The 24th edition of the Tirana Book Fair kicked off in person this Wednesday at the Palace of Congresses, the event’s historic abode. The fair will remain open until Sunday, November 21.
This is the book fair’s first in person event since November 2019, as the pandemic forced all events to pivot online for the 2020 edition.
Tirana’s Book Fair is a reader-oriented event, unlike its London or Frankfurt counterparts where publishers, authors, and agents meet together to discuss book deals and the trajectory of the industry.
Rather, Tirana Book Fair acts more as a major book sale, with publishers renting a stand inside the Palace of Congresses to sell their books at fairly steep discounts. 20% discounts tend to be the norm, but some publishers go as far down as 50%.
Albanian readers list unaffordable book prices as one of the main reasons behind their meager book buying expenses, so they tend to splurge during the fair, taking advantage of the discounts.
The fair is also an opportunity to meet with authors, however since it does not have a centralized webpage, readers have to check with individual publishers on their social media for their events calendar.
Otherwise, Tirana Book Fair is not limited to the physical spaces of the fair. Bookstores take advantage of readers’ propensity to shop more during this period, and have their own in-store sales.
Readers can visit the Book Fair between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. every day.
