(Photo: sheff/shutterstock.com)
September brings special joy for book lovers because six days of this month will be reserved for the 26th International Book Fair Banja Luka 2021.
After the fair was not held last year due to the epidemiological situation, the period from September 14 to 20 in the Borik Sports Hall in Banja Luka is reserved for numerous domestic and foreign publishers, writers, and numerous accompanying programs.
The Book Fair in Banja Luka is a place for the promotion of new book editions, and an opportunity to meet publishers and famous writers from our region.
– This year, it was very difficult to organize a fair, especially regarding the pandemic. Publishers from Serbia and no one else wants to take responsibility in case someone gets sick. Applications have been sent, the fair starts from September 14 – 20, and we are doing everything, hoping that the fair will be organized. The current epidemiological situation in our country is good, but not in Serbia, and a large number of exhibitors are publishers from Serbia – said Petra Ivić, the head of the fair, whose organizer is Glas Srpske.
Books have always been the main tool and driver of changes in the fight for the progress of human race. Ivić added that they are satisfied with this year’s response from publishers. Publishers who have been there for years will attend this year’s fair as well. Since the fair was not physically held last year, the publishers welcomed this year’s fair with joy.
– The only problem is the epidemiological situation, that is our only dilemma. There will be Laguna, Vulkan, Mali princ, the Institute for Textbooks in East Sarajevo, the Institute for Textbooks in Banja Luka, Dereta and many other publishing houses. As for the guest writers, we will definitely have guests, it’s up to the publishers. We are trying to bring some in cooperation with the RS Ministry of Education and Culture and the RS National University Library. We will have the final agenda soon – said Ivić for Nezavisne.
Ivić emphasized that there will be standard fair discounts, as every year, especially in the last days of the event.
– So, Sunday and Monday, and the weekend is reserved for family visits to the fair. We believe that there will be a discount, it depends on the publisher, but their goal is to give discounts to have higher sales. The discounts are usually from 30 to 50 percent, and we hope that it will be the same this year as well – Ivić concluded.
Last year, the Book Fair could not be held in its traditional form due to the epidemiological situation, but the organizers decided that book lovers should not be neglected, so they prepared a reduced online edition. Editions and links to publishers’ pages were presented on the fair’s website.
Belgrade Fair: After numerous negotiations, the leaders of the Book Fair in Belgrade decided to hold one of the largest book events in the region in the standard term, from October 23 to 31. Originally, the plan was to organize the fair in September, but under pressure from the Association of Publishers and Bookstores of Serbia and the Association of Professional Publishers of Serbia, it was decided that the city of Belgrade will subsidize part of the lease of stands to publishers for the Book Fair, having in mind the coronavirus pandemic. Also, it was decided that the fair will be held in October.
– The publishers are aware that it is possible that the Book Fair will not be held if the epidemiological situation worsens in October. We want to maintain the tradition of the Book Fair during the pandemic as well, because it is one of the most beautiful fairs that our city has – said Goran Vesić, Deputy Mayor of Belgrade.
