Turkish Daily News
Oct 27 2007
Comments by leading writers and publishers
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Doðan Hýzlan – Literary critic: Istanbul Book Fair has slowly
started to attain international recognition. In Turkey, it is the
only major book fair event. Its international character will provide
a platform for Turkish writers to meet with international writers.
Thanks to this, Turkey’s and the world’s pioneering publishers will
come together. The literary circles did not expect Orhan Pamuk to be
selected as an honorary writer. The people that served to Turkish
literature, art and culture for years, and that have a prominent
place in cultural and literary history are selected as honorary
writers. Of course, other authors as well as Orhan Pamuk can be
mentioned in the upcoming years.
Metin And – Honorary writer at the fair: Being this year’s
honorary guest in the fair is the greatest prize I can see these days
of my 80th year. I have received over 20 prizes to date in Turkey and
abroad. All of them are important for me. The number of books I’ve
written is as huge as my age. However, it is a surprise that I have
been chosen among so many poets and novelists in creative literature
and distinguished writers in essay writing and philosophy.
Vahit Uysal – Doðan Kitap Sales Manager: It is the 26th year of
the fair. Turkey did not have enough publishers 26 years ago and the
existing ones did not have an area for promotion. Istanbul Book Fair
has undertaken an important mission in this respect. The fair
provided comfort in terms of space after it moved from Tüyap to
Beylikdüzü. The number of visitors has increased three times.
However, due to its distance from the city center, a visitor that has
been to the fair once usually does not come again. Despite this, the
number of visitors has exceeded 300,000.
Mýgýrdiç Margosyan – Aras Publishing, author: The most important
mission of the Istanbul Book Fair is to remove the curtain between
author and reader. Thanks to this, mutual communication between
readers and writers was enabled. Publishers could reach more readers
this way. As Aras Publishing, we have been attending this fair for
the last few years. We are introducing Turkish readers with Armenian
Literature. Aras Publishing is among the rare publishers that makes
publication in two languages. Publishing translated books of
Armenian authors and books of modern Armenian authors in Turkish,
Aras Publishing has laid the ground for people of different cultures
living on the same geography to know and understand each other better
via literature.
Nancy Öztürk – Çitlembik Publications: Publication is a close
field, and we do not have many occasions to meet in a year. This fair
overcomes this deficiency and provides us with direct contact with
readers. The rate of foreign guest participation is low in the fair
and it should be increased. We make publication in English and
Turkish. Compared to out Turkish books, English books draw less
attention and constitute 20 percent of our total publication.
Sabri Koz – Yapý Kredi Culture- researcher / writer: Istanbul Book
Fair held by TÜYAP has left a quarter century behind it. For a person
like me, who spends a substantial proportion of his daily life with
books, such event with the place it is exhibited is a corner from
heaven. In these fairs, I look for the books that I have heard about
but been unable to obtain throughout the year. It is possible to meet
publishers, writers, translators and eager people like me here. TÜYAP
Istanbul Book Fair is the most prestigious, beneficial and
”necessary” events held for books. In my opinion, Metin And is an
exceptional person who has made important contributions to our
country and the world. His writing career started 60 years ago.