Taipei international book fair organizers tout pavilions and activities

Taipei, Jan. 30 (CNA) The organizers of the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TiBE) on Tuesday introduced some of the main pavilions and activities to be featured at the event, as well as goodies available for visitors.

Earlier this month the book fair's organizers introduced this year's "guest of honor," the Netherlands, and international writers set to attend the event. On Tuesday they held another press event to showcase pavilions with a predominantly Taiwanese focus.

These include a children's pavilion, a digital pavilion, a Taiwanese comic book pavilion, a literature pavilion, and a pavilion dedicated to independent bookstore and publishers.

The children's pavilion will spotlight a large model of a ship and feature ocean-themed decorations to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Dutch sailors first setting foot in Taiwan, said Jeffery Lin (林峻丞), head of community co-op CAN in New Taipei, which curates the pavilion.

The pavilion will feature story books about the sea and maritime adventures, and children will be able to read the storybooks on display and have audio recordings of their recitations made, which will be downloadable via a link, Lin said.

Three Taiwanese podcasters as well as an unnamed "VIP" will visit the section to read select books to children, he said.

At the digital pavilion, visitors will be asked to take part in story-writing on a console or their mobile phones using an app and have customized book covers featuring their portraits created, said Tahan Lin (林大涵), CEO of crowdfunding consultancy company Backer-Founder, which is responsible for planning the pavilion.

The goal is to familiarize more people with e-books and e-book platforms, while promoting the idea of "you as a book" that can be shared and potentially help others, Lin said.

The goal is to upload at least 5,000 e-books "published" by visitors, who after sharing their stories online will receive a prize supplied by TiBE sponsors, said Tahan Lin.

The Taiwan comic book pavilion will feature 32 works by Taiwanese comic book artists, selected by comic book editors, publishers and copyrighters, that are deemed to possess the potential to be popular overseas, as well as works that dominate the bestsellers list of online booksellers Kingstone and Books.Com, said Yeh Tzu-hao (葉子豪), a section chief at Taiwan Creative Content Agency, which overlooks the section.

The literature pavilion will feature literary works chosen by a selection of publishers, said Nikki Lin (林巾力), Director of National Taiwan Museum of Literature, which organizes the pavilion.

Meanwhile, the section dedicated to independent bookstores and publishers will feature recordings of sounds associated with 31 independent bookstores around Taiwan and its outlying islands, said Lin Hung-ju (林虹汝), secretary-general of Taiwan Association of Independent Bookshop Culture.

The section will also feature "independent listening rooms" where visitors can listen to music inspired by the sounds, she said, adding that visitors will also be able to take home a program introducing the pavilion and the design philosophy behind it.

In an effort to support local publishers and promote reading, visitors will receive discounts equivalent to the price of their tickets, which are priced at NT$150 (US$4.82) for the general public and NT$100 for students at least 18 years of age and visitors aged 65 and older, when they shop at the book fair, said Yang Ting-chen (楊婷媜), head of the Ministry of Culture's Department of Humanities and Publications.

In addition, eligible residents aged 16-22 will be able to use "Culture Point" e-vouchers when they shop, she said.

Visitors arriving from south of New Taipei will be granted free admission upon presenting a ticket stub for an on-the-day Taiwan High Speed Rail ticket, as will those arriving from Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung when they present a valid transportation ticket stub, according to the ministry.