The four-day book festival featured publishers from 25 countries, hundreds of authors, and more than 40,000 books.
Never before have so many people lined up for autographs from an author at the festival, said festival organiser László Péter Zentai said. The choice of Canada as the festival's other guest of honour also drew many visitors, he added.
Canada was the first non-European guest of honour at the festival. In addition to its latest books, the country showed an exhibition of photographs of some of the 40,000 Hungarian refugees who fled to Canada during and after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The exhibition also documented the lives they built in their new home.
Zentai, who also heads the Hungarian Association of Publishers and Booksellers (MKKE), said this year was the last time the festival would be held at the Budapest Congress and World Trade Center. The 15th Budapest International Book Festival will be held at the Millennium Park.
MKKE has already started preparations for Book Week, which will show off the best new Hungarian books in June, Zentai said.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
