Moscow, it seems, took this lead. While the print runs of even the most popular books fall far short of Soviet-era norms, and the publishing business remains at best moderately profitable, Russia still prides itself on being the "the most reading country in the world," a Communist slogan which has not lost its charm. To celebrate, this year's fair features numerous shows, seminars, book signings and other paraphernalia of a major media event.
The fair also hosts several separate events, such as the Ukrainian mini-fair, featuring some of the country's best writers and artists. Russian colleagues have a thing or two to learn from their neighbors: For instance, a Ukrainian publishing house with the nonsense name of A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ga issues children's books whose quality and design surpass most Russian editions.
Another highlight of the fair is the Jewish book festival, which features a wide selection of authors from Israel, Russia, the United States and other countries, various bands of traditional and modern musicians, and a program called "Fairy Tales from the Stars," in which celebrities, ranging from pop stars to radio announcers, read fairy tales to children. "We did our utmost to make the Jewish festival fun," says Alexander Gavrilov, the festival's organizer and also the editor of the popular Moscow weekly, "The Book Review" (Knizhnoe Obozrenie). "I'm sure our visitors won't be disappointed." Well, mazel tov!
Most commentators, however, stress another significant fact about this year's Moscow book fair. For the first time, it seems, the balance has shifted from fiction to nonfiction. Major publishers are hastily preparing volumes of memoirs, essays and easy-reading history books. Many are too sloppily researched to be of any value, but it's a start. Whether this is just a fad, or nonfiction is here to stay, will become more apparent in December, when Moscow's other regular book fair, modishly titled "non/fiction," will perhaps live up to its name for the first time.
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