From 31 January to 5 February 2023, the TIBE Taipei International Book Exhibition will be held in Taipei participated by Poland as guest of honour. The exhibition in Taipei is one of the most important events of its kind in the Far East and at the same time an element of the Book Institute’s consistently pursued strategy of the presence of Polish literature abroad, including in places where it has hitherto received little attention.

“Although Polish literature has been triumphing over the world in recent years, as evidenced for example by the Nobel Prize for Olga Tokarczuk, numerous awards for our children’s literature at the prestigious Bologna International Book Fair or nominations for important international awards for Polish prose and poetry, we are still trying to make it reach as many places in the world as possible. Hence our presence at the International Book Exhibition in Taipei, where the Book Institute, with the support of the Polish Office in Taipei and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, is the main organiser of the Polish presentation” emphasizes the Book Institute.

The Taiwanese fair will be an opportunity to present all that is best in Polish literature and the art of illustration to readers and publishers there, as well as to publishers from East Asia (including South Korea and Japan). Emphasis will be placed on books that will be published soon or have been published in recent years in traditional Chinese translation and in English – novels, short story collections, essays, reports, poetry and literature for children and young people.

“We are very keen to have a lasting presence in the Asian market. We are also currently planning to expand into Spanish-speaking markets. In Taiwan, we have the largest exhibition area so far, over 440 square metres. Such a fair is not only about books, but also about the promotion of the entire Polish culture abroad”, said Dariusz Jaworski, director of the Book Institute.

Adrian Andrzejewski