Reading makes experiencing: Boektopia in Kortrijk

The slogan of Boektopia is: “Reading is experiencing” and everything is done for that at the festival. I probably shouldn’t explain to you that you can buy books at the festival, but did you know that you can meet your favorite authors all week long? Yesterday I spoke with Marc de Bel, the youth writer known for De Zusjes Kriegel and his more recent trilogy Stoverij Met Friet. He emphasized the importance of events such as Boektopia for the survival of the book and the desire of young people to read stories. If you bring everyone together with thousands of books and then get the chance to meet the authors again, you can encourage people to start reading again.

In addition, the peripheral animation provides a playful way to come into contact with book titles. For the little ones there is a reading moment every half hour, during which the author reads her or his book. A calming moment that can be welcome after exuberant play in the arcade. But a rest area has not only been planned for the little ones. On Boektopia you can enjoy a live podcast recording with headphones on, or experience how an audiobook really sounds. These places are spread over the first hall. Big FC De Kampioenen fan? Why are you still reading this article and not yet on your way to Boektopia? For the 25th anniversary of the Fc De Kampioenen comics, you can view an exhibition where you can view first versions of the comic series. If that doesn’t convince you enough, you may have one or more of your favorite characters present to sign your comics.

The idea behind Boektopia arose from the cry for help of some publishers. In percentage terms, people read less and especially Dutch-language books are finding it increasingly difficult. By organizing events such as Boektopia, the publishers hope to bring people back to reading. The wide variety of books will certainly help with this. You will find all the classics, but also lesser-known titles to push your boundaries. Not really a fan of novels? Look for fun non-fiction books or get started in the kitchen with one of the cookbooks you found on Boektopia.

Practical

Boektopia will continue until 6 November in Kortrijk Xpo. Tickets are available through the website and at the box office. You can easily request all information and programming via: https://www.boektopia.be.