ILAB POP UP BOOK FAIRS ON UNESCO WORLD BOOK & COPYRIGHT DAY, APRIL 23, 2016

CELEBRATE BOOKS AND LITERACY WORLDWIDE

Last year on April 23rd  hundreds of antiquarian booksellers worked together in one big celebration. Antiquarian booksellers across the world decided to Think Global and Act Local and celebrate UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day with events within their communities - thinking local and thinking globally by coordinating their efforts. These local celebrations made a global impact. Rare books found new homes and over 10,000 Euros were raised to provide literacy aids to the children of South Sudan.

In 2016 we will do this again…. And we want you to join us!

AUSTRALIA - JAPAN – KOREA – SOUTH AFRICA – SPAIN – FRANCE – RUSSIA – HUNGARY – AUSTRIA – GERMANY – SWITZERLAND – NETHERLANDS – DENMARK – SWEDEN – UNITED KINGDOM – UNITED STATES ...

... and anywhere else in the world where you decide to be a part of it!

AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY: “Books: Still So Much to Learn and Discover” - The first ILAB Pop Up Fair on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016 will be the final event of a most remarkable international conference for librarians, booksellers and anyone interested in rare books and their history held from 21 to 22 April at the State Library of New South Wales, and organized by the Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB).  The day after the conference Australian booksellers will offer for sale rare, fine and extraordinary books, maps, ephemera and other associated materials on paperat the State Library of New South Wales. Be there!

DUNKELD and HAMILTON: There are three booksellers far away in the Australian bush who decided not only to join their colleagues at the ILAB Pop Up Fair in Sydney, but also to raise funds for the UNESCO literacy projects in their bookshops at home in the weeks leading up to UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016. So, if you come across an empty bookshelf poster in Dunkeld and Hamilton, Country Victoria, help Roz Greenwood and Marg Phillips of Roz Greenwood Old And Rare Books and Guy Hamilton of Bellcourt Books raise funds to support literacy in South Sudan. And as if this were not enough, they will pack their boxes with beautiful books right in time to travel the long way to Sydney to exhibit at the ILAB Pop Up Fair on 23 April 2016 at the State Library of New South Wales. Bravo!

JAPAN

TOKYO: At their general meeting in April, shortly before UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Japan and their President will officially launch the ILAB Pop Up Celebrations in Japan.

ALL ACROSS JAPAN: From Tokyo to Kyoto, Sapporo, Osaka and Kumamoto the Japanese rare book dealers will join the great chain of worldwide bookish events on 23 April 2016 by decorating special Pop Up Book Fair Windows with a fine selection of rare books and Empty Bookshelf Posters in their shops to raise money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan.

TOKYO: The World Antiquarian Book Plaza is located in Tokyo’s city centre, five minutes away from the famous Ginza. The Plaza is a joint venture of Yushodo Ltd. and Michael Steinbach Rare Books and unites the exquisite offers of rare book dealers from Japan, the United States, Australia and Europe. On 23 April 2016, the Plaza will once again be the elegant venue for an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair, organized by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Japan (ABAJ).

KOREA

SEOUL, PUSAN, DAEGU: Find rare and fine books, get in contact with antiquarian booksellers in Seoul, Pusan and Daegu! For the first time ever, the ILAB dealers in the Republic of Korea will join their colleagues worldwide on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016. Korean booksellers will organize Pop Up Fairs in  prominent places in their capital Seoul as well as in the second biggest Korean city Pusan and in the city of Daegu, which owes the most antiquarian bookshops over there.

RUSSIA

MOSCOW: Free Appraisal Day at the Moscow State University of the Printing Arts: bring your books, maps, prints and autographs and learn about their value! And even more: Enjoy a special exhibition and auction of books about books, organized by the Russian antiquarian booksellers at one of the beautiful bookshops in Moscow.

SOUTH AFRICA

CAPE TOWN:  After the successful launch in 2015, AntiquarianAuctions.com, the online rare book auction platform run by Paul Mills in Cape Town, South Africa, will participate once again in the international 24 hour chain of events organized by ILAB booksellers across the world. In association with publishing house Penguin Random House, AntiquarianAuctions.com will host a talk with Susan Buchanan, author of the recently published “Burchell’s Travels: The Life, Art and Journeys of William John Burchell”, and other experts in the field. Local collectors and botanists, local historians and the general public will be invited and asked to make a donation to support the UNESCO literacy projects.

SPAIN

BARCELONA: A rose for a book – It is a long and good tradition in Barcelona to offer a rose for every book bought on St Jorge’s Day. Coinciding with UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day 2016, ILAB bookseller Albert Casals and his colleagues will pop up at the famous La Ramblas, to show wonderful books, to raise money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan and to present roses to booklovers.

MADRID: 23 April 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two of the world’s greatest poets: William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. Published in two volumes in 1605 and 1615, Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” is considered one of the most influential works of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and as a founding work of modern Western literature. In fact, it is regarded as the first novel ever written. “Don Quixote” was first printed in Madrid by Juan de la Cuesta. At his former house the Spanish booksellers will pop up on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day to present rare and fine editions of Don Quixote along with the crème-de-la-crème of Spanish book history.

