Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Conference of International Book Fair Directors, which represents a wide swath of international fairs, issued an open letter condemning the Russian attack. The letter reads, in part, "As the creator of platforms where publishers, writers, agents, translators and illustrators can interact and engage openly and where free expression and critical voices are cherished, we categorically deplore the Russian regime’s use of force. We cannot remain either silent or indifferent to Russia’s transformation of Ukraine into a killing field. We, therefore, resolve to suspend contact with any Russian state institutions and agencies and invite publishers and authors from Ukraine to exhibit in our fairs at no cost."
The letter was signed by the directors of the international book fairs in Bologna, Bogota, Brussels, Budapest, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Guadalajara, Jerusalem, Leipzig, Prague, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Taipei and Warsaw.
At the Bologna Fair on March 22 at 5:45 p.m., the conference is sponsoring a talk by Israeli author Etgar Keret to discuss "What stories can you tell in times of war?" at the Illustrator's Cafe. The event will be streamed live.
In addition, the fair has sponsored an exhibit of books produced by members of the Ukrainian Book Institute; the display is located in Hall 26, stand A174.
