Our goal is to promote Cypriot letters worldwide, the co-founders of the Limassol Book Fair, Haris Ioannidis and Anna Ioannidou, tell KYPE, speaking about the second edition of the Fair, which will take place in mid-November.
In response to a related question, the publisher Haris Ioannidis tells KYPE that the most important conclusion that emerges from the 1st Limassol Book Fair, which was organized last year, is the very great response shown by the public and industry professionals to the whole project. "The massive turnout throughout the General Exhibition, as well as the unexpectedly large participation of industry professionals in the conference, demonstrate the necessity of existence and the fertile ground that exists on the island for a book fair based on international standards," he adds.
Haris Ioannidis notes that the diversity and dynamism of Limassol was established after several thousand visitors, Cypriots and foreigners, passed through the Exhibition. "Also important is the fact that after the end of the first event, there was a need to develop a dialogue between industry professionals, both locally and internationally, with the aim of strengthening the sector," he adds.
Asked to list the new elements that will be incorporated into the 2nd Limassol Book Fair, the poet Anna Ioannidou speaks of a "completely upgraded Fair", explaining that there will be twice the number of exhibitors, twice the number of authors/speakers, a greater number of events, guests beyond 10 countries, more scenes and activities. At the same time, he points out that this year's professional conference will be a full day, covering a wider topic, with more than 30 professionals/speakers from Cyprus and abroad.
An important addition, Anna Ioannidou emphasizes, is the cooperation of the Exhibition with KEVEP (Cyprus Union of Librarians and Information Scientists), with which the first part of the professional conference concerning libraries, archives and librarianship will be co-organized. He also mentions as another important addition the interconnection of the Cypriot book with the Greek market through specific tools and practices that will be examined in depth by the experts on stage.
"New topics are added to the General Exhibition concerning the relationship of Artificial Intelligence with the book, the entry of Audiobooks into our lives, the Police Novel, the phenomenon of Popular Science, the graphic novel and others", underlines Anna Ioannidou, adding that this year, the multicultural corner is also included in the Children's Stage, with storytelling in English, French, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Greek.
Responding to a question from KYPE, Haris Ioannidis notes that the most important suggestion adopted is the increase of exhibitors so that the public can enjoy a wider range of books. Another suggestion that was adopted concerns the expansion of the topics on the agenda of the General Exhibition. This year, as he explains, tributes to Nikos Kazantzakis and Ilias Konstantinou will be hosted on the main stage and at the same time "Asceticism" will be presented in a one-act play by the actor Vassilis Vassilakis.
Additionally, Haris Ioannidis emphasizes that the program of the Children's and Youth stage has been expanded, since on the weekend of November 18 and 19, children will have the opportunity to enjoy storytelling in more than 10 languages. In addition, he reports to KYPE that the 1st Book Marathon of the Exhibition was launched this year, which started in the summer and the groups of book conquerors will participate on November 18 in a fun game with many surprises. The program also includes a tribute and workshops on the Graphic Novel, but also an Escape Room with an emphasis on cyber security issues, he adds.
Regarding the most popular book categories of the Exhibition based on the available data, Anna Ioannidou indicates that statistical surveys need to be conducted. However, he reports to KYPE that the audience of the Exhibition showed great interest in the children's book. "Furthermore, the titles of self-improvement books, foreign literature, comics and titles concerning the history of Cyprus were particularly popular," he notes.
Given the effort to internationalize the Limassol Book Fair, Haris and Anna Ioannidou state at KYPE that the central objective of the Fair is to expand the connection of the Cypriot book market with those of the wider eastern Mediterranean and by extension to strengthen the relationship with the markets of Greece, the Balkans and Europe.
With this goal, as they explain, the Limassol Book Fair team continues to deepen the collaborations it has built with the Frankfurt and Thessaloniki Book Fairs but also with those of Cairo and other major regional Fairs. "We believe that our country, taking advantage of its geopolitical position, at the axis of cultural diplomacy, can become a hub of communication and exchange of ideas for neighboring countries", they emphasize, adding that these actions seem to find good allies from the state and expressing the hope that soon there will be positive results.
In addition, the co-founders of the Limassol Book Fair tell KYPE that in due course, the Fair will host national pavilions of countries where foreign publishers or their representatives can showcase their country's literature and culture but also be given another chance to find foreign publishers who would like to buy rights to foreign literature. Their goal, as they explain, is to inaugurate the institution of the honored country. "Our vision is to see publishers from the surrounding area but also from Europe exhibiting with us, as well as to have visitors from abroad, not only for our professional conference which already attracts foreign delegates, but also in the commercial part which is held in Weekend", they emphasize.
Afterwards, Haris and Anna Ioannidou point out that the international character of the Exhibition is the most suitable way to achieve the goal of promoting Cypriot letters worldwide and stimulating the local industry. They express the opinion that the interconnection of Cypriot publishers with other professionals from neighboring countries as well as Europe can essentially help to upgrade the Cypriot product to the extent of making it even more competitive in a particularly demanding environment.
The co-founders of the Limassol Book Fair highlight that there are outstanding Cypriot writers with international awards, distinctions and work that has traveled abroad, gained an audience and won a place on the world stage. "Cypriot literature can stand out for its own distinctive voice, for its locality, for its own unique experiences that are local, but at the same time universal. Our unique identity as a country and the "smallness" of our island are elements that we consider to be our significant comparative advantages", they emphasize. "After all, as Frankfurt Fair representative Hanife Içten urged us last year in her own presentation at our conference, we need to find our own unique and distinct voice and put it out into the world," they conclude.
It is noted that the 2nd Limassol Book Fair will be held on the three days of November 17-19, 2023 at Laniti Haroupomylos, in Limassol. The main presenter will be journalist Christos Michalaros.