The 31st Taipei International Book Exhibition will be held at the Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1 from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5 under the theme of "The Multiverse of Reading," featuring Poland as the guest of honor.
Those present at the press conference on Dec. 29 included the Ministry of Culture's Department of Humanities and Publications director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳), Taipei Book Fair Foundation chairman Chao Cheng-ming (趙政岷), director of the Polish Office in Taipei Cyryl Kozaczewski, and more.
MOC stated that Poland was first invited as a guest of honor in 2017 and the invitation materialized after years of preparation. The book exhibition will showcase a wide range of content and bring together distinguished authors to allow readers from home and abroad to learn more about the publication, history and culture of Poland.
Co-organized by the Polish Book Institute and the Taipei Representative Office in Poland, the Polish Pavilion is to consist of three main sections, featuring 23 historical books, children's picture books from 1918 to 2018 and historical collections. Copies of some historical publications, including the musical score for Polish-French pianist Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus' On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, will be displayed at the book fair.
This year, the organizer of the Polish pavilion has invited six distinguished authors, two renowned illustrators and important publishing houses from Poland to participate. The attendees include Andrzej Sapkowski, the author of the best-selling books The Witcher series, and Witold Szablowski, several of whose books have been translated into Mandarin, to name a few. They will attend activities such as readings and interactive workshops at the fair.
A Poland Night will be held on Feb. 4, featuring Polish cuisine and a music performance by Dagadana, a Polish-Ukrainian band that fuses jazz, electronic and folk music.
The fair will also feature pavilions from Italy, France, Germany, and South Korea, among others. For more information, please visit the Taipei International Book Exhibition's official website and Facebook page.