The Porto Book Fair, which runs from August 23 to September 8 at the Palácio de Cristal Gardens, pays homage this year to “the poet of light” Eugénio de Andrade and has hundreds of activities.
“The Porto Book Fair is a unique opportunity to get to know or deepen the work of Eugénio de Andrade (1923-2005),” said the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, at the presentation of the program.
For 17 days, Avenida das Tílias, in the Palácio de Cristal Gardens, will be home to 115 publishers, booksellers and booksellers, who will be spread over 130 stands.
The gardens will also host 16 talks, 15 poetry and humor sessions, four film screenings, 21 concerts, seven book presentations and more than 50 activities for children and families.
Considering the event “a unique opportunity to get to know the work” of Eugénio de Andrade and to discover “other facets” of the poet, the mayor also said that the Book Fair will take place against the “backdrop” of the 50th anniversary of April 25.
“The fair will not cease to be permeable to the historical event that bequeathed us democracy,” he said.
Also present at the presentation, the literary programmer, João Gesta, stressed that this 11th edition of the event has “a powerful program”.
João Gesta is joined in this edition by the poet Andreia C. Faria, who is commissioner of the tribute.
The ceremony to award the Tribute Lime, on August 24 at 3pm, marks the beginning of the initiatives dedicated to the life and work of Eugénio de Andrade, the poet who won the Camões prize in 2001.
João Gesta also said that this year’s Book Fair will feature figures such as Gonçalo M. Tavares, José Luís Peixoto, Dulce Maria Cardoso, Capicua, Pilar Del Río, António Zambujo, Gisela João, Tiago Nacarato and Frankie Chavez.
Like the previous edition, this year’s Book Fair is the result of an investment of around 650,000 euros.
In 2023, the Porto Book Fair celebrated the writer and journalist Manuel António Pina and welcomed around 190,000 visitors.
For 17 days, the Palácio de Cristal Gardens were home to 108 publishers, booksellers and booksellers, who received a record number of visits, 20% more than in the 2022 edition.
