TIRANA, Nov. 3 – More than a hundred publishers from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro will come together at the 19th edition of the Tirana book fair, the largest event gathering Albanian-speaking publishers.
While no details have been made available yet, the Albanian Association of Publishers, the event’s organizer, says it will award four prizes, including the best 2016 author, the best translator, best children’s book and a special jury award.
Last year’s fair was held amid concerns over a sharp decline in book sales leading to the closure of dozens of bookshops nationwide and few new publications.
“Book sales during 2015 dropped by 40 percent. Back in 2014, the decrease in book sales was between 20 to 25 percent, according to contacts with different bookshops and publishing houses,” Petrit Ymeri, the head of Albania’s Publishers Association has told local media.
The Tirana Times publishing house and the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS) will also be participating in the book fair with a joint stand in the first floor of the exhibition area with dozens of book titles featuring Albanian authors such as Sabri Godo, PreৠZogaj and winners of Nobel Prize for Literature such as Samuel Beckett and Herta Muller. Several publications by the AIIS Library of International Relations & History from Bernd Fischer, Francis Fukuyama, Dominique Moisi etc. will be featured in the stand.
Some 100,000 people visit the five-day annual book fair, traditionally held at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana, buying books at a discount of 10 to 30 percent. This year’s edition is scheduled to take place from Nov. 9 to 13.
