Belgrade Book Fair, Oct 20-27th

Belgrade Book Fair, Oct 20-27thBelgrade Book Fair, the biggest fair in Serbia, both by the number of visitors and by the hype it attracts, will start on October 20th and last until October 27th. This year’s motto is Heads = Tales, a short reminder that reading books is the prerequisite for all intellectual activities. Belgrade Book Fair will consist of 500 stands, many of them very elaborate, of more than 500 book publishers, 60 of them from foreign countries. Belgrade is very proud of having one of the biggest book fairs in Europe, as this fair is among top five in Europe, with 200.000 visitors each year.

European writers in Belgrade

Guest country of this year’s Belgrade Book Fair is Egypt. This is the rare chance for Serbian readers to get books by contemporary Egyptian authors, but also a good opportunity to buy books on Egypt’s history, art and culture. Among the writers attending the Belgrade Book Fair, beside Egyptian ones, are renowned writers, like David Van (US), Nermin Yildrim (Turkey), Sergei Shargunov (Russia) and Laura Sintija Cerniauskaité (Lithuania). One hall will be set apart for kid and kids literature, as many schools will bring the children to the fair.

Let’s talk books

One of the great attractions of the Belgrade Book Fair are panel discussions, where writers and critics speak about literature and many topics touching on literature. Some of the topics are the works of three great Serbian writers that died 10 and 30 years from now: Milorad Pavić (1929-2009), Danilo Kiš (1935-1989) and Oskar Davičo (1909-1989). On another panel, critics will swap places with writers, and will have to answer questions instead of asking them. Some discussions will focus on interactions between literature other arts and fields of human activity, such as film, science and journalism.

Tickets are fairly inexpensive. They cost 250 RSD, while for groups and on the school day (October 24th) the price will be only 150 RSD. Sky Apartments offer special benefits for those coming to all Belgrade’s fair, especially for those working in the stands, with prices at least two times cheaper than in the hotels with the same level of amenities.