XVII International Book Fair Closes And Peru Is Announced As The 2015 Country Guest of Honor

XVII International Book Fair Closes And Peru Is Announced As The 2015 Country Guest of Honor
Santo Domingo, 05/05/2014

The XVII edition of the International Book Fair of Santo Domingo 2014 (FILRD) concluded last night with a ceremony that brought together the organizers of the event, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, who said that for 2015 the Country Guest of Honor will be Peru.

After writer Pedro Antonio Valdez, Executive Director of the FILRD made the announcement, Minister Rodríguez gave Enrique Palacios Reyes, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Peru in the Dominican Republic, the letter that certifies that Peru will be the Country Guest of Honor of the 2015 version of the International Book Fair.

Ambassador Palacios Reyes expressed gratitude for the distinction and said that Peru will be up to the responsibility that the distinguished invitation of the Dominican Republic entails.

Juan Domingo Moreno, great-grandson of poet Domingo Moreno Jimenes, also spoke at the event. He expressed gratitude for the dedication and referred to his family member as “a tireless reader of everything and a maker of reading materials and readers.”

He added that for Moreno Jimenes, to whom the Fair was dedicated, children and young people had great value, as they appear in many of his songs and writings.

Víctor Lee, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of Panama, also addressed those present to thank the Dominican Republic for inviting his country to participate as the Country Guest of Honor of the seventeenth edition of the Fair.

Writer Pedro Antonio Valdez spoke on behalf of the Directorate of the Book Fair to commend the participation of writers, publishers and the general public during the twelve days of the Fair.

The event took place in the Carlos Piantinni Hall of the Eduardo Brito National Theater, where the most outstanding editors and booksellers during the twelve days of the Fair were announced, in addition to those who participated in the highest number of activities, which were poet Matthew Morrison, Héctor Brea Tió and Salvador Gómez.

The following institutions were recognized in the category of international exhibitors: El mundo de los mini libros, from Peru; Ediciones Amargord, from Spain; and Ediciones Paulina, from Colombia.

In the category of “Stands of Dominican Exhibitors” the following received awards: Librería Luna, for best merchandise display; Liga Bíblica Municipal del Hogar, for best prices; Librería Jesús, for best used books exhibit.

The awards for “Dominican Exhibitors-Editors” were given to: Bijosa TTS, for better space design; Editora Corripio, for better merchandise display; and Editora Santillana, for best bibliographic variety.

In the category “Commercial Book Pavilions” the winners were: Grupo Cantoral, for the best prices; Librería Jurídica Global, for best space design; and José Libros y Más, for best bibliographic exhibit.

Minister José Antonio Rodríguez highlighted the work of the more than 1,500 people who directly worked every day to ensure that the Fair achieved its goal of being a cultural, literary, and, above all, educational space.

He underscored the implementation of the BonoCultura, a voucher that was given jointly by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, and which students and the general public were able to exchange for books whose prices ranged between 100 and 400 pesos, and which they received completely free of charge.

This edition of the Fair was dedicated to poet Domingo Moreno Jimenes and the Country Guest of Honor was Panama. It introduced several new features that pleased the public and which are expected to be emulated during future editions of the Fair, as is the case of the BonoCultura.

The head table of the event consisted of Minister Rodríguez; Víctor Lee, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Panama in the Dominican Republic; Valentín Amaro, Director General of Books and Reading; Pedro Antonio Valdez, Executive Director of the Book Fair; and Juan Domingo Moreno, great-grandson of poet Domingo Moreno Jimenes, to whom the Fair was dedicated.