BUCH WIEN is a four-day international book fair in Vienna, which takes place annually in November on the grounds of the Messe Wien in the Hall D. A total of around 400 events will take place as part of "Buch Wien". Since 2014, BUCH WIEN has started with the "Long Night of Books" the night before the fair.
Readings, autograph sessions, discussions and new publications of all genres - fiction and crime, cooking and non-fiction, world literature - are part of the program. The children's and youth program includes workshops, readings and talks on various topics such as comics, classic media and social networks and journalistic production. The organizer of the fair is Literatur- und Contentmarketing Ges.m.b.H., owned by the Main Association of the Austrian Book Trade (HVB). [1]
With the introduction of the 2008 Buch Wien, there is also the newly created Reading Festival Week, which is supported by the City of Vienna and the Federal Ministry of Education. [2] As part of this Reading Festival Week, readings, author talks, book signings, and discussion events take place at various locations in Vienna. [3]
Buch Wien has existed in its current form since 2008 and replaced Book Week, which had been held in the Vienna City Hall since 1948 with free admission. [4] BUCH WIEN lasts for four days and can be visited with a valid ticket. [5]
The first trade fair was opened by the Federal President Heinz Fischer and had around 21,600 visitors [6] and therefore only about a third of the visitors compared to the previous event in the town hall. [7] There were 271 exhibitors from 14 countries, presenting around 500 editorials and 6 scenarios. [6] Together with the Reading Festival Week, 31,100 people interested in Literature mobilized at their will. In the second fair of 2009 there were 228 exhibitors from eleven countries with 25,042 visitors. Together with the Reading Festival Week there were 34,500 visitors. [7]
In 2011, the writer and literary critic Günter Kaindlstorfer took over the direction of the BUCH WIEN program from Gabriele Madeja.
On the 10-year anniversary in 2017, a new audience record was set with 48,500 visitors. There were a total of 451 events with 381 authors and 350 exhibitors from 20 countries, providing 8,000 square meters of exhibition space. [8]
In 2018, the exhibition area was expanded to 11,000 m2. There were 51,000 visitors, the number of exhibitors was 370 and more than 400 events were organized.
The twelfth book fair in 2019 had 55,000 visitors, which in turn set a new record. The area was expanded by 1,000 m2 to 12,000 m2. A total of 385 exhibitors from 25 countries presented their publishers and institutions. 575 authors and contributors participated in more than 500 events over five days at the fair and at 35 locations in Vienna. [9]
In 2020, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [10]
In 2021, the book fair took place under pandemic conditions and had 41,000 visitors. The area was 12,150m² in which the exhibitors presented themselves. 513 authors and contributors participated in more than 400 events over five days at the fair and at 23 locations in Vienna. [11]
In 2014, the first Long Night of Books took place, which has since opened Buch Wien. On Wednesday evening, the exhibit hall opens its doors and invites readers to a series of exciting and entertaining events, including a concert, numerous readings and book signings, and a public contest. The keynote speech is a highlight and is considered the beginning of the book fair.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square in the centre of Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh. Billed as The largest festival of its kind in the world, the festival hosts a concentrated flurry of cultural and political talks and debates, along with its well-established children's events programme.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for international deals and trading. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The first three days are restricted exclusively to professional visitors; the general public attend the fair on the weekend.
Feldkirch is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, bordering on Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is the administrative centre of the Feldkirch district. After Dornbirn, it is the second most populous town in Vorarlberg. The westernmost point in Austria lies in Feldkirch on the river Rhine, at the tripoint between Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
The National Book Festival is an annual literary festival held in Washington, D.C. in the United States; it is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, and was founded by Laura Bush and James H. Billington in 2001.
The Hong Kong Book Fair is a book fair organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, held annually at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, selling and exhibiting books, printed matter, stationery, printing, compact discs and other multimedia publishing.
The Word On The Street is a Canadian book and magazine festival held each September in Toronto, Kitchener, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, and Halifax.
The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and digital channels.
Messe Frankfurt is the world's largest trade fair, congress and event organizer with its own exhibition grounds. The organization has 2,500 employees at some 30 locations, generating annual sales of around €661 million. Its services include renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services.
Art Cologne is an art fair held annually in Cologne, Germany and was established in 1967 as Kölner Kunstmarkt. It is regarded as the world's oldest art fair of its kind. The fair runs for six days and brings together galleries from more than 20 countries at the Cologne Exhibition Centre, one of the world’s largest exhibition centers. It is open to the public and attracts about 60,000 visitors.
