On Thursday this week I had the pleasure of attending the Geneva Book Fair. This is a large annual event (by Swiss standards), but it attracts little attention internationally because it is geared towards French speakers (lots of foreign books, but they are all translated into French; I couldn’t find even Swiss German writers in the original) and has few big name invitations. Although I did get to see Linwood Barclay there last year.
It is not a trade fair and many of the standholders and publishers say they don’t even sell that many books. (Hmmm, book prices in Switzerland may have a little to do with that – 25-30 CHF for a paperback is very common, about £20 or $30). Instead, it’s very much about raising awareness, the general public and education. Small wonder it was teeming with schools, children running around doing treasure hunts or learning how to draw BD characters, or toddlers reading with their parents.
And it’s not just about books – there were many stands dedicated to associations (book clubs and writing groups), universities, arts and crafts, health and well-being, cookery workshops and wine-tasting. There are plenty of outlets for your own creativity.
I minded the Geneva Writers Group stand for a few hours. We improvised a bit with the decorations, but next year we will create something truly magical! I had no books to display myself, of course (maybe next year or the year after?), but I was surrounded by talented members of the group who did: Katie Hayoz (I’ve reviewed one of her YA books here), science-fiction writer Massimo Marino and YA/NA author Olivia Wildenstein. And I’m not just saying that because they are nice people…
In the afternoon I wandered around, bumping into Max Cabanes again and telling him I should pay him royalties for using his drawing as my avatar. The BD illustrators are a wonderful bunch, and I also enjoyed talking to storywriter De Groot (creator of Leonard, about a mad inventor, one of my boys’ favourites) and Batem (illustrator of the magical Marsupilami).
When I said it was aimed towards French speakers, I did not mean to imply it is not international. On the contrary, there are many special interest country and regional sections, ranging from the youngest canton of Switzerland (Jura) to Arabic nations of North Africa, Brazil to Armenia. Each one organises panel discussions or author interviews on small stages. But there are so many events competing for your attention that not all get the audience they deserve. I got to see Dominique Sylvain making some very witty and wise observations about writing crime fiction in front of just 5-6 people: in Lyon, she’d have been mobbed!
I was restrained in my book purchases, because most of the French authors I wanted I can get cheaper across the border in France. I did find a book by Alex Capus in German Mein Nachbar Urs (My Neighbour Urs) – which I couldn’t resist, since I have a very good friend with that name. Besides, I’ve been meaning to read Capus for ages. There was also an English-language bookshop that was selling off their remaindered books at very low prices, so I bought a one-volume selection of prose by Seamus Heaney, published by Faber & Faber, and the deliciously gossipy looking Writers Between the Covers. The Scandalous Romantic Lives of Legendary Literary Casanovas, Coquettes and Cads by McKenna Schmidt and Rendon.
Apologies for the shaky photographs: I hate taking pictures with my mobile phone!
It sounds fun, Marina. I like the artworks made out of old books.
They had beautiful hand-printed writing paper and print-making workshops and all sorts of beautiful things…
It sounds like you had a great time, Marina. I’m still reeling at your revelation of the price of paperbacks in Switzerland.
The Alex Capus which I did buy was a very slim volume and cost 18 CHF – but the price in euros underneath was 12. Exchange rate does not quite justify that difference.
Oh, this all looks terrific, Marina Sofia! I love book fairs! And among other things, I think they are fantastic ways to create, boost and maintain community support of writers and writing. Thanks for sharing this.
This is most certainly all about creating community and turning people into book-lovers. Fun, though tiring on the old legs…
My partner often travels to Geneva for his work; next year I might have to get him to schedule a trip for both of us when the book fair is on! 😉
Oh, please do – let me know about it and we can go together!
This looks wonderful, I love all the activities for children. My sister lives in New Zealand and has the same complaint about the price of books, super expensive.
Yes, but NZ is isolated, far away and shipping costs a fortune, while Switzerland is at the heart of Europe and has three of the languages that are most widely used in Europe. But then, everything is expensive in Switzerland…
Wow! Looks fab 🙂
There can never be too many book fairs in our life!
I enjoyed appearing there more than once, signing my books, but my observation is that most of the fans are there to line up to get autographs/get caricatures from popular authors of bandes dessinees. The Swiss promotional team from Bern led by Christine Kaech was super, but it’s not an Anglophone event by a long stretch, is it?
Love your tweets,
D.L. Kung
No, it’s very different from Quais du Polar, where they have simultaneous interpreters for all panels (at least in English and French, sometimes Spanish). Actually, the BD section didn’t seem that crowded this year (compared to previous years). The whole thing felt much more like a family event, with lots of activities aimed at youngsters.