On the occasion of the 67th International Belgrade Book Fair, which will take place from 19 to 27 October 2024, at the Belgrade Fair, a press conference was held, where the following speakers addressed the audience:
- Nataša Mihailović Vacić, Secretary of the Secretariat for Culture of the City of Belgrade
- Academician Dušan Kovačević, Chairman of the International Belgrade Book Fair Committee
- Ljiljana Šoškić, Project Coordinator, Belgrade Fair
- H.E. Lejde E. Rodrigues Hernandes, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in Belgrade
- Sanja Milić, Artistic Director of the International Belgrade Book Fair
Nataša Mihailović Vacić emphasized that another book fair is ahead of us, which always represents a certain transformation of society and reflects the challenges of the times we live in. She reminded everyone of the importance of literature and the spiritual values that books open up for us, as well as the initiation of dialogue with others, which motivates and inspires, and concluded that literature is a beacon of thought.
Dušan Kovačević noted that the book fair is one of the most significant cultural events and that there is great interest in the event this year from both exhibitors and the public. He shared that he is personally emotionally very attached to the book fair, cherishing beautiful memories of it since childhood.
The fair will last, as in previous years, for nine days and will host more than twenty meetings with authors from the region and the world. In the shadow of the wars being fought, the book fair is a bright spot of civilization, concluded Kovačević.
Ljiljana Šoškić reminded that this event is of exceptional importance for the city, as it is the most significant, most visited, and most beloved fair, which again requires an exceptionally complex organization and a high professional level of the organizer’s work. The ceremonial opening of the event will take place on Saturday, October 18, at 6 PM. The interest from exhibitors this year is greater than last year, Šoškić emphasized.
H.E. Lejde E. Rodrigues Hernandes, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in Belgrade, thanked the Ministry of Culture and the event organizers for the honor bestowed upon his country. Cuba’s participation speaks to the traditionally friendly relations between Serbia and Cuba. Books are extremely important in the lives of Cubans and all people in general, and reading is given great importance. In Cuba, the book fair is a national holiday. The Cuban delegation in Belgrade will include the Minister of Culture, writers, poets, artists, journalists, and publishers, and during the event, books translated into Serbian will be presented, stated the ambassador.
Sanja Milić, the artistic director of the International Belgrade Book Fair, expressed her satisfaction for Cuba being the guest of honour, which will give the local audience the opportunity to familiarize with Cuban literature. The program of the book fair is exceptionally rich, and our foreign guests are: Toni Parsons (United Kingdom), Nataša Rogelja (Slovenia), and David Unger (Guatemala, USA). Children’s programs will take place in the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj hall, where poet Ljubivoje Ršumović will hold a workshop on how to write a poem, and in the Ivo Andrić hall, there will be programs in honor of the prematurely deceased writer Goran Petrović, said Sanja Milić.
As in all previous decades, this October too, visitors to the Belgrade Fair will enter the magical world of literature.
