Kocaeli Book Fair to donate books to Van province
KOCAELİ - Anatolia News Agency
The Kocaeli Book Fair is one of the youngest such fairs in Turkey, but it is developing very quickly, organizers say.
The fourth annual Kocaeli Book Fair started on May 12, hosting representatives from 350 publishing houses.The Kocaeli Book Fair is one of the youngest such fairs in Turkey, but the fair is developing very quickly, according to its organizers. The fair will continue until May 20, and will contribute to cultural life in Kocaeli. The fair is taking place at the city’s International Fair Center, and will include symposiums, exhibitions, and conferences.
The fair will also include a project to send books to Van, which experienced a major earthquake this year. The campaign, titled “A book for me, a book for Van,” aims to help Van, especially children there. Everyone who buys a book at the fair will also be sending a book to Van.
Another highlight of the Kocaeli Book Far is its reading project, as part of which 5,000 students will read the same book at the
same time. This event will also continue as a campaign to promote reading for kids.
Once again this year the fair will feature an installation of books hanging in trees throughout the city. The same event took place last year and drew attention from other cities. When people left their houses on May 11 they were surprised to see books hanging on trees in Kocaeli, which they were free to collect and read. This is a free book delivery project of the fair.
Last year a total of 260,000 people visited the fair. This year the organizers expect a record-breaking number. Speaking at the fair’s opening conference Kocaeli Mayor İbrahim Karaosamanoğlu said the Kocaeli Book Fair is the third largest book fair in Turkey. “The fair will host 50 different cultural events.” Noting that last year’s fair received numerous visitors from the Anatolian side of Istanbul, Karaosmanoğlu said: “This year we are expecting to see more visitors from all around Turkey. Already this year we have seen many people attending from Sakarya and Yalova.”
The honorary guest of this year’s fair is historian and writer Orhan Koloğlu. Koloğlu will participate in seminars and conferences at the fair. The fair will also host famous Turkish writers such as Ahmet Ümit, Bejan Matur, Mümtazer Türköne, İlber Ortaylı, Mustafa Armağan, Üstün Dökmen, Ayşe Kulin, Mustafa Armağan, Yavuz Bahadıroğlu, Enver Aysever and İlhan Eliaçık. These writers will also participate in conferences and be available to meet with their readers.
