Professional programme will focus on children’s books and AI, while public can browse thousands of titles

With preparations in full swing, the 4th Limassol International Book Fair is getting ready to lift the curtain later this month. A rich programme of talks, discussions, meetings with publishers, authors and book industry professionals are fast approaching and the organisers have announced who are the speakers.

Coming up at the Carob Mills on November 21 to 23, the fair begins with the full-day Limassol International Book Fair Conference where book professionals from Cyprus, Greece, Europe and the Arab world, will reconnect to discuss and navigate local, regional and international challenges and opportunities in the field.

With a rich and expanded programme, this year’s keynote talks and roundtable discussions offer opportunities for questions and interventions, and concludes with a cocktail reception. Networking meetings will also take place in the second edition of the B2B Space.

A total of 36 speakers from Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lebanon and the United Kingdom will participate this year in the international professional programme. In the library sessions, this year’s speakers include Deputy Minister of Culture Vasiliki Kassianidou; Stephen Wyber, representing IFLA; Giannis Tsakonas, Director of the University of Patras Library and Vice President of the Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER); librarian Giorgos Glossiotis (Knowledge Rights 21); and George Andrew Zannos, Director of OSDEL.

In the publishing and bookselling sessions, speakers include Sara Lloyd, Global AI Lead at Pan Macmillan; translator and cultural manager Alexandra Büchler (Literature Across Frontiers, ENLIT); Hanife İçten, responsible for Cyprus and Greece on behalf of the Frankfurt Book Fair; Hélène Pasquet of the French Bayard group and Vice President of the Children’s Book Group of the French Publishers Association (SNE); Egyptian publisher Ahmed Rashad (Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah); Lebanese publisher Lina Chebaro (Arab Scientific Publishers); international agent Mauro Spagnol (Books Everywhere); publisher Eleni Papageorgiou (Metaichmio Publications); and author and educator Elena Perikleous, Commissioner for Children’s Rights; as well as Dimitris Skouredis, Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology; Marios Tannousis, CEO of Invest Cyprus; and Dimitris Chatzisofoklis, CEO of the Center for Social Innovation (CSI).

“This year, the library sessions will focus on plans for the Cyprus Library, on ebook lending by Cypriot libraries, on the role of libraries in research and scholarly communication, as well as on best practices in library advocacy,” organisers say. “In the publishing and bookselling sessions, the professional programme of the Limassol International Book Fair continues to contribute to capacity building in the Cypriot book sector and to its international networking, with two special focus events and one seminar. Thus, we present our first focus on children’s publishing in international book markets, France, Greece and Cyprus.

“In the ΑΙ focus, we zero in on the responsible and productive use of artificial intelligence in book publishing, with keynote speaker Sara Lloyd of the Pan Macmillan publishing group. We organise a seminar on translation at the intersection of cultural exchange, publishing strategies, rights trading and artificial intelligence. This seminar includes talks, a workshop, a roundtable discussion, and networking opportunities, and represents our first activity within the European project ThinkPub. Finally, we showcase publishing initiatives from the Eastern Mediterranean and explore Cyprus’ prospects as a hub connecting the publishing scene of the wider region with Europe.”

Meanwhile, the general public will get the chance to browse hundreds of book titles and meet authors at the General Exhibition on November 22 and 23 which will welcome 113 exhibitors and 125 events across 6 stages.

4th Limassol International Book Fair

Annual book fair and conference for book lovers and industry professionals. November 21-23. Lanitis Carob Mills, Limassol. www.limassolbookfair.com