Reading in vogue again
Fleur Pellerin, the French Minister of Culture and Communication, has recently admitted in one of her interviews that she had no time in the last two years to read a book, and that she has limited herself to reading press articles and reports. Her Polish counterpart, Małgorzata Omilanowska, has never been asked a similar question, but it is widely known that readership in Poland is far from satisfactory. At the same time, the largest book fairs in Poland (Warsaw, Kraków, Wroclaw) are gaining in popularity. The Director of the Wroclaw Good Books Fair also admits that he can see hardly any signs of crisis in the book market. Reading is in vogue again.
30 thousand readers to attend
You need evidence? Look at the attendance at the Wroclaw event. In December 2013, the Wroclaw Main Railway Station was visited by 30 thousand people to buy their books of choice. This is 100% more than during the same event held two years ago at the Architecture Museum. "We have gained new readers. Some of them came to see the new railway station, and they also bought new books on the occasion. Such an unusual location resonated with both the readers and exhibitors," admits Beata Gigiel from the Wroclaw Good Books Fair.
Publishers large and small
This year's edition will bring a wide array of choice to the readers. 130 publishers have declared to take part in the event. Some of them, such as Znak from Kraków and Grupa Foksal from Warsaw, are expected to return after long absence, while other publishing houses, including Warstwy from Wroclaw, will make their début at the fair. "We have sold quite a lot of large spaces because publishers are willing to expand on their stands, but there are also small publishing houses who have heard it is worth to attend the fair," says Anna Morawiecka.
Fredro's Quill at the Africarium
People also associate the fair with a unique award. Fredro's Quill (together with the Book of the Year title and a statuette designed by Agnieszka Leśniak-Banasiak) will be presented to the publisher of the best designed book presented at the fair. "46 publishers have decided to join the competition, some of them have sent one title, some others five," enumerates Beata Gigiel, and she also hastens to add that each and every publishing house vies to win the competition.
In the end, the jury presided over by Professor Marcin Cieński have selected five books:
- "Beksińscy. Portret podwójny" [The Beksińscy. A Double Portrait] by Magdalena Grzebałkowska (Wydawnictwo Znak) "Przemyślny szlachcic. Don Kichot z Manczy" [The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha] by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Wydawnictwo Rebis) "Jak działa architektura. Przybornik humanisty" [How Architecture Works. A Handbook for Humanists] by Witold Rybczyński (Wydawnictwo Karakter) "Księgi Jakubowe" [Jacob's Books] by Olga Tokarczuk (Wydawnictwo Literackie) "Był jazz. Krzyk jazz-bandu w międzywojennej Polsce" [There Used to Be Jazz. The Scream of Jazz Bands in Interwar Poland] by Krzysztof Karpiński (Wydawnictwo Literackie)
"Each has its shortcomings, which is why I'll begin with their upsides," says Professor Marcin Cieński as he specifies the requirements in the competition. "Paper, cover, graphic art and typographic solutions: that's what, put together, makes a good book," says the President of the Jury.
The winner will be announced on 4 December at 8 pm during the Fredro Quill's gala, which is going to be held at the conference hall of Wroclaw's Africarium.
Introduction: The Wroclaw Good Books Fair will be held from 4 to 7 December at the Wroclaw Main Railway Station. The detailed programme of the event can be found here.
