in English

The Turku International Book Fair exhibits Life

The Turku International Book Fair held on October 2nd to 4th presents a quality journey to the heart of culture. This year there will be lots of stages and a record number of over 400 performing stars at the Turku Fair and Congress Center. This years theme’s are India and St. Petersburg.

The Fair has, along the years, gone from strength to strength and expanded in its scope. The Book Fair is also the oldest fair of its kind in Finland. Last year it saw more than 23,000 visitors. To our delight, it is very highly regarded.

About 200 exhibitors will be taking part in the Fair. This event will be a delicious combination of deep feelings and hilarious frivolity. The Fair will be packed with unique and special experiences.

The international aspect of the Fair is not only represented by the guest authors but also by other programme provision.

This year the Turku Food Fair, Record Fair and The Collectors’ World 2009 will run simultaneously with the Book Fair.

REMEMBER THE NEXT YEAR'S TURKU INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR 1.-3.10.2010!

For further information please contact:

Turku Fair and Congress Center, tel. +358 2 337 111

Project Manager of Book Fair
Ms. Lisa Savola,
lisa.savola (at) turunmessukeskus.fi

Program Manager of Book Fair
Mr. Kari J. Kettula,
kari.kettula (at)turunmessukeskus.fi

Turku Fair and Congress Center
No embargo
Press release 1 October 2009

”When a writer notices his uniqueness and accepts it, his own little squirrelity sleeping sweetly on a bed of moss, and limits himself, he will become limitless, a forest”- Risto Ahti

Writers, publishers and researchers focusing on the Book Fair themes

The Turku International Book Fair from 2–4 October will gather together fair visitors and performers at fair stands and in highly valued award ceremonies of the literary world, as well as seminars where writers, publishers and researchers examine literature and related phenomena. This year the special themes of the Book Fair are India, St Petersburg and books on hobbies.

The Book Fair is arranged in Turku for the 18th time. Fair guests may also visit the Turku Food Fair, Record Fair and the Collectors’ World 2009 in the Turku Fair and Congress Centre from Friday to Sunday.

One hundred thousand books in the exhibition halls

Some 100,000 volumes will be on display and for sale at the Turku International Book Fair, including both old and new literature. Books and magazines are sold for over one million euro at the Fair every year. There is no reason to suspect that 7-digit sales figures would not be reached this year, too. Katriina Jaakkola, Director of the Organization of the Booksellers’ Association of Finland, assures that good sales can be expected.

”A number of excellent books are coming out this autumn, and we are looking forward to the autumn with a positive attitude, although the sales of the year so far are behind that of last year. The autumn will be good and book sales figures will come close to last autumn’s figures,” Ms Jaakkola estimates.

The fair stands will offer books to all tastes. Books on hobbies form a new entity. Euro Publications Finland will present the Books & Creative Future show with over one thousand international books in the auditorium. It also includes illustrative work performance presentations involving e.g. the Salo Region Vocational College and Southwest Finland Institute for Art, Craft and Design.

Awards and recognition

The Book Fair offers a national publishing channel for many regional literature and culture awards. Lounais-Suomen kirjailijat writers’ association will give out the Anni Polva award at the Fair on Friday 2 October.

The winner of the national Runo-Kaarina poetry competition arranged by the Town of Kaarina will also be announced at the Book Fair on Friday. The Runo-Kaarina award is distributed for the 16th time this year. The competition is intended for debutant poets, and previous winners include Lauri Hinkkanen with his collection Kirje Mihail Gorbatšoville (Letter to Mihail Gorbatshov) last year, and Jenni Haukio who was awarded in 1999. Haukio (published by Savukeidas) will be on the Agricola stage on Saturday, 3 October at 12.20.

The Turku branch of the Finnish Critics’ Association will give out the Kritiikin Punnukset award which is given annually to an artist from Southwest Finland. The one kilo award is granted for long-lasting cultural work with national significance. The half a kilo award is granted for a significant cultural work, breakthrough or debut.

The Turku 2011 culture awards will be given out at the Fair on Saturday. The Union of Finnish Writers will give out its annual award to a Finnish writer on Sunday.

Writers discussing

The Union of Finnish Writers will produce their own programme on the Fiore stage on Saturday, offering reflections on being a writer from many different angles. The day is started on the Fiore stage by daughter Leena Parkkinen and father Jukka Parkkinen exchanging thoughts on whether the profession of a writer is inherited. Next Virpi Hämeen-Anttila, Nina Banerjee-Louhija, J. K. Ihalainen and Seppo Järvinen will dive into the India theme at a personal level.

During the day, discussions on the Fiore stage include literature and the home district with Harri Tapper and Hannu Niklander, and Tapio Koivukari and Heli Laaksonen who write in dialects of Southwest Finland will interview each other. The programme on the Fiore stage also includes Hannu Kankaanpää remembering Viljo Kajava, and poetry reading by the local boys Henry Lehtonen, Ville Hytönen, Tapani Kinnunen and Markku Into. Poet and teacher of the art of writing Risto Ahti will tell about the language and ideas of his poems. Moreover, Timo Hännikäinen and Riku Korhonen will discuss with Niina Repo how writers balance between facts and fiction, and writer couple Leena Lander and Hannu Raittila will speak about how they work in a family of two professional writers.

Seminars go deeper into the themes

The Book Fair programme includes a number of seminars that extend the fair themes and go deeper into various subjects bordering literature. On Saturday, for example, Hannu Taanila will ponder who was and is Raoul Palmgren. The question will be answered by Ph.D. Kari Sallamaa, writer Matti Rinne and Phil.Lic. Hanne Koivisto. Other fair seminars compare Finnish and Indian writing, present the literary life in contemporary St Petersburg, and initiate discussion on the basis of the Russian military documents exhibition brought to the fair by the National Archives. Contributors in different seminar include professors Max Engman, Riitta Pyykkö, Timo Soikkanen and Joel Kuortti.

Ooh!

For years, the Turku Book Fair has been a place where you can find something new and inspiring. And even curiosities. One of the most fantastic experiences this year is related to the medicine and philosophy of the theme country India. Yoga instructor Khalsa Inderjit Kaur will lead three Kundalini yoga exercises according to yogi Bhajan on Saturday.

At the fair you can celebrate writer Tapio Koivukari’s birthday together with poet Heli Laaksonen. And see what Nexu the Cat and Bosse the Dog had to do to become stars of a book.

On Saturday, Esa Pulliainen and Tapio Liinoja will get on the new Bella stage. Advance information promises schlagers and strange stories.

Further information:

Programme and content: Kari J. Kettula, Programme Manager, Turku Fair and Congress Center, tel. +358 400 820 534, kari.kettula (at) turunmessukeskus.fi

Lisa Savola, Project Manager of the Book Fair, tel. +358 50 342 8668, lisa.savola (at) turunmessukeskus.fi

The Book fair is open

Friday 2 Oct 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday 3 Oct 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday 4 Oct 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.