During the seven-day 29th International Book Fair Banja Luka 2024, organized by “Glas Srpske,” more than 20,000 visitors attended, exploring the publishing stands and numerous promotions and panels held as part of the fair’s program.
The official part of the program concluded on Sunday evening with the promotion of the books “The Story of the Dove and the Dove-Man” and “The Three Hands of the Wall Clock,” by veterans of the domestic literary scene Ranko Risojević and Ranko Pavlović, published by “Art Scena” from Banja Luka. The sales portion of the publishing offer wrapped up yesterday, which, according to both the organizers and the audience, boasted the best selection to date at this year’s fair.
On behalf of the organizers, “Glas Srpske,” fair director Petra Ivić stated that despite numerous challenges, this edition of the event exceeded even the most optimistic expectations while also drawing attention to ongoing obstacles that hinder its progress.
“First and foremost, I must thank all the lovers of the written word, who came in large numbers over the past few days, confirming that the book fair and the book itself, despite all difficulties, still have their purpose and significance. I would also like to thank the Ministry of Culture and Education of Republika Srpska, as our key partner in organizing the fair, and I must highlight the outstanding contribution of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Publishing Institute of Republika Srpska, and the Publishers’ Association of BiH, who, along with many other publishers, helped us achieve the strongest and most diverse publishing offer in the history of ‘Glas’ fair,” said Ivić.
Strong attendance, a rich offer from over 100 publishing houses ranging from major publishers like “Laguna” and “Vulkan” to smaller ones who collectively showcased their offer to readers, as well as an interesting accompanying program of promotions and panels, would have been even more robust if not for the chronic issues facing “Glas Srpske” as the organizer and others hosting similar events, according to Ivić.
“The excellent turnout of around 20,000 visitors over seven days shows that there is still interest in the fair’s offerings. The problem is that, for technical reasons, we had to limit the fair’s capacity and the number of visitors. Simply put, Banja Luka lacks adequate fair space suited for this type of event, with sufficient parking and much larger capacity for publisher stands. This year, too, we had to be selective with the offer, as it was physically impossible to accommodate all the stands in the given space. I would like to point out that, as in previous years, the fair, with the support of the ministries of culture from Srpska and Serbia, has traditionally donated a significant number of books to the collection of the National and University Library of Republika Srpska,” Ivić added.
The Banja Luka-based publishing house “Ramajama” participated in this year’s fair at the stand of the Publishing Community of BiH. According to its director Miroslav Gojković, this year’s fair reaffirmed that the value of books is indestructible.
“A book is an institution. A book is not a fleeting phenomenon but something that has existed as long as human civilization itself. Books are still being sold and read, covering a very broad and extremely interesting range of interests from the fair’s visitors. Classics sell very well, from domestic names to German, Russian, French, and Anglo-Saxon literature, as well as current titles in popular psychology and bestselling books,” said Gojković.
The jury of the 29th International Book Fair Banja Luka 2024, organized by “Glas Srpske,” awarded four traditional fair prizes this year. The “Moštanica” award for publishing venture of the year was given to the book “Nemanjići,” prepared by Željko Perović and published by “Pi-Pres” from Pirot. The “Liplje” award for contemporary literature went to the Belgrade-based “Laguna” for the book “Heroes and Losers,” while the publishing house “JPJ” from Belgrade received the “Gomionica” award for the collection “The Little Horseman in the Duck School” by the renowned doyen of Serb literature, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj. The “Stuplje” award, for nurturing Serb tradition and Orthodox spirituality, was presented to the publishing house “Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva” from East Sarajevo for Jovan B. Dušanić’s book “The Founders of Republika Srpska at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries.” All the awards were presented by a jury chaired by Duško Pevulja, with members Jelena Glišić, writer, and Prof. Dr. Vladan Bartula.
Ćopić
This year’s fair was dedicated to the great writer Branko Ćopić, marking 40 years since the passing of this literary giant from Hašani.
As part of the fair, a literary evening titled “Remembering Ćopić” was held, featuring writers Milosav Tešić, Ranko Risojević, and Vladimir Kecmanović. The program also included panels on “The Works of Branko Ćopić for Children and Youth” and “How Present is Ćopić Today and What Do Children and Youth Read Most Frequently Today?”
Source: Glas Srpske
