The 30th Taipei International Book Exhibition had a better-than-expected turnout of 250,000 visitors for its first physical event in three years, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers said as the six-day fair concluded Tuesday.
The turnout and the sales recorded by publishers who attended the event exceeded the expectations of the 364 publishers from 31 countries at this year’s book fair, the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, which organized the event with the Ministry of Culture, said in a statement.
Although the turnout was 60 percent of that at the last physical book fair held in February 2019, it was higher than expected, thanks to the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend which took place during the event, and the 200,000 NT$100 (US$0.34) shopping vouchers handed out to visitors, the organizers said.
During the exhibition, 61 talks were held to encourage buyers and sellers to explore potential publishing deals, while seminars on publishing in Spanish and digital marketing were held as mixed online and in-person discussions, the organizers said.
Until June 30, the book fair will continue at more than 200 libraries across Taiwan with special exhibitions of award-winning books and a collection of selected publications shown during the Taipei event, the organizers added
Speaking on behalf of France — the “Guest of Honor” country highlighted this year, Bureau Français de Taiwan Deputy Director Guillaume Delvallee said in addition to music performances and movies shown during the exhibition, the French office in Taipei has organized more literature and cultural events around Taiwan in the coming weeks.
The events will include a French classic film festival at the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute in New Taipei until July 31, talks and an exhibition at National Central Library in Taipei until June 30, and select French books shown at 30 bookstores in Taiwan, Delvallee said.
Polish Office in Taipei Director Cyryl Kozaczewski was also present at the closing ceremony of the book fair, as Poland has been named as the theme country for the 2023 event. He played a video of Polish Book Institute Chairman Dariusz Jaworski talking about the country’s plans for next year’s Taipei book fair.
There were several firsts at this year’s book fair, the organizers said, including the first time Ukraine and Hong Kong had their own dedicated exhibition space.
In addition to books, the fair this year also covered audio books, in a forum with publishers from France and Taiwan, as well as illustrations and graphic works, according to the organizers.
France organized a display of comic artist Emmanuel Lepage’s original works, while German, Belgium and Polish publishers brought several graphic books, the organizers said.
First held in 1987 as a biennial event, the Taipei International Book Exhibition became an annual fair in 1998.
After two online-only editions in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, the 2022 fair was the first time the event took place at its usual venue in Taipei World Trade Center in three years. The 2023 event is scheduled to take place in February, which is when the book fair is usually held, the organizers said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel