Salon

On Wednesday, the non/fiction book fair -- which bills itself as a "trade fair for intellectual literature" -- will open for the eighth time. Eight years is long enough to speak of history and trends, and one thing is certain: non/fiction is one of the central events in the Moscow book world, and definitely one of the most interesting. Compared with other book fairs, it is marked by a more discerning crowd, a more interesting selection of books and authors, and a friendlier atmosphere at its location in the Central House of Artists.

Despite its name, the fair is more "intellectual" than "nonfiction." Russia still lags behind the West in terms of both original and translated nonfiction, though there has been some movement in that direction, especially in the field of semi-reference books -- for instance, with the magnificent volumes on wine, cognac and similar subjects from the Anton Zhigulsky publishing house. The big hits of the English-language nonfiction market, such as Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything," have started appearing in Russian, but so far, apart from biographies and memoirs, literature about real life has not yet gained mass appeal here.

Various literary celebrities have visited the fair in the past, and this year promises to be just as spectacular. Among the speakers scheduled to lead seminars are British playwright Tom Stoppard and classic Soviet author Chingiz Aitmatov, who recently seems to have abandoned writing to serve as the ambassador of his native Kyrgyzstan to several European countries. Discussions listed in the program include such interesting topics as "Sex Without Filth and Hypocrisy" and "Why Russians Go to Goa." Several publishing houses will present their art albums, and a separate fair of antique books will be held in one part of the exhibition complex. A list of events can be found online at www.moscowbookfair.ru/ru/index.shtml.

A large part of the program is devoted to Israel, the fair's "special guest" this year. Eshkol, an organization that promotes Israeli and Jewish culture in Russia, has helped bring a delegation of 10 prominent Israeli poets, authors and critics. Several discussions, soirees and public lectures have been announced, including a master class given by Roman Gershuni, the chef of Moscow's Shafran restaurant, on cooking traditional biblical meals. Finally, the Israeli exposition will contain a special kids' corner where little visitors will be able to play and read books in Russian, English and Hebrew. Linor Goralik, a Russian-Israeli author living in Moscow who helped organize the Israeli segment of non/fiction, says Eshkol will hand out 4,000 gifts and prizes during the fair. With a program like that, everyone's a winner.