Nobel Prize in Literature winner Kazuo Ishiguro and Stephenie Meyer, author of the famed Twilight series, are to hold virtual talks at the Taipei International Book Exhibition next month, the event’s organizers said yesterday.
The two writers are among the 46 international authors who are to address audiences via videoconferencing or prerecorded speeches, Taipei Book Fair Foundation director Wang Hsiu-yin (王秀銀) said.
In a prerecorded video Meyer would on Jan. 31 discuss her new book Midnight Sun, which tells the love story of the two main characters in the series from the male perspective, Wang said at a news conference.
Photo: CNA
Meanwhile, 2017 Nobel laureate Ishiguro, whose bestselling books include The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, would also appear in a prerecorded video address, Wang said, adding that the author is slated to speak on Jan. 30 on the subject “Creating with Humanity.”
Live discussions would also be held via videoconferencing, hosted by South Korean poet Chong Hyon-jong, German writer Judith Schalansky, and several authors from the Netherlands, France, the Czech Republic and Hong Kong, Wang said.
The full program for next year’s book fair, which is to run from Jan. 26 to Jan. 31 at the Taipei World Trade Center, would soon be posted on the event’s Web site, the organizers said.
Entry would be free for people under 18, people with disabilities and foreigners upon presentation of their passport, the organizers said.
Visitors would receive a NT$100 voucher to buy books at the fair, they said.
The organizers said that the fair would focus on literature from South Korea, which was planned to be the guest of honor nation at this year’s event, before it was postponed in late January, canceled in March and held online in May, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Korean Publishers Association chairman Yoon Chul-ho said in a prerecorded message at the news conference that his country’s pavilion would be themed “XYZ,” which represents different generations, gender issues and the end of the world.
The approximately 100 books on display at the booth would reflect those themes and help Taiwanese readers become familiar with South Korean authors, he said.
The booth would feature five famous South Korean writers, including Cho Nam-joo, author of the bestselling novel Kim Ji-young: Born 1982, and Kim Young-ha, whose books have been translated into more than 10 languages, the foundation said.
Yoon also highlighted the significance of holding the book fair at this particular time.
“I think it is extremely meaningful that Taiwan can host an in-person book fair right now,” Yoon said, adding that he hoped that people in the publishing industry worldwide would soon be able to resume attending such fairs.
To curb the spread of COVID-19, all visitors would have their temperatures checked at the entrance of the venue, be required to wear masks at all times during their visit, and register their names and telephone numbers, the foundation said.
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