Swedish authors, children activities at Bucharest book fair this week

More than 200 publishing houses will participate at this year’s edition of Bookfest International Book Fair, taking place in Bucharest between May 24 and May 28. Over 1 million titles will be on display, the organizers say, and discounts can reach up to 80% of the bookstore price. For the first time, the fair will feature a large space for children, outside of those already booked by publishing houses. “There are 70 meters at the balcony of the C1 pavilion, where all sorts of activities for children will take place. The children book market is seen a pronounced global growth and we should follow this trend. And we are,” said Grigore Arsene, the president of the Romanian Publishers Association (AER), the organizers of the even, quoted by News.ro. Sweden is the guest country at this edition, and several Swedish authors will attend the fair. They are: designer and illustrator Stina Wirsén; Mårten Sandén, the president of the Swedish Academy of Children Writers; poet, playwright and translator Athena Farrokhzad; poet Cecilia Hansson; journalist and writer Majgull Axelsson; writer Aris Fioretos; Jacob Dalborg, the CEO of Bonnier Books; Romanian-born editor Arina Stoenescu; and Johannes Klenell, the editor of Swedish comics magazine Galago. An exhibition dedicated to children’s literature and another one on the Nordic Noir phenomenon are some of the events in the program set up by the guest country. At the events organized for children, these will get to engage in games as varied as creating postal cards from Sweden, building the city of Stockholm on a giant map, or coloring characters of Swedish books. The activities are meant for children aged 3 to 12. At the same time, every night, starting 18:00, Sweden’s stand will host film screenings. Also at this edition of the fair, Romania’s general prosecutor Augustin Lazăr will launch the second, revised edition of an academic book on the topic of the conflict of interest. It is titled The Conflict of Interest. Theory and Jurisprudence. Studies in Comparative Law. In his turn, prince Radu of Romania will launch an album illustrating the history of the Peles Castle. After Israel was a guest country at the fair in 2016, and Sweden is one this year, the 2018 edition of Bookfest will feature the United States as the invited country. The program of events taking place at the fair can be checked here. editor@romania-insider.com