Laguna and Delfi Skip Belgrade Book Fair for October Sale
From October 1 to 31, Laguna and Delfi offer 20 percent off and events with more than 50 authors, while the Book Fair opens October 23 without Laguna and other publishers.
When the 69th International Book Fair opens at the Belgrade Fairgrounds on October 23, with Tunisia as guest of honor, writer Darko Tusevljakovic will be somewhere else. From 6 p.m. he will sign books at Laguna’s bookstore in Delta City, alongside Ota Oltvanji, rather than in the fair hall. Three days earlier, on October 20, the Delfi bookstore in the SKC (Student Cultural Center) hosts his literary evening, with a promotion of the new editions of his books “Jaz” and “Hangar za snove.”
The reason is a decision Laguna and the Delfi bookstores announced on September 28 at a press conference at Delfi in the SKC: they are not taking part in the Book Fair this year. Instead, from October 1 to 31 they are running their own event, “Oktobar - mesec knjige” (October, Book Month), which they also call an alternative fair. Laguna said in a statement:
We are not going to the Book Fair, but we have decided to bring the Book Fair to all readers in our bookstores. And so make bookstores the epicenter of literary life.
Why is Laguna skipping the Book Fair?
Laguna’s statement does not give a reason. According to Nova.rs, the background is a change on the Fair’s board. Last year a large group of publishers gathered around the Association of Professional Publishers of Serbia, among them Clio, Geopoetika and Arhipelag, pulled out of the 68th Fair because it coincided with the anniversary of the Novi Sad canopy collapse. The Association of Publishers and Booksellers of Serbia, which includes Laguna, took part that time.
In March a new Fair board was formed, with no publisher representatives. Its chair is Nikola Bankovic, acting general director of the Belgrade Fairgrounds, and its members include Miodrag Ivanovic of the Ministry of Culture and Maja Radonic, head of the Ivo Andric Foundation. Both associations reacted: the Association of Professional Publishers withdrew first, for the second year in a row, and this summer the Association of Publishers and Booksellers followed. Talks with the board, according to Nova.rs, produced no result, so Laguna, Kreativni centar, Carobna knjiga, Partenon, Pcelica and Kontrast were among those that decided not to attend.
According to the organizers’ announcements, the Fair will feature Sluzbeni glasnik, Posta Srbije, Kosmos, Zavod za udzbenike and Medija centar Odbrana.
What do the bookstores offer?
Discounts apply in all Delfi bookstores, in Laguna’s reader clubs in Serbia and the region, and on delfi.rs, laguna.rs and dicearena.rs:
- 20 percent off all Laguna titles, while other publishers’ titles and foreign editions get 10 percent off
- an extra 10 percent for 3 to 5 books, 15 percent for 6 to 8, and 20 percent for 9 or more
- 15 percent off the gift range and board games
- a “10 for 999” deal from October 1 to 10 on laguna.rs, “3 for 999” from October 12 to 25 in Delfi bookstores and reader clubs, and “5 for 999” from October 26 to 31 in bookstores and on the websites
Delivery within Serbia is free, and shipping to the region via DHL costs 2,350 dinars.
Tanja Vuckovic, Laguna’s public relations manager, said readers come out ahead and that conditions will be better than at the Fair. The two sources do not agree on how many publishers have joined: Marija Colovic, retail director of the Delfi bookstores, says 170, while Vuckovic says almost 200. Colovic also explained why October matters to her:
We are proud of the breadth of our offer, of the titles from all suppliers, and 170 of them are discounting their titles, including publishers who will not be appearing at the Book Fair.
Who is meeting readers?
More than 50 authors from Laguna and other publishers will meet the public in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Krusevac and Pancevo. The program opens on October 1 with Dejan Stojiljkovic presenting his novel “Ucitelj macevanja” (The Fencing Master), which returns to medieval Serbia. Miodrag Majic signs books on October 2, Milica Vuckovic presents “Roditelji kucnih ljubimaca” (Pet Parents) on October 8 in the Small Hall of Kolarac, and a children’s day, following the Fair’s tradition, is set for October 17.
Tusevljakovic, winner of the 72nd NIN Award for his novel “Karota,” explained why this arrangement does not bother him:
I am sorry that in recent years the Book Fair has suffered the consequences for various reasons. All of us writers love the Book Fair. But I have to admit that spending time with people is more relaxed and more substantive outside the Book Fair.
He added that he traditionally goes to the Fair for secondhand books, usually stays on the upper floor, and does not really go for the time with readers. “That is why I think this is a better option,” Darko Tusevljakovic concluded.
New titles are also on the way from Srdjan Dragojevic, whose novel “Crveni” (The Red) starts from the hypothesis of parallel universes, and from Simonida Milojkovic, who brings together characters from her earlier books in “Putovanje ka Bogu” (Journey to God). For October, Laguna has also announced Ota Oltvanji, Al Pacino and Jo Nesbo.
