STA, February 20, 2018 – Slovenia will sign a contract on Tuesday to feature as the guest of honour at the 2022 Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest trade fair for books.
The contract will be signed in Ljubljana by fair director Jürgen Boos, Slovenian Culture Minister Tone Peršak and Renata Zamida, the new director of the Slovenian Book Agency, which is in charge of the project.
The Book Agency believes this special status at the book fair will facilitate the promotion of Slovenian authors in German-speaking countries.
It also hopes that as a result of the appearance at the fair, the country's cultural and economic potential will become more recognisable globally.
As part of preparations, the agency has already intensified the translation of Slovenian books, mostly to German, and strives to improve Slovenian publishers' competences in selling translation rights.
Following the signing of the contract, a task force will be formed to finalize the country's presentation at the fair.
A visual identity and slogan will be prioritised to allow Slovenia to start promoting it at least two years in advance.
Slovenia's bid to become a guest of honour of the world's No.1 book fair was endorsed by the government in 2014, which estimated it would cost 2.5 million euro.
Last October, the Frankfurt Book Fair board decided on the winners of the title for 2021 and 2022. In 2021, the title will go to Spain.
When the news about the status was broken, Slovenian publishers welcomed it as "the news of the year".
Meanwhile, a representative of writers labelled it a great opportunity, hoping that it would also help address the poor situation at home, where authors are poorly paid.
Ivo Svetina also pointed to the leading publisher Mladinska Knjiga, saying its privatisation could well mean the "end to the publishing industry in Slovenia".
