Türkiye’s largest book fair kicks off after two years

ISTANBUL

The TÜYAP Istanbul Book Fair has opened its doors following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, with the visitors expecting “fair prices.”

Organized for the 39th time this year, Istanbul Book Fair is Türkiye’s most comprehensive fair that welcomes book lovers and authors from home and abroad.

The fair, which started on Dec. 3, will mediate the meeting of bibliophiles with books until Dec. 11.

Like every year, the fair will host publishing houses and authors from the country and abroad and will host 2,000 signing days and hundreds of cultural events.

Readers will also be able to access the books at more affordable prices than usual, stated Kenan Kocatürk, the head of the Turkish Publishers Association.

“Whoever you ask says, ‘Even if TÜYAP starts, we can buy books at a discount,’” he added.

Stating that a record attendance is expected this year, considering the two years without a fair, İlhan Ersözlü, the general manager of TÜYAP, said that they had had a good preparation period.

“We continue to grow even more from where we left off. Two generations grew up in this fair. We have an essential mission,” Ersözlü noted.

The fair is not only a place for book sales and author-reader gatherings but also a meeting point that establishes a “dialogue” among readers and brings publishers together from different genres, Ersözlü pointed out.

“In this aspect, it is a sociocultural sample area. In a way, it is an example of solidarity as it offers cultural diversity and publications from all genres and views,” Ersözlü added.

Noting that Türkiye is fifth in the world in new books publishing, Ersözlü stated that though it’s not possible to see all of the 350,000-400,000 books on sale in the country, the fair fills this gap to some extent.

About 200,000 books will be waiting for their readers in the stands.

Meanwhile, Nazlı Eray was the honorary author of the fair, which focused on fantasy literature, science fiction and magical realism with the theme of ”The Magical World of the Book.”

“I am excited to meet my readers. I have readers from many different age groups. They are coming to signing days. Both grandmothers and grandchildren read my books,” Eray noted.

“The biggest route in my understanding of literature has been the magical realism movement. I have magic realism in my soul. I am living a life like everyone else. I write what I have experienced,” she added.