The 19th edition of the Bookfest International Book Salon will take place June 3 - 7 at Romexpo's Pavilion B2, with 158 exhibitors and 455 events scheduled for readers and professionals.

This year's Guest of Honour is Bulgaria.

Dan Croitoru, member of the Board of the Romanian Publishers Association and editorial director at Polirom, said Bookfest continues to grow as a major cultural platform.

'We will have 158 exhibitors and 455 events across common spaces and publishers' stands. A dedicated stand of the Frankfurt Book Fair will also be arranged, with six publishers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and fair officials meeting Romanian publishers ahead of Romania's role as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt 2028 Book Fair,' Croitoru said.

He added that new titles by Mircea Cartarescu, Cristian Tudor Popescu, Gabriela Adamesteanu, Mircea Mihaies, Moni Stanila, Simona Antonescu, Lucian Teodorovici, Bogdan Cretu, Andreea Rasuceanu and Filip Florian will be launched.

'Bookfest has been a strategic project of the Ministry of Culture for four years now and has been under the High Patronage of the President of Romania since 2016,' Croitoru mentioned.

Bulgaria's ambassador to Romania, Radko Vlaykov, highlighted the deep historical ties between the two countries and welcomed the strong Bulgarian presence at this year's fair.

He recalled that in 1870, eight Bulgarian printing houses operated in Romania and that many major Bulgarian cultural figures had close links to Bucharest and other Romanian cities.

'I would like to say that there is no prominent figure in Bulgarian history whose destiny is not connected to Romania, to Bucharest, or to one of the other cities: Hristo Botev, Vasil Levski, Georgi Rakovski. The Bulgarian people have always expressed their gratitude for the help offered by Romania. This is what we rely on today as well, affirming how much we value this friendship and cooperation between the cultural and literary communities of Bulgaria and Romania, which has lasted for centuries. The collaboration did not stop before 1989 either, during the totalitarian period, but the post-1989 period proved particularly fruitful,' the Bulgarian diplomat said.

He noted that Romania was Guest of Honour at the Sofia Book Fair in 2014 and expressed hope that Bulgaria's program in Bucharest would match that standard.

Cultural manager Oana Boca Stanescu, Romania's coordinator for the Guest of Honor program, outlined the main events, including meetings with Bulgarian authors, presentations of newly translated works, and Romanian-Bulgarian cultural dialogues.

The Bulgarian stand, organized by the Bulgarian Book Association with support from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, will feature a wide selection of Bulgarian-language titles and Romanian translations.

Bulgaria is bringing a 14-member delegation of writers, poets and children's authors, who will take part in events at Romexpo as well as readings and discussions in bookstores and cultural venues across Bucharest.

One of the most anticipated guests is Georgi Gospodinov, considered among Europe's leading contemporary authors. He will appear at Bookfest and at an additional off-site event.

On June 3 at 18:00, Gospodinov will be in conversation with Mircea Cartarescu on the ARENA Stage, moderated by cultural journalist Mirela Nagat. On June 4 at 19:00, at Humanitas Cismigiu, he will launch the Romanian translation of his novel 'Death and the Gardener', published this year by Anansi. World Fiction, in the rendering of Mariana Mangiulea Jatop.

Other Bulgarian guests include Ioanna Elmy, Elena Alexieva, Kostadin Kostadinov, Petia Kokudeva and Nadejda Radulova. Bulgarian writer Todor P. Todorov, nominated for the 2024 EU Prize for Literature, will hold a dialogue with Romanian writer Bogdan Cretu, nominated in 2025.

On the opening day at 17:00, the latest issue of LIK magazine, themed 'BG SPA - Health Through Water', will be presented at the Bulgarian stand, with BTA director general Kiril Valchev, AGERPRES director general Claudia Nicolae, and ambassador Vlaykov attending. Journalist Martina Gancheva will moderate.

Bookfest visiting hours are 10:00 - 20:00 on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 10:00 - 21:00 on Friday and Saturday. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)