African voices at the Book Fair

“We have never had such a large-scale theme before. About 70 authors and other guests from Africa were here and the theme was featured in over 100 programme events,” says Birgitta Jacobsson, the Book Fair’s Public Relations Manager.

According to Carin Norberg, NAI’s director, speaking after the fair had ended, “We have had a real breakthrough with the African theme, both at the Book Fair and through all the media reporting. Our hope is the African theme will lead to closer contacts between Swedish and African writers and publishers, and that even more books will be available in translation.”

This year, a total of 97,053 people visited the Book Fair. There were more seminars than ever before and they were attended by the largest audiences to date. More exhibitors and an increased number of foreign accredited journalists were also present, including those from the BBC and Le Monde. According to Birgitta Jacobsson, much of the international interest was piqued by the African theme.

A positive side-effect of the fair was that many African authors were able to meet each other for the first time in the flesh.

Tolu Ogunlesi, NAI’s guest writer in 2008, in conversation at the Africa 2010 stand with Mai Palmberg, a former researcher at NAI, remarked that he had been in touch with Chris Abani and several other African writers on social media sites on the Internet for many years. “It took the Göteborg Book Fair to put us in physical contact!” he said.

The Africa 2010 stand was inaugurated on Thursday, 23 September. “It’s not possible to make a full presentation of African literature in just four days,” said Carin Norberg. “But you will experience some of the best and most important of what African literature has to offer over the next few days.”

Ambassador S.R. Makgetla then took over the microphone and remarked that “it’s important to show Africa not as a continent of conflict but as a continent of progress. I want to wish our heroes of books good luck. This is the opening of a new era!”

Véronique Tadjo’s words in the catalogue describing the African theme aptly capture the tone of this year’s Book Fair: “One thing is for certain: African literature of today is well established, multidimensional and innovative and it has developed out of its own tradition.”