SWITZERLAND

ZURICH: For bookish people 2016 is a year to celebrate and to commemorate in many respects. 400 years ago Shakespeare and Cervantes died, and a hundred years ago one of the most innovative artistic movements was brought to light in Zurich: Dada. At the Cabaret Voltaire, where Tristan Tzara, Jean Arp, Hugo Ball, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Marcel Janco and others founded the Dada movement in 1916, the Swiss antiquarian booksellers will gather exactly a hundred years later for an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair on 23 April 2016 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Dada founding with a Dada performance, a presentation of rare first editions and a gorgeous fundraising to fill the Empty Bookshelf Posters as a strong support of literacy worldwide.

GERMANY

MUNICH: “Book Tales & Cocktails” was such a big success on 23 April 2015, that the rare book dealers in Munich and their customers immediately decided to celebrate UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day again in 2016. So, right in the city centre of the Bavarian capital in the rooms of the Kaufmanns Casino, where business men and women have been meeting for conferences and cocktails since 1832, some 15 antiquarian booksellers from Munich and Bavaria will once again show some of their most extraordinary books – with music, drinks, finger food, and a lecture on “Early 20th Century German Publishing” held by the renowned, no: legendary German collector and publisher Klaus G. Saur.

AUSTRIA

VIENNA: The "Heart of Darkness" lies next to Vienna at Dr. Paul Kainbacher Rare Books on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016. With a Bibliophile Evening dedicated to lectures and books on travel and exploration from Austria into the World the Austrian antiquarian booksellers will launch the ILAB Pop Up Week on 16 April 2016, from 5 to 7 pm. Dr. Paul Kainbacher will invite colleagues and collectors to his bookshop in Baden (Vienna), where Walter Sauer, Professor of Economic and Social History, and Martin Pfitscher, specialist in Ethnology, will talk about famous 19th century travels of Austrian explorers and adventurers to Africa. The evening will close with a book presentation and a fundraising to support the great work of UNESCO's Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) in South Sudan.

HIGH ABOVE VIENNA: A high-flying book presentation in the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel  of the world-famous Prater will be one of the ultimate highlights on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016. If you haven't once in your lifetime taken a ride on the Ferris Wheel and enjoyed the breathtaking views over the roofs of Vienna, this is your time for an amazing experience. On 23 April, from 10 am to noon, the members of the Austrian Antiquarian Booksellers' Association will take you on a trip high above Vienna while offering rare and fine books in one of the wheel cabines and raising money to buy school books for the children in South Sudan. And who knows? Maybe Orson Welles' Third Man will be there, listening to the famous zither tunes by Anton Karas.

HUNGARY

BUDAPEST: 2016 – the year of the book, the year of Cervantes. Hungarian booksellers will hold an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair at the Institute Cervantes: the perfect venue for a bookish event on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016 which marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes. Support literacy, enjoy an exclusive “Don Quixote” exhibition at the Institute named after its famous author, admire the bibliophile treasures and have a chat with the Hungarian booksellers!

FRANCE

PARIS: On 23 April 2016 there will be one really big event  - in Paris in the elegant surroundings of the Grand Palais!  French antiquarian booksellers who are members of Syndicat national de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (SLAM) will join in ILAB’s worldwide celebrations on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016 by granting free entry to the Salon International du Livre rare & de l’Autographe on 23 April. In exchange fair visitors will be invited to donate some money in support of UNESCO’s South Sudan literacy project. Inside the Grand Palais, the French booksellers will celebrate William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes with an impressive exhibition.

PARIS, GRAND PALAIS: Throughout the elegant Parisian Book Fair, ILAB President Norbert Donhofer, Michael Steinbach, President of the Austrian Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (VAO), and many other ILAB booksellers will set up the Empty Bookshelf Posters in their own stands to raise funds for the UNESCO literacy South Sudan projects and to say: Wherever we are, we are a part of it. Amor librorum nos unit. The world of books unites us, on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016, and every  every other day, as long as we read and love books.  A fitting and elegant contribution to the world celebration of books and literacy from booksellers in UNESCO’s home town!

NETHERLANDS

AMSTERDAM: One of the most beautiful and lively cities in Europe, Frank Rutten, Sascha Kok and the Amsterdam booksellers will organize a “UNESCO Night of the Books”, with music and theater – bookish entertainment at its best!

GRONINGEN: Antiquariat Isis is the only ILAB affiliate and member of the Dutch Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (NVvA) in that area, but instead of thinking "there is only one of us and nothing can be done", Lyseth Belt and Theo Butterhof, with the support of their local community, will once again organize a rather special Pop Up celebration of UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day at Folkingestraat in Groningen. Before the Second World War Folkingestraat with the beautiful Synagogue was the heart of the Jewish community. Today it is a lively and busy quarter of Groningen, full of small and independent shops, full of bookish and cultural events, and must go to for every visitor in the Netherlands.

