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Czechs #ReadNordic: Nordic Countries As Guests Of Honour Of Book World Prague

Book World Prague, the largest annual book fair in the Czech Republic, will host Nordic countries as joint guest-of-honour in 2016. To generate interest and provide insight into the region’s contemporary trends as well as rich literary heritage, the four Nordic Embassies in Prague, together with the Scandinavian House, launched the #ReadNordic literature campaign already in September 2015. It was divided into eight thematic months and consisted of a reading challenge, social media campaign, visits of Nordic authors, film screenings and other culture events.

On May 12, the Book World Prague will officially open. The official opening ceremony will be followed by the opening of the Nordic Stand, the core of the Nordic presentation and this year’s fair. The Nordic stand shall be opened by the Danish Minister of Culture, Mr. Bertel Haarder, the Czech Minister of Culture, Mr. Daniel Herman, Nordic ambassadors in Prague and Nordic authors.

We strongly believe, the Nordic stand will draw a lot of attention in itself, as it was designed by two young designers Monika Fišerová and Markéta Rádková from Czech Technical University in Prague. Students of Faculty of Architecture participated in a semester-long competition and the winning design was chosen from the total number of 50 proposals. The Nordic stand is composed of several hundreds of boxes made of cardboard, which is a sustainable material, and with one huge central book wall running through the central space, it emphasizes Nordic minimalism. It is open from all sides, welcoming visitors of all age groups. 

Between May 12 and 15, around 50 different events focused on Nordic literature and culture shall take place at the exhibition grounds. Discussions, lectures and book signings shall be attended by 18 Nordic writers and experts, Majgull Axelsson, Jostein Gaarder, Katja Kettu, Kim Leine and Sjón being among them (see the full list below). The programme encompasses also new Czech translations of Nordic book launches, exhibitions, micro courses in Nordic languages, Nordic gastronomy events, etc.

Eight of the invited authors will also take part in the Literature Night event, which is taking place on the eve of the book fair, on Wednesday May 11, both in Prague and Brno. Czech actors and actresses will read excerpts of the authors’ works throughout all evening.

The #ReadNordic campaign including Nordic programme at Book World Prague was supported by the Nordic Culture Fund, Danish Arts Foundation, Finnish Presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers, Swedish Arts Council, FILI, NORLA, Icelandic Literature Center and a number of Nordic companies present on the Czech market.

 

COMPLETE LIST OF NORDIC GUESTS OF BOOK WORLD PRAGUE 2016:
Denmark:        Kaspar Colling Nielsen, Kim Leine, Dorthe Nors, Kirsten Thisted
Finland:           Elina Hirvonen, Katja Kettu, Johanna Sinisalo, Antti Tuomainen
Iceland:           Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Sjón
Norway:          Jostein Gaarder, Jørn Lier Horst, Siri Pettersen, Nils Magne Knutsen
Sweden:          Majgull Axelsson, Lotta Lundberg, Bengt Pohjanen, Ulf Stark

 

FULL NORDIC PROGRAMME OF THE BOOK WORLD PRAGUE 2016 (in English):

http://bit.ly/23lqmug

 

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