7th BOOK FAIR(Y) IN ISTRIA
Pufka1 Mounted the Book
3rd – 13th December 2001
House of Croatian Defenders
The homeless dream of palaces and end up in a pit. The organizers of the Fair never admitted to being homeless, although they roamed around Pula for a full six years, not knowing, until the last moment, where the already announced programs would take place. Before the beginning of the seventh Fair, they came across a real palace - Marine Kasino, originally built for the navy, now known as the House of Croatian Defenders. More than 250 Croatian publishers settled in its secessionist halls, and more than 70,000 people passed through the palace. More than 70 authors, editors, and translators presented their work to the audience in Pula where 30 tons of books arrived, and more than 20 stayed.
Mauricio Ferlin created the new sign of the Fair – a curvy lady who mounted a book. To the joy of organizers who call for innocent scandals, it provoked strong reactions from conscientious "analysts“. On the other hand, for the Fair's audience, it was love at first sight.
The organizers of the Fair proclaimed themselves the book dreamers, and the Book Fair in Istria became the Book Fair(y) in Istria.2 But this time, it was not only a marketing trick. The seventh Fair was indeed the place where dreams were made.
A real festival of books and authors happened, and the long-announced international part of the Fair began to take shape. Along with the publishers from Slovenia, Italy, Austria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the publishers from England and Germany, in cooperation with the Croatian distributor, displayed their books at the Fair.
