Thessaloniki Book Fair opens Thursday, Chinese works featured.

The 7th Thessaloniki Book Fair (TBF) will open its doors in the northern Greek city's HELEXPO exhibition facilities on Thursday. The book fair will end on Sunday, April 25.

The TBF is an annual international book fair that has been held for the past six years. The 2010 fair expects some 500 publishers and 151 authors from 24 countries, who will present their ideas, proposals and finished products. According to the head of the National Book Centre Katrin Velissari, the TBF did not this year escape the impact of the Greek and global economic crisis and is smaller than in previous years but she stressed that the cuts "are in quantity, not quality".

Another problem that arose was the unexpected obstacles to travel, due to the volcanic dust cloud from Iceland.

China will be the guest of honor at this year's fair, while the theme of the featured exhibition will be "Antiquity and us".

This will use Greek publications - including 18 rare, antique volumes contributed by Thessaloniki's Aristotelian University - to illustrate the interaction between ancient and contemporary civilizations.

Exhibits, book presentations, round table discussions and numerous parallel events will be organized to attract the public and make their visit to the fair a more valuable experience. These will include events on teen literature and the 'Gourmet Corner', with books and lectures on gastronomy.

The book fair will be inaugurated by Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos.

China as guest of honor

The pavilion set up by China is expected to be another major drawing point for book fair, with a team of 200 people employed to set up some 3,000 publications and other exhibits on its 500-square-metre national stand.

With the slogan "Tradition and Innovation", the Chinese stand is organized by the Chinese Culture ministry and Beijing Book Fair to highlight both China's vast market of 1.5 billion people and its role as a country steeped in tradition and history.