Ministry of Culture

The 25th Taipei International Book Exhibition will kick off a six-day literary fest at Exhibition Hall 1 and 3 of Taipei World Trade Center from Feb. 8 to 13. Instead of having a theme country this year, the book expo will have an additional theme pavilion titled “Sharing the Joy of Reading” to promote Taiwan’s literary treasures.

The theme pavilion of “Sharing the Joy of Reading” will offer four sections – Eras, Settings, Digitization, and Sharing – to explore books from different time periods, that take place in different settings, that are published in different formats, and that are recommended for sharing.

The main visual design of the 2017 expo was designed by Akibo (李明道), in which a striding figure made of wooden blocks symbolize public participation in advancing society. The figure is also depicted as having a book in lieu of a heart to highlight how reading is the most important driving force of this era.

In July 2016, the Ministry of Culture launched five major reforms to lower the cost of booth rentals, lengthen exhibition hours, transform exhibition spaces, expand the reading area, and strengthen the local publishing sector. The preliminary results are encouraging, as lowered costs have led to full exhibitor bookings, reflecting a 19 percent increase in booth rentals in comparison to the previous year.

To transform the exhibition space, the Taipei Book Fair Foundation will offer a Best Booth Design Award this year to motivate exhibitors to spruce up their showcases and better integrate their unique publishing features in the design.

The Ministry of Culture will also book two special areas called “Citizen Books” and “Literature and Art Books” for invited guests such as Indie Publishers (獨立出版聯盟), Taiwan Association for Independent Bookshop Culture (臺灣獨立書店協會), and Taiwan Labor Front (台灣勞工陣線協會).