Greece is the ‘Market of Honour’ Exhibitor at BolognaBookPlus 2023 Fair

BolognaBookPlus. Photo source:BolognaBookPlus.

Greece is the inaugural “Market of Honour” exhibitor at this year’s BolognaBookPlus, which opened on Monday in Bologna, central Italy, together with the 60^th edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The fairs will run until March 9.

Being the “Market of Honour” exhibitor at the BolognaBookPlus, which aims to celebrate its culture, language and books, is considered a significant honor for Greece’s literary industry.

Running until March 9, the two fairs will see 63 and 64 Greek publishers participating in the BolognaBookPlus and Bologna Children’s Book Fair respectively, marking a record number of participation for Greece in the two events.

Greece’s program of events at BolognaBookPlus was planned out by a committee comprised of representatives from the Greek Culture Ministry, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the GreekLit translation initiative and IBBY’s (International Board on Books for Young People) Greek branch.

Greek authors and illustrators at BolognaBookPlus. Photo source:BolognaBookPlus.

The program, among others, includes the Professional Matchmaking Program, the Author Program, a Greek film festival showcase with films based on Greek literary works and workshops for young members of Bologna’s Greek community.

Highlights of Greece’s scheduled events at BolognaBookPlus and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair include:

• a meet and greet with contemporary Greek writers and illustrators
• a forum on literary translation
• a literary Greek graphic novels exhibition
• a film showcase by Greek film auteurs like Theodoros Angelopoulos, Pantelis Voulgaris, Kostas Gavras and Giorgos Lanthimos.

Greece’s visual identity at the coveted Italian book fair. Source: Greek Culture Ministry

The Greek participation at the famed Italian book fairs is carried out within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” with funding from the European Union – NextGenerationEU.

The “Market of Honour” initiative is launched in partnership with the Italian Publishers Association (IPA), while the Greek film showcase sees a collaboration between the Greek Film Archive and the Film Archive of Bologna.

The visual identity of the Greek participation was designed by the award-winning Beetroot design group based in Thessaloniki.