Busy Romanian Book Fair Masks Decay in Reading

The ninth Bookfest, the most important book fair in Romania, opened on Thursday and will stay open until June 1.

Under the slogan “Quo Vadis, Poland To the next Nobel?” this year's fair will have a Polish flavour, with a series of events promoting Polish literature in Romania. Danuta Walesa, the wife of former Polish leader Lech Walesa, is among this year’s guests.

During the book fair, an expected 100,000 visitors will enjoy works from over 200 Romanian and foreign publishers, presented in a large exhibition space. They can also participate in debates and roundtables, exhibitions, and autograph sessions as well as browse books, magazines and other publications from Romania and abroad.

Bookfest’s schedule also includes special events for children, marking Children’s Day on June 1.

While big book fairs continue to flourish, industry specialists are pessimistic about the future of reading in Romania as a whole.

In recent years, the number of people enjoying literature has constantly fallen. The average number of books bought per inhabitant in Romania is just one a year, while in countries like Poland and Hungary the average is 8 to 10.

The average price of a book in Romania is of 25 lei, or around 4.5 euro.

A recent study carried out by the research centre Center for Social Studies says more than 50 per cent of Romanian have not read a single book so far this year.

The survey also revealed a worrying lack of interest among young people, as a third of the respondents aged between 18 and 30 years said they didn’t read any books this year.

Out of the total of all respondents, 15 per cent had read five or more books, and 11 per cent had read three or four.

During the Communist era, Romania...