Held under the slogan "Open the World!", the fair was opened by President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Culture Minister Arūnas Gelūnas.
Speaking at the event, the president said that a book was a depository of life's wisdom, adding that the printed word guaranteed survival of languages, which is important to all three Baltic states.
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| BFL/Tomo Lukšio nuotr. |
"A book is the most genuine way to perfect a nation," Grybauskaitė said.
Culture Minister Gelūnas said that opening a world that sometimes fits in a single book can help us escape reality, which may be rainy or disappointing.
Among participants at this year's Book Fair are 250 companies from nine countries, with 378 events planned in the framework of the fair.
Poland's former president Alexander Kwasniewski is expected to visit the fair and discuss the presidential profession together with Lithuania's former president Valdas Adamkus.
Another prominent guest at the fair is Rūta Šepetys, American writer of Lithuanian origin who will present a novel about Lithuanian deportees “Between Shades of Grey,” which has won a French literary award.
Other guests include French author David Foenkinos, Russian journalist and writer Marina Akhemova, Algerian-born French author Yasmina Khadra and famous British philosopher Robert Rowland Smith.
Famous Lithuanian anthropologist and primatologist Birutė Galdikas had also planned attending the fair, but canceled her visit earlier this week.
The Vilnius Book Fair will take place Thursday through Sunday, with opening hours extended until 9 PM on Friday and Saturday.
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| BFL/Tomo Lukšio nuotr. |
