Krakow at the New Delhi World Book Fair

Tomorrow, the 15^th February, is the beginning of the New Delhi World Book Fair. This year is the 60. anniversary of Indo-Polish diplomatic relations. Poland will be strongly represented but the Krakow accent will be particularly noticeable. An exhibition will be held within the Fair’s premises presenting the literary Krakow and its heritage, prepared by the City of Krakow and the Krakow Festival Office. The project’s partner is the Małopolska Region. The Office will be represented by Robert Piaskowski, Deputy Director for Programme Planning who will have a presentation on: Kraków UNESCO City of Literature: Between Tradition and Modernity.

Krakow’s exceptional heritage, with its monuments and the richness of its cultural offering, is the themes of the exhibition on Krakow UNESCO City of Literature, which can be visited from tomorrow onwards in India’s New Delhi. The exhibition comprises 30 boards with large-format photographs presenting, amongst other things, exceptional monuments, prestigious festivals, and creative spaces linking economy and culture.

“UNESCO City of Literature is a very prestigious but challenging title, and because of that, every single element of the exhibition has been created with great care for its detail. Preparing the exhibition, the City of Krakow, together with the Krakow Festival Office, focused primarily on the literary heritage of the city,” says Izabela Helbin, Director of the Krakow Festival Office, and adds: ^“Krakow is without doubt a city of literature. Its literary character means not only that many world-recognized writers live and create here, but also that it is in Krakow that the publishing market is exceptionally well developed. It is here that we have the most prominent literary festivals (Milosz Festival, Conrad Festival), exceptional campaigns which promote reading in urban space (such as The Second Life of a Book, literary murals, projections of poetry on the walls of Krakow townhouses), as well as creative book industries, such as Krakow bookshops and Poland’s largest Book Fair.”

It is the 41^st World Book Fair now in New Delhi. The previous Fair was attended by 1,200 exhibitors from India and 31 from abroad. The organisers are expecting 55 000 visitors a day. The Fair will continue until Saturday, 23^rd February.

More information about the Polish presence at the World Book Fair in India, organised by the Polish Book Institute and the Polish Institute in New Delhi, can be found here.