The Gaudeamus Book Fair Wraps Up in Bucharest
The 2014 Gaudeamus International Book Fair, one of the most important on the Romanian book market, came to an end Sunday
România Internațional, 24.11.2014, 13:37
The 21st edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, dedicated to educational publications this year, closed its doors on Sunday. This year’s edition was one of multiple records: almost 117,000 visitors and 750 events, such as book launches and presentations, debates, conferences, art events, etc., all within the span of five days. 320 Romanian and foreign publishing houses, printing companies, educational institutions and cultural institutes have introduced books for all tastes.
The guest of honor this year was the Russian Federation, which held over 30 events at the fair, as well as in other places around Bucharest. 17 writers, literary critics, editors and journalists from Russia held book lunches and presentations, book signings and debates. The last day of the fair concluded with the Gaudeamus Award ceremony. Humanitas publishers were once again the popular choice. The most highly sought-after book at the fair, by popular vote, was ‘Step by Step’ by the now president elect of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, which sold over 8,000 copies. The Antoaneta Ralian award for translation was granted to Virgil Stanciu for the Romanian rendition of Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and to Letitia Ilea for translating into French the Romanian volume of poetry ‘Aboriginal Snails’ by Ioan Pintea. Translator Antoaneta Ralian, after whom the award was named, who is 90 years old and has just published her 120th translated work, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I am touched and happy for this award, and I think it is a wonderful pinnacle for my 60-year career as a translator. Do you realize what 60 years means? It is my entire youth, which I have dedicated to translation, which was my passion. It is a pinnacle for these 60 years, but this is not the end, I draw the line and carry on.”
The second award for excellence was granted to Editura Trei, a publishing house that has built a publishing program for psychology and psychoanalysis, subsequently expanded to other areas, such as general knowledge literature. The project ‘Books Are Coming Back Home’ enjoyed much success this year as well. Also, visitors and participants this year donated to the fair 2,500 books to be sent to public libraries in the Republic of Moldova. The honorary director of the Gaudeamus Fair, Vladimir Epstein, said that this complex event was, as he put it, ‘somewhat of a paradox’. Considering that the book market in Romania is the lowest it has been in 24 years, according to a recent report from the association of publishers, Epstein said that Gaudeamus was a great success, including financially, for many participants, who sorely needed this cash injection.
