The “Gaudeamus” International Book Fair
The Gaudeamus International Book Fair unfolded in Bucharest this year between the 16th and 20th of November.
Mihai Pelin, 21.11.2016, 13:29
A landmark of the Romanian cultural scene for more than 20 years, the “Gaudeamus” International Book Fair unfolded in Bucharest this year between November 16 and 20. This is the only event of its kind initiated and organised by a public radio station. Xx has more on this years edition of the fair, in a report by Mihai Pelin.
The 23rd “Gaudeamus” International Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania, came to a close on Sunday. Some 850 events were organised during the five days of the fair, at the book-stands of the over 300 participating publishing houses. As usual, the fair enjoyed a large number of visitors and boasted a rich offer and a truly special atmosphere. The over 125,000 visitors – a record high also reported during the previous edition – reconfirm the status of the event and its slogan: “The most read book fair, from the most listened to radio station in Romania”. The trophy “The most sought after book” at Gaudeamus this year went to the Arthur Publisher for the “Harry Potter” series, and the Excellency Prize was awarded to the Tracus Arte Publisher. The editorial director of the aforementioned publishing house, Teodor Duna, has dwelt on the significance of this award.
Teodor Duna: “This prize comes as a much needed recognition of our efforts. It is a way of defining the limit, the periphery, to better understand whats at the centre of Romanian literature. We mainly focus on Romanian contemporary literature and this prize comes to certify that our efforts have been acknowledged and recognised.”
The 2016 “Antoaneta Ralian” prizes for translation from Romanian into a foreign language went to Ioana Ieronim and Grete Tartler, whereas the best translation award from a foreign language into Romanian went to Veronica Niculescu, for the book “Letters to Vera” by Vladimir Nabokov.
Veronica Niculescu: “I feel deeply touched and honoured. It is the first prize I receive for a translation. This is the eighth volume by Nabokov that I translate. I do hope that you will love his letters and discover Nabokov the man, and thus come to read his novels, too.”
The DVD of Cristian Mungius film “Baccalaureate”, which received the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival this year, was also launched during the fair, with the Romanian film director attending the event.
Cristian Mungiu: “This event has become a tradition and is an excellent opportunity for everyone to consider that art and culture in general are events worth leaving the comfort of your home and worth attending. Because more often than not we somehow let ourselves carried away by our daily lives, forgetting that in order to grasp the real meaning of reality you should always have access to culture. It seems that this event has become a tradition and is one of those special moments leading to a better understanding of society”.
This year, the honorary guest of the fair was China, and in 2017, the featured country at the Gudeamus International Book Fair will be the United States.
