From 16 to 19 May 2024, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture organizes the 20th anniversary Thessaloniki International Book Fair (TIBF), which, as every year, will take place at the TIF-HELEXPO International Exhibition and Conference Centre, this year with Sharjah-UAE, one of the seven Emirates and the spiritual centre of the federal state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as the guest of honour.

TIBF is one of the most renowned cultural institutions in Greece and abroad, with internationally renowned guests. An institution that highlights books and reading, the book market and the interaction of books with the arts, sciences and entrepreneurship.

The central tribute of this year’s exhibition, “Man and Machine“, puts the challenge of Artificial Intelligence at the centre of the discussions. Further thematic axes touch on contemporary concerns, such as “Women in Books” or “Stories from the Balkans“, while there will be tributes to the writers Franz Kafka, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death, and Giorgos Ioannou. The children’s and teenagers’ corner will again host a variety of events to promote literacy, while the Dialogos Rights Centre and the highly successful international fellowship programme for book professionals will operate for the second year. In addition, there are various partnerships with European and international institutions that will be present at the event.

TIBF will also host the 10th Festival of Young Writers, the 8th Translation Festival, the 2nd Young Book Designers Award, the 2nd Meeting of Reading Clubs, as well as presentations of new publications, discussions, workshops, lectures, round tables, screenings, visual and theatrical events, parallel cultural activities in the city and in wider Macedonia.

10th Young Writers Festival

“Always be a poet, even in prose”, Charles Baudelaire

In the framework of the 10th Young Writers Festival, on Friday 17 (8-10pm) and Saturday 18 May (7-9pm), ten poets of the new generation will be hosted by poet and publisher Yorgos Alisanoglou in collaboration with poet Alexios Mainas: Eleni Athanasiou, Christina-Callirroi Garbi, Efthymia Giosa, Esmeralda Geka, Spyros Goulas, Alexandros Kordas, Valantis Mastoras, Vasilis Moschos, Stavroula Papadaki, Spyros Chairetis, who present their work through interesting discussions on the themes of contemporary poetry -on a personal and collective level-, framed by poetry readings, personal interviews and poetic conversations, highlighting the personal style of each participant, as well as the possibility of proposals and approaches to how poetry speaks and interprets today. They will be joined by the neo-hellenist professor Vassilis Lambropoulos, who will talk about the poetic landscape of young people in Greece today, and the poet-curator Alexios Mainas, who will contribute with questions and observations on issues of contemporary poetry.

The 10th Young Writers Festival introduces the innovative Poetry Black Box

A surprise awaits the visitors of the 20th Thessaloniki International Book Fair, because… “Where you wonder about things you see for the first time […] That is where poetry finds you…”[1]: Twenty poems are displayed non-stop at the Poetry Black Box (stand 14), a new initiative of the 10th Festival of Young Writers, giving the public the opportunity to isolate themselves between browsing the stands and getting in touch with the creations of 20 poets of contemporary Greek reality. In the action Veni Video Vici / Poetry in the age of the image, video artists, music producers, poets and poetesses jointly create new visual creations and invite the viewer to press Pause, to stop running in the aisles and, in the absolute isolation of the Poetry Black Box, to observe the videopoems, to process the material and to recreate anew what he sees evolving before his eyes.

The poets participating are: Alisanoglou Yorgos, Amanatidis Vassilis, Gioulos Dimitris, Gitsi Anastasia, Gogos Thanos, Doutsiou Sissi, Erinakis Nikos, Kallergi Lena, Koulouri Maria, Lalou Angeliki, Lioutsia Ioanna, Minas Alexios, Margariti Irini, Milia Penny, Panagiotou Eftichia, Papacharalambos Konstantinos, Pappa Irini, Rondini Patrizia, Stefaneas Petros, Chalkiadaki Niki. Curated by Anastasia Gkitsi, Yorgos Alisanoglou. Hellenic Foundation for Culture.

