World Book Capital

Ljubljana – A number of cities, towns and villages will join annual outdoor reading in parks, squares and along rivers starting in Ljubljana on Friday for the 18th year. Eight locations in Ljubljana will take part in the Library under the Treetops project alongside another 13 Slovenian towns and one in neighbouring Austria.

The Pulitzer Prize winning Greek-American author Jeffrey Eugenides will visit Athens on September 27 as part of the Athens 2018 World Book Capital celebrations organized by the Municipality of Athens with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the US Embassy in Athens.

Dozens of publishers are showing their wares at the book fair organized by Greece's Association of Book Publishers in the leafy forecourt of the Zappeio Mansion in central Athens from August 31 to September. This year's installment of the annual event is expected to be richer in terms of parallel events, as Athens has been named World Book Capital for 2018 by UNESCO.

Critically acclaimed British screenwriter and novelist Ian McEwan has been invited to deliver a talk, titled "The Self: The Invention of the Literary Persona," as part of events marking Athens's stint as 2018 World Book Capital. The lecture at the Athens Concert Hall, organized with the support of the British Council, starts at 7 p.m.

Athens on Monday started its one-year tenure as the World Book Capital, during which time it will host more than 250 book-related events across the city.

German poet Jan Wagner, recipient of the Georg Buchner and Popescu prizes, will appear at the Goethe Institute on Friday, March 23, as part of events for the 2018 Athens World Book Capital initiative. Wagner will discuss his work and sign books, while there will also be a presentation of selected poems that have been translated into Greek.

The city of Athens has been announced from UNESCO as the World Book Capital for 2018. The proposed program includes meetings with writers, translators and illustrators, concerts, thematic exhibitions, poetry readings and workshops for publishing professionals. The aim of the program is to make books accessible to the city’s entire population, including migrants and refugees.