Starting on August 31, the National Library of Moldova will host the Fifth Festival of Books and Reading and the Twenty-Fourth International Book Salon, which this year will be dedicated to the late National Library director Alexe Rau, who founded the event.
Elena Pintilei, the incumbent director, told a press conference that the Salon will include an exhibition dedicated to Alexe Rau. Additionally, a book authored by Rau and another one dedicated to his work will be launched.
This year, the Chisinau Institute of Romanian Culture, one of the partners of the Festival of Books and Reading, will organize a roundtable dedicated to the Romanian language. Collector Petru Costin will exhibit his collection of flags. Another event will be a donation of books by Jose Luis Herrero, the head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, to the Library's Pro-European Center.
This year's International Book Salon will bring together over 200 publishing houses from 15 country. As Italy is this year's Festival's host country, a series of events will be held to pay homage to Italy's culture and civilization, and the Italian Embassy will make a book donation to the Library.
The program also includes plastic art exhibitions, a graphic art workshop, and a translation workshop. The literary circle “Ideal” will hold a music and poetry soiree dedicated to the poet Grigore Vieru, and the Musical Salon will hold an event to pay homage to the soprano Mariei Biesu. The Salon's awards ceremony will take place on September 3.
