The Bookfest International Book Fair kicked off on May 29 in Bucharest and will welcome visitors until June 2. More than 200 exhibitors are present in this edition of the event, offering a million titles, and the Republic of Moldova is the honored guest.
Moldovan president Maia Sandu sent a message on the opening of the book fair, noting the importance of literature and the Romanian language.
“With great emotion and joy, I welcome the opening of the International Book Fair Bookfest, the most beautiful possible way to celebrate literature, knowledge, and the human creative spirit. For us, the people of the Republic of Moldova, this edition holds overwhelming significance because we are coming from home to home, from our own to our own, all united by the broad wings of the Romanian language,” Maia Sandu said, as reported by Agerpres.
“It is a privilege, an immense responsibility, but also a great source of pride for us to be this year’s guests of honor. It is an act of remarkable generosity from Romania, a gesture of solidarity, support, and trust, a gesture that transcends the boundaries of literature and the publishing industry,” emphasized Maia Sandu in a message presented by presidential adviser Angela Braşoveanu.
Sandu pointed out that “Bookfest, both in its Bucharest edition and its Chişinău edition, clearly shows that, culturally speaking, borders no longer exist.” She argued that Romania and Moldova function “as a whole, influencing each other and developing together.”
She also reminded that writers in both countries were subjected to state pressure under communism and that the more recent decades represented an improvement on the cultural front.
“The writers of the ’90s benefited from the first scholarships from the Romanian state, forming as writers in Cluj, Bucharest, Timişoara, or Iaşi. The writers of the 2000s and later generations have freely immersed themselves in the basin of Romanian literature without feeling its boundaries,” highlighted the president of the Republic of Moldova.
Maia Sandu also expressed her hope for a world where books are not burned, writers do not get sent to gulags, and “ordinary citizens are not thrown into prison for a blank sheet of paper or for the word peace,” referencing events that took place in Russia.
The 17th edition of the International Book Fair Bookfest opened on Wednesday at Romexpo, with the Republic of Moldova being this year’s guest of honor. Under the slogan “Te cuprind, Republica Moldova” (I embrace you, Republic of Moldova), the guest country has prepared approximately 40 events for those who will visit Pavilion B2.
Visitors can find over a million books at Bookfest, not to mention 400 events, 60 of them dedicated to children. “We are continuing the tradition of debates. We have a debate about the importance of voting,” stated Lidia Bodea, vice president of the Romanian Publishers Association, cited by EuropaFM.
The Bookfest Book Fair is open daily from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and on Fridays and Saturdays, it will close at 9:00 PM. It is open until June 2.
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