Radio and books

Nineteen years ago, the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation came up with the idea of organising a book fair, and to this day it has remained the only media institution in Europe to hold a cultural event of its kind. This year, for its 20th edition, Gaudeamus brings together thousands of Romanian and international titles, as well as a large variety of events and surprises prepared by publishers.

Here are the representatives of two Romanian publishing houses:

“Niculescu Publishers offers readers a lot of new titles. This year we have continued our series of geographic atlases and general-knowledge books, and a new release in the Khaled Hosseini series, namely ‘And the Mountains Echoed’.”

“Humanitas and Humanitas Fiction publishers have 70 new releases. 1,000 books are available in total.”

Exhibitions, reading competitions, a Children’s Book Salon as well as a salon of inventions and science for youth are some of the highlights of the fair. Attending the opening ceremony on Wednesday, the Education Minister Remus Pricopie said:

“The fact that we have representatives of foreign publishers and international book stands proves the European scale of this fair. Congratulations to Radio Romania, and I’m sure today’s students will be able to remember with great pleasure each edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair.”

The most long-lasting and dynamic book fair in Romania, Gaudeamus brings together 400 participants. The guest of honour this year is the group of Nordic countries including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, which participate in the fair under the motto “Nordic Cool in Bucharest.”

On Thursday, diplomats and writers from these countries promoted a healthy life style by means of a bicycle tour in the central exhibition pavilion. Later, the Romanian and foreign authors launching their books at the fair, as well as local showbiz celebrities decided to take part in a charity activity in which lemonade will be sold and the proceeds donated to children suffering from cancer.

A special partner of this year’s edition is the Group of Francophone Embassies, Delegations and Institutions in Romania, whose French-language book stand marks the 20th anniversary of Romania’s joining the International Organisation of La Francophonie.

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