Imre Baka, who heads festival organiser Hungarian Publishers? and Booksellers? Association, called Magris one of the most important representatives of ?Danube thought?, which promotes discourse on Central Europe. He said that Hungarian publishers Európa and Libri would launch new books by Magris during the festival.
Magris will participate at a talk with the Hungarian writer Péter Esterházy on the opening day of the festival. The writer Krisztián Grecsó will deliver a laudation before Budapest Mayor István Tarlós presents Magris with the Budapest Grand Prize.
Danish Cultural Institute director Hanne Tornoe said more than twenty Nordic writers would arrive in Budapest to participate at the festival, among them Hakan Nesser from Sweden, Jostein Gaarder and Tina Amodt from Norway, Janne Teller from Denmark and Leena Lehtolainen from Finland.
The countries will be highlighted in accompanying programmes as well. A concert of traditional choral music from Greenland will take place, the Petőfi Literary Museum will host an exhibition on August Strindberg, the Titanic Film Festival will showcase Scandinavian films, and the A38 will host performances by Scandinavian musical acts.
Some 300 books will be launched at this year?s festival and about 350 events will take place within the framework of the fair.
The Millenáris Café will again host a Children?s Literary Empire for younger festival-goers.
Twenty young writers from around Europe who are starting out their careers will participate at the European First-Book Novelists? Festival, part of the International Book Festival Budapest.
Tickets for the festival can be purchased for just 500 forints, an amount that can be applied to purchases made at stands.
Italy will be the guest country of honour at next year?s festival.
The festival?s homepage can be accessed at www.bookfestival.hu
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
