Tirana book fair ready to kick off

TIRANA, Nov. 6 – Some 100 publishing houses from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro will participate in the 17th edition of the Tirana book fair, the largest book event bringing together Albanian-speaking publishers.
The Association of Albanian Publishers, which organizes the event, says this year’s event scheduled to be held from November 12 to 16 will be dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Albanian-Italian writer Jeronim de Rada.
The Tirana Times publishing house and the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS) are also participating in the book fair with a joint stand in the first floor of the exhibition area with dozens of book titles
In last year’s edition, Luljeta Lleshanaku was announced the “Author of the Year” in the 2013 Tirana book fair, grabbing the most important award of the book fair bringing together some 100 Albanian-speaking publishers. Lleshanaku, 45, was awarded the prize for her latest collection of poetry called “Pothuajse Dje” (Almost yesterday).
Organizers said some 100,000 people visited the Tirana book fair last year and some 600,000 books were sold during the five-day event which offered discounts of 20 to 30 percent.