PVLF 2025

Italy will be the Guest of Honor at the Tunis Book Fair 2024, Providing a New Boost to Long-Standing Bilateral Cultural Connections

Discover the vibrant cultural exchange at Tunis Book Fair 2024, with Italy as Guest of Honor, showcasing Italian publishers, authors, and literary works.
on Apr 15, 2024

"Italy's participation as guest of honour at the 38th edition of the Tunis International Book Fair (19-28 April 2024), the most important literary and publishing fair in Tunisia, is of great importance for enhancing the visibility of Italian publishers and their presence on the Tunisian book market," says ITA-ICE (Italian Agency for the Promotion and Internationalisation of Italian Companies - Commercial Section of the Italian Embassy) on its official website.

The presence of Italy - which will also be the guest of honour at the Warsaw International Book Fair in May and the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2024 - at the Kram Exhibition Centre, with a pavilion of approximately 200 m2, is an opportunity to strengthen and even revitalize the long-standing cultural ties between Italy and Tunisia, one of Italy's historic trading partners and

today a market with significant potential for Italian exports.

In 2022, Italy will become Tunisia's first commercial partner. The Italian Statistics Institute (ISTAT) predicts that Italian exports to Tunisia would increase by 38% between 2021 and 2022, from €2.85 billion in 2021 to €3.96 billion in 2022.

The Italian Trade Agency-Tunisia (ITA) reported on its official website that there are more than 5,000 active Italian publishing houses, with approximately 1.4 million titles available on the market, pointing out that this is the most important cultural and creative industry in Italy and the fourth largest in Europe, according to the report on the Italian publishing sector in 2023, drawn up by the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), founded in 1869 and considered the oldest

A diverse cultural programme featuring a wide choice of activities.

A number of Italian authors and specialist publishers have been invited to participate, and a diverse cultural programme has been planned around a series of events.

These include film screenings, gatherings for authors from both nations to share and debate ideas, and B2B meetings with publishers to form publishing collaborations.

The first event, on April 20, will be devoted to a presentation of the Italian publishing sector, with the purpose of presenting guests to "a particularly active market in Italy, with publishers and authors who are always keen to understand market trends in terms of literary genres".

According to the ITA, the goal is to introduce tourists to "a particularly active market in Italy, with publishers and authors who are always keen to understand market trends in terms of literary genres in order to meet readers' needs".

Italian literary creation will be represented with a diverse range of works, including novels, comics, poetry, photography, scientific books, children's books, art books, and more.

Among the Italian authors invited are internationally known writer Pierfranco Bruni and poet, novelist, and artist Claudio Pozzano.

Among the authors who will be there is the globally acclaimed writer Pierfranco Bruni, who recently wrote in the Italian online publication Oraquadra Info: "Franco Califano will be with me at the Tunis International Book Fair on April 26, eleven years after his death." Pierfranco Bruni, president of the Francesco Grisi Study and Research Centre and director of the study project on the presence of minorities in Italy, will discuss the work and career of Franco Califano (1938-2013), an Italian cultural icon.

Claudio Pozzano, a poet, author, and artist who will be present at the Sidi Bou Said International Poetry Festival, is also slated to attend FILT2024 for a poetry encounter.

His poetry have been translated into various languages, and he is well-known for giving public readings. He has been organizing the Genoa International Poetry Festival since 1995, as well as other international artistic and cultural events throughout Europe.

Italy's participation in the 38th Tunis International Book Fair is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Centre for Books and Reading, the Italian Embassy in Tunis, the ITA-ICE, the AIE, and the Italian Cultural Institute in Tunis (IIC).

Founded in Tunis in 1961, the IIC's mission is to promote the Italian language and culture in Tunisia by organizing meetings for exchange and sharing, as well as a variety of events open to all forms of artistic and cultural expression, as well as participating in major Tunisian events such as the Carthage and Hammamet International Festivals, the El Jem International Symphonic Music Festival, and so on.