Literature
SWEDEN
The Gothenburg Book Fair
By Elin and My-Madeleine
The Gothenburg book fair is a meeting
point for all who is interested in books,
culture and current social issues. Here
does the book loving people meet their
favorite writers, and the most famous
debaters will participate to
discuss contemporary issues. This year
the book fair is held between 26-29
september.
This book fair is the next biggest book
fair in Europe and it’s the biggest
meeting point for the book and library
industry in Scandinavia and has been
held since year 1985. The first book
fair was visited by 5000 visitors, and
during the years the number of visitors
has steadily increased. Last year
almost 100 000 people visited the
book fair.
The
history
of
the
Gothenburg
book
fair
In the autumn of 1984, the two friends Conny Jacobsson and Bertil Falck decided to
arrange interesting seminars as continuing education for librarians. They both worked in
the library industry. The first book fair was a pure trade fair, which got a lot of interest
from the media. It was held at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre, where it has
been held since then.
After this success they wanted to reach out to new target audiences. At year 1986 the
trade fair had become a book fair and this resulted in almost 26 000 visitors.
The book fair today
Every year there is a special theme during the book fair. This year’s theme is Romanian
literature. This means that Romania is going to be in focus and that the Romanian
literature and culture is going be shown during the book fair. Also some of the most
popular writers will participate.
No other book fair in the world offers that many different sorts of specializations that
the Gothenburg book fair does. Every person can find something that interests them in
the differ ent parts of the local. During the days there is a full schedule.