In the 90s it experienced its greatest glory, since the participations increased so much that its area started from the statue of Admiral Votsis and reached all the way to Macedonia Pallas.
While in the sky of Thessaloniki the sun and the clouds are fighting for who will prevail, the iron structures in Nea Paralia are starting to be erected and on some of them the white awning is placed on the upper part, reminding the pavilions that every year host favorite books and new publications within the framework of the Thessaloniki Book Festival.
The work on setting up the facilities for the 42nd event started today, while the forecasts of the National Meteorological Service give as a favorite for the next days the clouds and indeed those that carry rain.
“Bad weather is the charm of the festival,” says Babis Barpounakis, president of the Association of Publishers of Northern Greece (S.EK.BE), speaking to the Athenian/Macedonian News Agency, recalling that this is how the first event began 42 years ago .
“The first year was the worst, the wind threw the books into the sea and we collected them with shovels and with the help of some fishermen who had approached with their boats, they collected them and gave them to us”, says Mr. Barbounakis and admits that “we were unprepared for something like this in the maiden event. And for the next 3-4 years, the weather conditions were very adverse, while since then it has rained every year, with the exception of the pandemic period, when we moved the dates back two weeks”, he points out.
The stands should be ready by next Friday when the 42nd Thessaloniki Book Festival starts, while the weather continues to maintain the myth that this cultural event wants to bring rain to the city… “The truth is that the weather helped us a lot , because the world liked us and sympathized with us for that”, says the person in charge of an organization that, in the course of all these years, did not hesitate to … self-mockery, printing posters, where, in addition to the book, the umbrella was also the star.
The opponents of the first event and the establishment of the summer season as the best in the book.
It was in the early 80’s when the -young at the time- Babis Barbounakis participated in the organization of a book festival that took place in the Field of Ares in Athens. Together with a group of publishers from Northern Greece, they decided the following year to do something similar in Thessaloniki.
However, this particular idea did not only have supporters, but also people who fought against it a lot. “From the first moment, we were in favor of promoting and spreading the book. However, there were some booksellers and publishers who – in my opinion – had a narrow professional understanding that a festival would cause financial damage to their bookstores”, says Mr. Barbounakis. The same people protested in Thessaloniki’s town hall and a marathon meeting of the municipal council had to be held which lasted until the morning and in which many different opinions were heard, until finally the one to hold it prevailed. “We found the support of the then mayor Thanasis Giannoussi and in 1982 the first festival started, of course with the participation of some booksellers, since not everyone was against this idea,” he adds.
It took some years, as Mr. Barbounakis says, to convince even those who tried to get in the way of the organization’s implementation, which finally succeeded in promoting and disseminating the book significantly. “Until then, when the schools were closed there was no traffic at all in the bookstores. In June everything stopped and summer was considered the dead season of the book. Christmas and partly Easter were considered the best time. However, the Festival, from the 90s onwards, established the summer reading season, which to this day is the best period for the book and in terms of its purchase, especially for best-sellers”, he explains.
To achieve this change in the habits of the reading public, he estimates that the events with the regional festivals held in various cities of Northern Greece by the Association of Publishers of Northern Greece, which was established immediately after the first Book Festival, also helped. “We started many more actions, such as the international book fair, which we organized for the first time in 2002 under the name International Book Festival. Also, the ten days for children’s books, but also literature in schools, where we visited school classes with authors, who until then were considered unreachable and brought the children closer to the book”, says Mr. Barbounakis, emphasizing that this period brought and the best twenty years (1990-2010) both for the Festival and for the book in general.
“The internet will not affect the book”
The Book Festival that came and stayed in Thessaloniki was also supported by the late Melina Merkouri, who – as the president of S.EK.BE reports, visited it every year while she was a minister. During its operation, prime ministers and party leaders were also present.
In the 90s it experienced its greatest glory, since the participations increased so much that its area started from the statue of Admiral Votsis and reached all the way to Macedonia Pallas.
After the period of crisis and the pandemic that followed, both the participations in the Festival and the purchase of the book were greatly affected. “The number of new titles decreased, while the circulation also fell. We used to print 3,000 copies of each book. We got down to 1,000, while today we often print less than a thousand”, says the president of S.EK.BE, saying however that the revolution in printing now helps to publish new books very quickly.
He, himself, is not afraid of the possibility that the Internet will affect the printed book, and he feels optimistic that these two, when the landscape becomes a little clearer, will manage to keep up.
“Accordingly, in 1969, when television had arrived, there were voices saying that the book would be stopped. But television helped the book. The only thing that has been affected due to the internet, is a category of books that have to do with information and not with history or literature, since the world even from their mobile phone can have an immediate information, which however cannot cover a wide range, such as what encyclopedias offer for example”, he notes.
Dedicated to K. Palamas and G. Vafopoulos
The 42nd Book Festival of Thessaloniki is this year dedicated to two important poets, the benefactor of Thessaloniki George Vafopoulos (120 years since his birth, 1903-2023) for his contribution to the letters and cultural events of the city, but also to Kostis Palamas (80 years since his death, 1943-2023) for his contribution to Greek letters and his greatness.
The participations exceed 100, with an increase of about 12% compared to last year, many parallel events related to music, dance and theater and about 500 authors who will present their books in addition to the main stage and in the stands of the publishing houses. It will take place from June 23 to July 9 in Nea Paralia, from the height of the White Tower. Opening hours are daily from 7pm to 11pm.
Source :Skai
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
