Coimbra Book Fair Returns

Discover the vibrant Coimbra Book Fair with 48 pavilions, literary events, and cultural activities. Explore renowned personalities and celebrate literature!

on Jun 10, 2024

The Book Fair returns to downtown Coimbra from June 14 to 23, with 48 pavilions and over a hundred activities scheduled.

The Book Fair will take place in three locations: Praça do Comércio, Largo do Romal, and Largo do Poço. During the event, these areas will be renamed Praça das Famílias (with a children's program) and Praça da Arte e da Criação (focusing on "artistic thinking"), based on the activities they will host.

Parallel locations for activities include Parque Manuel Braga and restaurants like Izakaya ONI and Dona Lúcia under the "Rota de Contos nas Tabernas" initiative.

New programmatic spaces in Praça do Comércio include the Luís de Camões Auditorium (center of the Square) and the Liberdade Stage (replacing the tent in front of the Church of Santiago and ending before the Church's stairs, allowing visitors to sit and watch presentations).
The program features notable personalities in art, literature, and music, like Mário Cláudio, Lídia Jorge, Tom Farias, Sam The Kid, Manuel Cruz, Valter Lobo, and Capicua, among others.

"We were aware that, in order to grow, there needed to be robustness from a programming point of view and strong concepts, so that we could, eventually, in the future, make 'Baixinha' a kind of small literary village in the middle of the city" , said Rafael Nascimento.

Associação Cultural Apura, one of the municipality's partners in this event, was responsible for mediating and programming the stage at "Praça da Arte e da Criação" (Largo do Poço), which is "a showcase of the work developed" by various cultural agents from the city throughout the year, such as Escola da Noite, Cena Lusófona, Teatrão, Blue House, and Marionet, among others, according to Maria Cunha from the association.

"In relation to Associação Cultural Apura's programming, we are mainly interested in valuing emerging projects and promoting projects that combine the literary dimension with other aspects" , said Maria Cunha.

The Fair commemorates the 250th anniversary of the University of Coimbra Press (UC), the country's oldest publisher still operating in its original location, according to Carlota Simões, UC's press director, during today's conference.

According to José Manuel Silva, president of Coimbra City Council, the municipality invested 200 thousand euros on this year's Fair, which is 70 thousand more than in 2023.

"We tripled the spaces [at the Fair], which naturally implies more investment, but also allows us to receive more stands and develop more cultural activities" , said José Manuel Silva.