[1] Poetry finds you, Titos Patrikios, ed. Kichli

3rd Young Book Designers Award: the award ceremony at the 20th TIBF event

On Friday 17/5, 8-9pm, the announcement and award ceremony of the winner of the Young Book Designers Award competition will take place, as well as a discussion with representatives of the institution. Speakers: Lia Fakinou (EBGE),Beate Köhler (Director of the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki), Nopi Hadjigeorgiou (Coordinator of the TIBF).

The Goethe-Institut Greece in collaboration with the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the EBGE (Greek Visual Communication Design Awards), the Stiftung Buchkunst (German Book Art Foundation) and the Frankfurt International Book Fair, awards a prize every year especially for young Greek book designers. The competition is open to designers, printers, publishers and producers of creative book designs.

The Young Book Designers Award aims at detecting original, new ideas for the printed book as an object of design and aesthetic creation and consequently of developments in graphic design. By highlighting the talents of the younger generation, the award seeks to encourage modernity in a medium that is traditional but always relevant. The prize is awarded by a five-member jury composed of editors and book designers from Greece and Germany and appointed by the Goethe Institut, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Stiftung Buchkunst and EBGE. The winning titles are exhibited at the TIBF, travel to Frankfurt and Leipzig, take part in global competitions and participate in tours, matchmaking and networking activities. Coordinated by Lia Fakinou

8th Translation Festival

Along with the Thessaloniki International Book Fair, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Panhellenic Association of Professional Translators, Graduates of the Ionian University , which has been a constant presence at the TIBF since 2015.This year, the Association is organizing a discussion on the translation trends of the last decade in the publishing industry in a cross-disciplinary feminist perspective, as well as the opportunities that arise through the Women in Translation initiative. Guests are Dr Olga Castro from Spain, Distinguished Researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Associate Professor of Translation at the University of Warwick, England, and Dr Vasiliki Misiou, Assistant Professor of Literary Translation, Department of English Language and Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

At the same time, in the framework of the Translation Festival, Myrto Kalofolia (State Translation Award 2023) and Ioanna Andreou, under the coordination of Cleopatra Elaiotriviaris, will reveal the secrets of successful collaboration between translator and editor. Finally, the Association is organising a special, interactive presentation for primary school pupils on the topic “What a translator does for a living”, by the experienced translator Cleopatra Elaiotriviaris.

Institutes and organisations also arrange events related to translation, such as the Translation of Contemporary Slovenian and Croatian Literature into Greek with Ivan Sršen, Marija Dejanović, Thanos Gagos, etc., as well as related activities and events in the context of the honoured Sarja.

A key role in the field of translation is also played by the events and discussions in the context of the annual meeting of the European Network of Translation Programmes ENLIT, which will take place in Thessaloniki in the framework of the 20th TIBF. Greek publishers will have the opportunity to meet the 13 members of ENLIT, which was founded in the context of the Frankfurt International Book Fair in 2016 with the aim of developing translation support programmes to promote literature at national and international level. At the TIBF, the network will provide information on translation projects and participate in panels on translation projects. Present will be: Ainhoa Sanchez (Spain), Tiia Strandén (Finland), Kotryna Pranckunaite (Lithuania), Olena Odynoka (Ukraine), Pavel Sibyla (Slovakia), Katja Urbanija (Slovenia), Sinéad Mac Aodha (Ireland), Paul Hermans (Belgium/Flanders), Marife Boix-Garcia (Germany – Frankfurt International Book Fair), Margit Walsø (Norway), Martin Krafl (Czech Republic), Julià Florit Juan (Catalonia) and Alexandra Büchler (UK). The GreekLit translation project will be represented by Haris Meletiadis, a member of the project’s committee, through which 39 books have already been published in 19 languages.

Also valuable is the presence, in panels, of authors who have won the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), such as Martina Vidaic (Croatia, award 2023), Marente de Moor (Netherlands, award 2014,in Greek “The Dutch Virgin”, Bacchicon publications), Bianca Bellová (Czech Republic, prize 2017, in Greek “The Lake”, Bacchicon publications) and Giovanni Dozzini (Italy, prize 2019, in Greek “Babucar proceeded first”, Enastron publications). The Prize highlights Europe’s creativity and diversity in the field of prose writing, promotes literature through translations of the winning works and fosters intercultural dialogue. The initiative is supported by the European Commission’s CreativeEurope programme and coordinated by the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), the European Writers’ Council (EWC) and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), while in Greece it is coordinated by the Society of Authors.

