“Years later I slipped it into the Kindle store one day and, despite it being written in the first person as a twelve year old Romanian girl in WWII, it sold a quarter million copies.”

TNPS Note: For reasons beyond control, this post goes live as the event ends, instead of before the start.

Romania’s Biggest Book Fair Returns with Expanded Programme and International Focus

From 28 May through 1 June, the Bucharest International Book Fair (Bookfest) returns to Romexpo for its 18th edition, uniting 155 exhibitors and hosting over 450 cultural events – a record for the five-day festival.

“This scale reflects the growing vitality of Romania’s literary scene,” said Lidia Bodea, General Manager of Humanitas Publishing House and representative of the Romanian Publishers Association (AER).

Portugal in the Spotlight

This year’s Guest of Honour, Portugal, will take centre stage with a dedicated pavilion featuring 25 events, including film screenings and author talks. Prominent Portuguese writers – such as José Luís Peixoto, Gonçalo M. Tavares, and Ana Margarida de Carvalho – will attend, alongside publishing leaders Henrique Mota (President of the Federation of European Publishers) and Rosa Azevedo, a seasoned Portuguese publishing professional. Visitors can also participate in a “cultural passport” initiative, with one lucky winner receiving a trip to Portugal.

A Hub for Literary Exchange

Beyond the Portuguese programme, Bookfest will host panels, launches, and debates, fostering cross-border dialogue.

“The fair has matured into a true European intellectual meeting point,” noted Bodea.

The event’s expanded schedule – covering fiction, non-fiction, and children’s literature – offers publishing professionals fresh networking and trend-spotting opportunities.

Engagement Beyond the Page

Interactive experiences, from film screenings to reader meet-ups, aim to bridge the gap between authors and audiences.

The View From the Beach

My affair with Romania began as a fourteen year old, way back in nineteen-bow-and-arrow, when I had a pen-friend, Anca, who lived in Bucharest. We never met, but her wonderfully thesaurusy style of English and her family history (grandparents murdered in Auschwitz) had me spellbound, and many years later it became my Holocaust novel Anca’s Story.

The book was written as a tribute to Anca, not for publication, after she was killed in an earthquake, but years later I slipped it into the Kindle store one day and, despite it being written in the first person as a twelve year old Romanian girl in WWII, it sold a quarter million copies.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.