Press releases

MINSK, 19 January (BelTA) – The Guest of Honor of the 22nd Minsk International Book Fair will be the People's Republic of China, Belarus Information Minister Liliya Ananich said during an online conference to discuss the new law on mass media hosted by BelTA website.

The Guest of Honor is preparing a large exposition and a series of activities. According to the minister, during the expo Belarus and the People's Republic of China are set to sign a memorandum on the translation of the Belarusian literature into Chinese and the Chinese literature into Belarusian. This will help promote more actively Belarusian books outside the country.

Liliya Ananich also reported that from 11 to 15 February Minsk is expecting visitors from more than 20 countries. National publishers, publishers of foreign countries will present their best print products. The main exhibitor of the 22nd Minsk international book expo will be the Russian Federation.

This year's event will be held in the administrative complex at 14 Prospekt Pobeditelei. For the first time the book fair will hold an international symposium of writers "Writer and Time". "We hope that the writers from more than 20 countries will arrive in Belarus to discuss the current problems of not only literature but also the actual spiritual and moral development of the society and the state. The word of a writer has always been a word that has reflected the spiritual and moral message of the aspirations of the society and the state and the assessment of the developments that happen in the world,” said the minister.

Talking about the optimization of the publishing industry, the Information Minister said that this year wil herald some changes and new approaches. “For example, today we have some publishing areas where both state-owned and privately-held publishers can offer many interesting projects and they all may qualify for state support. We would like the state to have an opportunity to provide support on a competitive basis for the best book projects," the minister said. However, some segments of book publishing such as educational, encyclopedic, political literature will remain under the patronage of the information Ministry. Currently there are more than 400 book publishing agencies in Belarus.