Tribute to the 100th anniversary of Kafka’s death

On the occasion of the Franz Kafka anniversary year 2024, the Goethe-Institut presents the poster exhibition KOMPLETT KAFKA in cooperation with the award-winning artist Nicolas Mahler and the Literaturhaus Stuttgart (Stuttgart Literary House) at the 20th TIBF, giving visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves virtually in the mysterious world of Kafka’s novels, who, in addition to writing, also had a great passion for drawing. Also, on Saturday 18/5, 1-2 pm, the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki, as part of the anniversary events “Kafka-Talks“, is organizing the Kafka Landscape, a panel discussion where writers, academics, political scientists and filmmakers will attempt to immerse themselves in the work of the great writer and his different and unknown “landscapes“. The participants are Dimitra Mitta, professor of literature and writer, George Fragoglou, professor of theatre and director, Stelios Vrachnis, director. Yianna Tsokou is the moderator. Actors of the Protasi Theatre Group will read excerpts from “Letter to His Father”.

Tribute to Giorgos Ioannou

The Hellenic Foundation for Culture collaborates with the Vafopouleio Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Thessaloniki for a multifaceted, interactive tribute to the important writer who was part of the soul and life of Thessaloniki and whose personal story meets the history of the city. Since 2014, Vafopouleio has had the exclusive and legal possession of the Collection of George Ioannou, part of which is also his literary archive, with a high collector’s value.

An exhibition of books, photographs and archival material from the George Ioannou Collection is held at stand 15 of the TIBF. On Thursday 16/5 at 5pm, an event entitled “The author George Ioannou “talks” with his city” will be held, moderated by the President of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Nikos Koukis, with the participation of Anastasia Vakaloudi, Dr. History – Dr. in inatruction of History and the Use of Information and Communication Technologies, Education Consultant of Eastern Thessaloniki Philologists, lecturer at the Hellenic Open University, Elena Avramidou, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Greek Studies at the Institute of World History of Art, Shanghai University of International Studies, China, member of the Executive Committee of the UNESCO Chair at the Ionian University, member of the Coordinating Committee of the International Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis, Stelios Koukos, journalist, writer and Anastasia Hatzis, literary artist.

On Friday 17/5 at 9am at the Thessaloniki History Centre, Rodanthi Dimitresi narrates the “Tales of our people” by G. Ioannou At 6pm there will be an open tour for the public in the “George Ioannou Hall” at the Vafopouleio Cultural Centre.

On Saturday 18/5 at 6pm there is a Walk in the centre of Thessaloniki entitled With its signs above me. A “narrative” of the city through the references, descriptions, experiences and feelings of George Ioannou, as he captured them in his literary work or commented on them in interviews or articles in the press: Athanasia Boundidou, Vafopouleio Cultural Centre.

Registration for the tour of Vafopouleio and for the Walk at: https://opengov.thessaloniki.gr/opengov/eservices/vafo, tel: 231331 8687.

In the context of the tribute, on Friday 17/5 at 7pm the Central Municipal Library of Thessaloniki organizes a lecture by Dr. Byron Pissalides, entitled Sustainability and viability of the literary archives of George Ioannou and Leonardo Sciascia. A cross-cultural perspective on literary heritage.

Kedros Publications organize on Sunday 19/5, 1-2pm the event The words are a great need of the soul. Thomas Korovinis, writer-songwriter and Sophia Iakovidou, associate professor of Modern Greek Literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, will speak about the great writer. On the same day at 2pm, the publications Eneken-Culture Review with the publisher Giorgos Giannopoulos as a speaker, analyze the way and the conditions under which the contemporary literary and cultural landscape was shaped in the event History-Trauma-Rapture-Delight: The Case of George Ioannou and Dinos Christianopoulos.