Cam\u00f5es Institute, Ana Rita de Sousa.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among the most important contemporary authors who will be at Bookfest are Mircea C\u0103rt\u0103rescu, Gabriel Liiceanu, Mircea Mih\u0103ie\u015f, Doina Ru\u015fti, Radu Paraschivescu, Tatiana Niculescu, Ioana P\u00e2rvulescu, Adrian Miroiu, Cristian Preda, Robert \u015eerban, Denisa Com\u0103nescu, Dinu Fl\u0103m\u00e2nd, as well as Cristina Andone, Augustin Cup\u015fa, or Alex Moldovan. Each will be present at the publishers\u2019 booths or on the open stages for launches, interviews, and autograph sessions, the organizers announce.\u00a0<\/p>\n Public entry is free both for the book fair and for the scheduled events throughout.<\/p>\n Moreover, throughout the book fair, publishers are awaiting the youngest readers with events gathered under the Bookfest Junior umbrella, with surprises in the form of creative or theater workshops, book launches, and photo and autograph sessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n