Wiener Stadthalle is a multi-purpose indoor arena and convention center located in the 15th district of Vienna, Austria. Austrian architect Roland Rainer designed the original halls which were constructed between 1953 and 1958, and later expanded in 1974, 1994 and 2006. The main hall, a multi-purpose venue, is Austria's largest indoor arena with a seating capacity of approximately 16,152 people.
The International Belgrade Book Fair is one of the oldest and most important literary events in the region. Its basic objective is enabling publishers, authors, booksellers, librarians, book distributors, multimedia companies and other participants to establish contacts, exchange experiences, do business deals and establish other forms of business and cultural cooperation. All publishers from Serbia and the most prominent ones from the region feature at the Fair their annual publishing production.
The Berlin International Literature Festival or ilb is an annual event based in Berlin. Every September, the festival presents contemporary poetry, prose, nonfiction, graphic novels and international children's and young adult literature. Renowned authors present themselves next to new talents within the wide-ranging and political programme. The festival is an event of the "Internationale Peter-Weiss-Stiftung". The founder and festival director is Ulrich Schreiber. The 20th ilb was set to take place September 9 through 19, 2020.
The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt's. It is also considered the most important cultural annual event of its kind in the Spanish-speaking world. The purpose of the FIL is to provide an optimal business environment for the book-industry professionals and exhibitors who attend the fair, and for the reading public eager to meet authors and pick up the latest entries in the market.
The New Delhi World Book Fair, hosted at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, is India's second oldest book fair after the Kolkata Book Fair. The first New Delhi World Book Fair was held from March 18 to April 4, 1972, in roughly 6790 m2 area with 200 participants. It was inaugurated by V. V. Giri, then President of India.
jazzahead! is an annual trade fair and festival for jazz, held in the German city of Bremen.
The International Defence Industry Exhibition is the largest trade fair event dedicated to military equipment in Central and Eastern Europe. Established in 1993, it is currently held every year at Targi Kielce in Kielce, Poland. The exhibition brings together over 600 exhibitors from over 30 countries and attracts more than 19,000 visitors annually. The MSPO showcases the latest military technologies, armaments and products for the army. This four-day trade fair is attended by the professionals, who represent Polish Army, the Police, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Interior and Administration, and Polish Government. The event is visited by the world’s largest defense industry powers, such as: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Israel, Italy, Korea, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States. The best products showcased at the event are awarded the annual Award of the RP President, as well as the Defender Awards and Special Commendations of the Minister of National Defence. The International Defence Industry Exhibition is held together with the International Logistics Fair LOGISTYKA. LOGISTYKA displays wide range of products, ranging from uniforms, food products and equipment used for meal preparation to storage and transport, medical equipment, communications and IT systems and electronic engineering solutions.
Messe München GmbH is the operator of the Neue Messe München exhibition center, the ICM Internationales Congress Center München and the MOC Veranstaltungscenter München. The exhibition space of the 16 halls together is 180,000 m2 and another 425,000 m2 of outdoor area, making Messe München by far the holder of the largest outdoor area of all exhibition companies in Germany. Messe München organizes some 40 trade fairs for capital and consumer goods and key high-tech industries in Munich and abroad.
The Venezuela International Book Fair is a national event organized as an initiative of the Venezuelan state since 2005 in various regions to promote reading culture and promote encounter between book readers and writers. The first editions of FILVEN were held only in Caracas, which followed the tradition of previous book fairs in Caracas dating from 1992. Years later, the fair began performing in various cities within the framework exhibition, on dates that did not necessarily coincide, during the same year. Regardless of the location and date, each regional fair retains the same name, slogan, edition number, year, honorees and image.
Book fairs and literary festivals are held throughout South Africa each year to promote literacy among children and adults. A country's literacy rate is often a key social indicator of development. In 2005, UNESCO Institute for Statistics reported a literacy rate of 94.37% among the population aged 15 years and older. The literacy rate among the male population in this age group was 95.4% and 93.41 for female counterparts. According to Statistics South Africa, functional illiteracy among those aged 20 years or older, was recorded at 15.4% in 2005. This has improved from 2002's 27.3%. Women are more likely to be functionally illiterate across all age groups, apart from those aged between 20 and 39 years old.
The Nigeria International Book Fair (NIBF) is an annual cultural event in the republic of Nigeria, established in 2001. It is known to be the most attended book fair in the whole of Africa, being the only international book fair in Nigeria and the second largest international book fair in Africa. Each year the NIBF brings together book enthusiasts such as writers and poets that are generally involved in the creation of print, audio and digital books all over the country. The main aim of the festival is to promote and improve the reading culture among Nigerians and Africans as a whole. Every second week of May annually, the NIBF hosts publishers, booksellers, illustrators, authors, exhibitors and readers, who display and sell their books at discounted prices.
(in German)