The Turin Book Fair gives everyone a
say, Director Annalena Benini said as the 37th edition of
Italy's biggest book fair was set to kick off Thursday.
The Book Fair is a meeting place for publishers, writers and
readers, where everyone has the right to speak because "culture
is neither right-wing nor left-wing", said Benini, in her second
year as director.
She said she is not afraid of the all-too-common controversies
linked to the event which, on the other hand, have not yet
reared their head this year.
In the programme she has developed, as always, there is room for
writers and intellectuals of all orientations, there are no
fences or barriers, not even those linked to the many ongoing
conflicts.
At Turin's iconic former Fiat Lingotto exhibition space, where
on Thursday there is a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the presence
of the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli, preparations are in
full swing. Annalena Benini's gaze is on the weather, which
"luckily promises to be nice, even hot", less on the numbers
after the success of 2024 when visitors reached the record quota
of 222,000.
"They don't worry us, not chasing numbers makes us more serene
and also more attentive to what we do. Naturally we are
optimistic. There are beautiful signs of attention towards the
Salone" underlines the director.
At her side are Silvio Viale, president of the Associazione
Torino la Città del Libro, and Piero Crocenzi, CEO of the Salone
Libro company, who illustrate the novelties of the new edition
with 1,225 publishing brands in 980 stands, and the meticulous
attention to spaces and services "to make life easier for
exhibitors, publishers, but also for visitors, to provide a
pleasant and welcoming experience".
"Culture is made of words and words are precious, light,
precise, they try to tell a present in motion and we give space
to all this. Above all we give space to the meeting also between
different points of view" explains Benini.
"It will be a celebration, the celebration of the meeting, the
celebration of words and reading. We have tried to please
everyone, there are many new features, a program of great
quality and attention to the innovation offered by small
publishers and their efforts. We will reward them with the
Ernesto Ferrero Fondazione Crt Award that we established this
year. There will be a lot of music intertwined with words, on
the external stage and in the rooms, and a lot of space as
always for kids and children also thanks to the new section
Crescere".
Among the events Benini is keen to remember the inaugural lesson
of the French writer and playwright Jasmina Reza, the return
after 40 years of Scott Turow with Presumed Guilty, the dialogue
between Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and rock star Ligabue, Emmanuel
Carrere who talks about Philip Roth, and Valerie Perrin.
Then there is the meeting in which Benini herself will introduce
Caroline Darian, Gisele Pelicot's daughter, who has chosen a
public trial to tell the story of the violence suffered by her
husband and dozens of other men "it seems to me an act of great
courage on the part of the daughter, she will tell the story of
the storm in which they found themselves and how they managed to
move the side of shame".
"We are honored that all the great writers have this great
desire and availability towards the Salone".
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