HAARLEM, founded in 1245, has been the historical centre of the tulip bulb-growing district for centuries and bears the nickname "Bloemenstad" (flower city). Since the Middle Ages, Haarlem, which lies on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the "strandwal" (beach ridge), is one busiest and richest places in the Netherlands. On UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016 Dutch booksellers will hold a Pop Up Book Market on Kruisstraat 3 in the historical centre of Haarlem, next to the city Kruispoort which was blown up by the Haarlem inhabitants in 1573 in their battle against the Spanish. Meet the Dutch booksellers there on 23 April from 2 to 5 pm, enjoy their wonderful array of rare and fine books and fill the empty bookshelves for the children in South Sudan by donating money for the UNESCO literacy projects. 

DENMARK

COPENHAGEN: Antiquarian booksellers will pop up in the foyers of the Copenhagen libraries!

SWEDEN

STOCKHOLM:  Thanks to the Swedish rare book dealers the UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April 2016 will turn into a great World Book and Copyright Night! On that day, 23 April 2016, the Stockholm Culture Night rolls out the purple carpet to celebrate art, music, dance and literature throughout the Swedish capital. Visitors will lose themselves in breathtaking performances and amazing exhibitions held at public places, museums and institutions all night. As part of this awesome event in Sweden and at the same time as part of the amazing great chain of ILAB Pop Up Fairs worldwide Mats Petterson, Mats Rehnströhm and other Swedish booksellers will pop up at the Royal Swedish Academy of Art, presenting treasures from the history of printing in Sweden and, as their colleagues across the world, raising money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan. What a night in Stockholm!

LUND is one of the oldest and most charming cities in Sweden. It is famous for its historical buildings, for its University (founded in the year 1666), for numerous bicycles in the streets, its rich cultural scene – and for its bookshops. Pierre Dethorey, member of the Swedish Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (SVAF) runs one of these bookshops. Akarps antikvariat at Kalkstensvägen 21 has one of the largest stocks of rare books in Scandinavia. And it is home to a very special treasure all book people will immediately fall in love with: a stunning collection of over 200 Swedish chapbooks and catch-penny-prints. For this year’s UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day Pierre Dethorey will organize a special exhibition of this beautiful, funny, colourful and extremely rare bibliophile treasure. An amazing idea and another great event in Sweden on 23 April 2016!

UNITED KINGDOM

OXFORD: Booksellers from the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) and their colleagues in the Provincial Booksellers’ Association (PBFA) will join together to bring World Book and Copyright Day to the attention of all who come to one of Britain’s largest rare book fairs, the Oxford Premier Fair. Open on both Saturday April 23 and Sunday April 24th this is one of those special fairs where really different books and other works on paper can be found. Co-organiser Tom Lintern-Mole reports that every year really unusual books are offered in Oxford – last year there was quite a buzz created around an early book on magic, for example. So, if you will be in Britain on April 23 Oxford should be your destination!       

UNITED STATES

NEW YORK: The city that never sleeps will host an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair at a most spectacular venue. Where? Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

CHICAGO, IL: "Sweet home Chicago" is worth visiting for its numerous architectural gems and famous jazz and blues musicians. Thanks to Kurt Gippert, the Chicago booksellers will hold an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair overlooking Lake Michigan and  the elegant skyscrapers of one of most beautiful American cities with a rich cultural life.

SEATTLE, WA:   In the late 19th century Seattle was the gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush, by the year 1910 it became one of the 25 largest cities of the United States, and up to the present it is an emerging industrial and cultural centre at the Pacific Northwest coast. Here, Ray Charles and Quincy Jones made their first steps as Jazz musicians. And who was born in Seattle? Yes! Jimi Hendrix! On 23 April 2016 5, the antiquarian booksellers who belong to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) will host the final event of ILAB’s 24 hours of celebrations of the rare book and its place in our world. In Seattle the ILAB booksellers will welcome you in the Madison Room at the Sorrento Hotel for an ILAB Pop Up Fair including a 6-hour appraisal event, lots of information about the antiquarian booksellers in the United States and their national association and a big fundraising for the UNESCO project to help the children in South Sudan.

WEST LINN, PORTLAND / OREGON: At the same time and only few kilometres away, ABAA members Elisabeth Burdon, Nat des Marais and Charles Seluzicki will join in celebrating  "the end of the day" with an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair, as the sun goes down over World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016. The Portland booksellers who celebrated UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2015 in a Portland pub are heading a few miles south this year and will be showing a varied selection of antiquarian books, maps and ephemera at the West Linn Public Library on April 23 2016, noon to 5pm.  West Linn, a small city located on the Willamette River just south of Portland Oregon, boasts a vibrant community library - a great spot to chat with fellow booklovers, bring a book for an appraisal and donate to UNESCO literacy programs for South Sudan.

This is a first overview of what will happen at the ILAB Pop Up Celebrations from Australia to Asia, Africa, all over Europe to the United States on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016.

For 24 hours, from Australia to the Pacific Northwest, these and many more worldwide events will pop up one after the other to show that there is nothing more powerful than BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS! Take an atlas, go to Google Maps and look for an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair near you! 

ILAB will follow up all events worldwide on 23 April in a 24-hours live-report. Visit us on the blog and on www.ilab.org, follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook! We’ll see you there!

February 2016 – For immediate release. Pictures: ILAB, UNESCO, the Organizers, Wikipedia