The Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE,
Attracting fewer than 70 publishing houses from 11 countries, 1987's inaugural TIBE featured only 85 booths and generated little interest amongst the general public. All this changed in 1999, when the event became a truly international publishing affair. "We've certainly come a long way since the first TIBE in 1987," explained Gerald Tseng (
Establishing a "Country of Honor" theme in 1999, that year's fair -- which saw Germany invited to be the event's inaugural country of honor -- saw 787 publishers from 42 countries displaying their wares in a total of 1,447 booths. A year later, when the UK was country of honor, the show grew yet again with 885 publishing houses from 45 countries packing the floor of the Taipei World Trade Center with 1,825 booths. When France acted as country of honor in 2001, a total of 1,838 booths representing 46 countries filled the trade center's main exhibition hall. And the choice of Japan as country of honor last year saw a staggering 1,015 publishing houses from 47 countries erecting 1,856 booths.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHINESE PUBLISHERS' DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
"Obviously the historic connections between Taiwan and Japan ensured that last year's show was one of the most successful to-date," Tseng said. "The number of visitors attending the show after it opened to the general public was staggering."
In keeping with what has become the norm, this year's show has once again grown and managed to attract even more participants. A total of 925 publishing houses representing 49 countries including the UK, China, France, Turkey, Brazil, Australia and Iran are slated to fill the World Trade Center's three exhibition halls from next Tuesday, displaying their thrillers, biographies, romances, children's books and mighty scholarly and scientific tomes in a record-breaking 2,092 booths.
Local readers might have been clued in apropos of what to expect from last year's show when Japanese publishing houses were honored, but this year looks set to be somewhat altogether very different.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHINESE PUBLISHERS' DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
With the choice of the Czech Republic as country of honor, this is the first time an Eastern European nation has been showcased at the event. And while Tseng readily admits local knowledge about all things Czech is minimal, the CPDF executive director remains confident the show will prove equally successful with publishing houses and the general public alike.
"We were looking for something a bit different and the chance to showcase an Eastern European country seemed perfect," Tseng said. "And while the Czech Republic might not be as well known locally as Japan, the European nation's rich cultural and literary history made it our number-one choice."
Along with the score of Czech publishers invited to partake in the event, several of the European nation's leading literary figures including writers Michal Viewegh and Iva Pekarkova will be holding a series of seminars.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHINESE PUBLISHERS' DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
Known for her numerous offbeat travelogues and observations on pre-Velvet Revolution, Soviet-ruled Czechoslovakia, Pekarkova's works have been translated into over a dozen languages and she has become one of the Czech Republic's most sought-after authors.
Viewegh, on the other hand, is known for his storytelling and his tendency to include humorous commentary ribbing politics, the gutter press, and commercial television in his works, several of which have been turned into successful movies. The most recent of these, Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia, directed by Petr Koliha, won high acclaim throughout Europe in 1997.
Along with literature from the Czech Republic, TIBE will also be showcasing Czech films as well as incorporating a special Czech art gallery, focusing on illustrations and graphic arts from the Czech Republic, into the six-day event.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHINESE PUBLISHERS' DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
Introducing the Czech graphic arts will be leading Czech illustrator, painter, graphic artist and creator of feature-length animated films, Adolf Born. Born has received over one hundred Czech and international awards and has illustrated more than two hundred books. Along with illustrating countless children's books, Born has created artwork for Shakespeare's Hamlet Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and even Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.
In addition to the presence of some of the Czech Republic's leading literary lights, Nigerian national and 1986's Nobel laureate for literature, Wole Soyinka, will be speaking at a public forum and, according to organizers, touching all matters literary, as well as holding a poetry recital.
While Czech literature is the focus of this year's event, Taiwan's publishing houses will be out in force. Represented by over 400 publishing houses, local publishers will be taking advantage of the cultural exchange theme and filling their shelves with copious tomes relating to Taiwan and its culture, history and place on the international stage.
The largest of the local publishing houses featured at TIBE are those affiliated with the government. Entitled "Reading Taiwan" (閱讀台灣), the GIO's booth will focus on the nation's culture, while that of the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA, 行政院文化建設委員會), entitled "Beautiful Taiwan" (台灣之美), will feature works that the governmental body feels exemplify Taiwan and its literary heritage.
Of the local booths it is the comic book pavilion that is once again expected to generate the largest interest amongst local readers. The media stink caused when organizers opted to include an adult comic book section for the first time last year hasn't deterred them from setting up a special adults-only booth. While smut will be on the shelves, this year's main comic theme centers on the local comic book industry with booths focusing on local comic book artwork. And with the Second Best Comic Awards (
Organized by the CPDF and the Comic Artist Labor Union in Taipei (
Exhibition notes:
What: Taipei International Book Exhibition 2003 (
Where: Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall I, located at 5 Hsinyi Rd., Sec. 5, Taipei (
When: Feb. 11 through Feb. 16
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