Press release 1 December 2021: South Africa, the Climate Crisis and Crimetime will be the themes of the 2022 Gothenburg Book Fair
The 2022 Gothenburg Book Fair will be permeated by two major themes in addition to the focus on the climate crisis. South Africa will once again be guest of honour, while Crimetime – Sweden’s biggest crime fiction festival, hosted in conjunction with the Gothenburg Book Fair since 2018 – will be one of the main themes of the fair for 2022.
South Africa was scheduled to be the theme country and guest of honour at the 2020 Gothenburg Book Fair, but this was postponed due to the pandemic. However, Covid permitting, it is now finally time for Sweden’s book lovers to get to know this multifaceted country that has no fewer than eleven official languages. The literature of South Africa and its current social issues will be reflected in seminars, in discussions, on the floor of the book fair and in poetic performances.
“We are thrilled once again to welcome South Africa as guest of honour and theme country at the Gothenburg Book Fair! We are returning to the foundations that we laid in 2020, which already form the basis of a superb programme. We are working to further develop these along with our partner the National Library of South Africa,” says Oskar Ekström, Programme Director at the Book Fair.
The National Library of South Africa and the South African government’s Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will be the Book Fair’s formal partners when South Africa becomes guest of honour. A range of civic organisations, including the Global Square and the Church of Sweden, will be involved in the planning and programming around this theme.
Additionally, Crimetime is to be a third theme of the 2022 Gothenburg Book Fair. Sweden’s biggest crime fiction festival, hosted in conjunction with the Gothenburg Book Fair since 2018, is taking another step up and will be leaving a particularly big mark on the 2022 fair experience. The Crimetime programme will be extended by an extra day into the Friday and will include a multitude of exciting events and activities on site.
“Crime fiction and thrillers are incredibly popular genres with readers and we have seen how much appreciation there is for Crimetime as a festival within the Book Fair over the last few years. By making Crimetime one of our themes for 2022, we can give our visitors the chance to absolutely revel in page-turning crime fiction and thrillers in all their guises,” says Oskar Ekström.
The Climate Crisis has already been announced as one of the themes of next year’s Book Fair, with a fiery programme planned including both a series of seminars and a Climate Stage. 2022 will mark the 38th edition of the Book Fair.
The Gothenburg Book Fair will take place on 22–25 September 2022. The themes for 2022 are South Africa, the Climate Crisis and Crimetime.
Read more about the Gothenburg Book Fair at goteborg-bookfair.com For further information, please contact: Maria Rogstad Norberg, Head of Communications +46 (0)722-119339 mn@bokmassan.se
The Göteborg Book Fair takes place 22–25 September 2022 at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, and at Book Fair Play.
One of next year’s themes will be the climate crisis.
