Over a dozen Georgian authors are featured at one of Europe’s largest book fairs that launched in Leipzig, Germany earlier today with the first-ever appearance of a writer from Georgia at a prestigious literary platform at the event.
Running for four days in the eastern German city, the Leipzig Book Fair is expected to be attended by over 150,000 visitors.
On the other side of the fair, exhibitors include publishing houses and literary agencies from across the world, involved in over a thousand events at the fair location and throughout the city.
Author, translator and literary journalist Anna Kordzaia-Samadashvili. Photo: Georgian National Book Centre.
Organised by the Georgian National Book Centre, the country’s participation in the annual event will be led by 15 authors.
Presenting some of the most celebrated classical and contemporary literature to visitors of the fair, the writers will include Diana Anfmiadi, Anna Kordzaia-Samadashvili and David Gabunia.
Along with the group of literary creators, book enthusiasts joining the event will also see 15 new publications of German-language literature by authors from Georgia.
With up to 20 separate events over four days of the fair, the Georgian participation will involve meetings with readers. These will be launched on Friday with a public reading of poetry in German by poets Eka Kevanishvili and Nikoloz Jorjaneli.
Author Diana Anphimiadi will be among Georgian literary creators at the fair. Photo from Diana Anphimiadi/Facebook.
Representatives from the Georgian National Book Centre will also hold business meetings with over a dozen German publishers to showcase some of the most fascinating children’s authors from Georgia.
Georgia is featured at the Leipzig fair for the sixth year running, with the 2017 participation held in the framework of the Germany-Georgia Friendship Year. The official celebration was announced last year to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Coinciding with the date, the Leipzig fair will feature the first-ever appearance of a Georgian author on the prestigious literary platform The Blue Sofa, to be held within the fair.
The platform was designed to present "most important authors” at the two largest annual book fairs in Germany — Frankfurt and Leipzig.
The fair will host over a thousand events including industry meetings. Photo: Leipzig Book Fair press centre.
Held at the two events, it has hosted literary discussions involving famous authors and intellectuals including Orhan Pamuk and Joseph Stiglitz.
For this year’s sessions of The Blue Sofa at the Leipzig fair, organisers selected Georgian author Naira Gelashvili among 59 literary creators.
On Friday, Gelashvili will present to the attending audience her 2012 work I am that One, which was published in Germany last year. Her talk at the session will be moderated by editor Joerg Plath.
The 2017 Leipzig Book Fair will run through March 26.