One would think the organizers were giving away free iPads.
By ISRAEL KASNETTTHE KNIZHNIKI 521(photo credit: Avi Chai Foundation)
Judging by the lines outside Moscow’s non-fiction book festival at The Central House of Artists, one would think the organizers were giving away free iPads.Inside, thousands of people milled about, perusing the numerous booths set up by publishers and sellers. Scattered throughout the floor, a number of lectures took place during the course of the day with writers discussing their books to an attentive audience.Standing out from the white-colored booths around it, the Booknik and Knizhniki booth, bathed in bright green, was surrounded by a small crowd interested in the myriad books presented. Green balloons floated everywhere – a brilliant move by Knizhniki to publicize its booth and activities.In a quiet, carpeted room in a different section of the fair, Booknik held a series of lectures featuring a number of authors and an introduction by Booknik’s editor-in-chief, Sergei Kuznetskov.And in yet another section, Eshkol conducted lectures on a number of topics including, “How to get your children to read.” In addition, Eshkol put on a performance and set up a candlemaking workshop for children, all of whom wore paper candles on their heads as a pre-celebration of Hanukka.The best part about the book festival was that Knizhniki was awarded the top prize for the fourth year in a row – an achievement unprecedented for literature on Jewish and Israeli themes – in adult and children’s literature. - .I.K.