Rio’s Bienal book fair to feature Conceição Evaristo, Julia Quinn

The Bienal do Livro do Rio de Janeiro has unveiled the complete program of its 21st edition, to be held at Riocentro, a convention center in the western part of the city, from September 1 through 10. This year marks the book fair’s 40th anniversary and should regale the public with cultural and entertainment experiences that go beyond mere book selling. Organizers have announced over 300 Brazilian and international guests, including Minas Gerais writer Conceição Evaristo and Portugal’s Valter Hugo Mãe.

Other big names confirmed are Cassandra Clare, Ruy Castro, Mauricio de Sousa, Itamar Vieira Júnior, Eliane Alves Cruz, Clara Alves, Thalita Rebouças, and Carla Madeira. US author Julia Quinn, author of the novel series Bridgerton, was present at the launch party and is also confirmed to attend the event in September.

“I’m so excited. It’s been around six years since I came to Brazil and I loved it. The fans are unbelievable and it’s always so much fun,” said Julia Quinn. “I think it’s amazing that Brazil has an event that celebrates books. That’s something we really have to do often.”

The organizers expect an average audience of 600 thousand during the ten-day event, which this year proposes a reflection on artificial intelligence. The main questions are “What does AI not have—or what does it not yet have? And what do we humans have—or what have we not yet lost? The heart!”

“We want the Bienal to be a huge pulsating and living heart, where many multiple narratives converge to live together. We want all this to happen through enchantment. What impoverishes us is the lack of imagination. Only humans are capable of imagining and being moved by that imagination,” says the book fair’s artistic director Bianca Ramoneda.

The program

The book fair this year boasts more than 200 hours of attractions. Among the highlights, a new space: Key Word, specially designed to bring together debate and entertainment for the younger audience. At Pages on the Screen, visitors can explore books that gave rise to soap operas, films, and series.

Another corner, dubbed In First Person, should provide a chance for authors to talk directly to the public. Pages on the Stage will bring together performances and readings by well-known theater names who had plays adapted from books. In a traditional space, Literary Café, author Luiz Antonio Simas will welcome guests at a bar table.

“We want an innovative Bienal, a meeting point for people to spend the day and have fun through stories and narratives, a space where a book fair happens to take place, because that’s not all that it is. It’s a great festival,” says Tatiana Zaccaro, director of GL Exhibitions Brasil, the company organizing the fair.

“This year, we’re looking to showcase a new event: we’ll have a party, a masquerade ball, a streaming area—in other words, countless activities, which is quite different from what we usually see at the Bienal,” she added.

New readers

The first Bienal do Livro do Rio de Janeiro took place at Copacabana Palace in 1983, organized by the National Union of Book Publishers (Snel). It was a much smaller event, in a format closer to a traditional book fair. Since then, 20 editions have been held over four decades.

“We’re always connecting readers with their favorite authors and publishers. We have tens of thousands of public school students being exposed to literature. This is priceless. Sowing a taste for literature is what gives us the greatest motivation to continue holding the Bienal. Over the course of these 40 years, we’ve tried to keep up with the hectic pace of change. This year in particular, we have sought to ensure greater inclusion and diversity in our industry,” said Senal head Dante Cid.