The Polish Book Institute

The International Book Exhibition in Taipei, held from 31 January to 5 February, during which Poland acted as Guest of Honour, was a major event in Taiwan. This is confirmed by the numerous mentions in the Taiwanese media of both the fair itself and the events organised as part of the Polish pavilion.

As the organiser of the Polish presentation at the Taipei International Book Exhibition TIBE, the Book Institute tried to ensure that information about the stay of Polish authors and publishers in the Taiwanese capital was present in the Polish media. However, we were even more keen to ensure that Poland, as the Guest of Honour at TIBE, generated as much interest as possible in Asia. At our request, Olimpia Kot-Giletycz from the Polish Office in Taipei sent us examples of material dedicated to the Polish presentation at TIBE that appeared in the Taiwanese media.

It is reported that information about the Polish presentation at the Taipei International Book Exhibition appeared, among others, in the China Times, one of Taiwan's four largest daily newspapers. Popular news sites such as the English-language 'Taiwan News' and 'The News Lens' also wrote about the Polish writers attending the Taipei fair. Some information about the Polish presentation, Taiwan's Minister of Culture Shih Che's visit to the Polish pavilion, as well as meetings with Andrzej Sapkowski, author of The Witcher books, was also reported by the CNA news agency. In addition to the aforementioned, the Polish pavilion at the Taipei International Book Exhibition was also mentioned, among others, on Taiwan's television channel FTV, as well as on influencer blogs.

The Taipei International Book Exhibition began on 31 January and ended on 5 February. The main organisers of the Polish presentation are the Book Institute and the Polish Office in Taipei. They are partnered by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the National Library, the Pilecki Institute, and the International Cultural Centre.

During the event, the Taiwanese audience was presented with the works of several authors, including Andrzej Sapkowski, Witold Szabłowski, Marzanna Bogumiła Kielar, Rafał Kosik, Bartosz Sztybor, Bronisław Wildstein, and Stanisław Łubieński. Most of those writers were present in Taipei in order to meet with Asian readers.

The International Book Exhibition in Taipei was part of the strategy pursued by the Book Institute, the aim of which is to have a sustained, distinct presence of Polish literature in places where up to now Polish books have not been available or have been insufficiently available.

The project was co-financed by funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the task 'Poland as Guest of Honour at the TIBE 2023 International Book Exhibition in Taipei'.