BABELL turns Porto into a 'book city' with internationally renowned authors

Two Nobel laureates, Booker Prize winners and writers will make Porto a literary capital from 24 to 29 June at the BABELL Festival, to bring readers closer to bookshops. Between 24 and 29 June, Porto’s historic centre will turn into a city of books. The BABELL Festival (source in Portuguese) is set to be one of Europe’s biggest literary events, bringing to Portugal some of the most influential figures in contemporary national and international thought and literature. Organised by the Livraria Lello Foundation, with the support of Porto City Council, the festival programme will include two Nobel Prize in Literature laureates, Olga Tokarczuk and László Krasznahorkai, as well as other authors distinguished with the prestigious Booker Prize, such as Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Julian Barnes. Brazilian writers Conceição Evaristo, Milton Hatoum and Rafal Gallo, along with Colombian author Héctor Abad Faciolince, are also among the international guests and will be taking part in talks. On the national scene, the line-up also features Lídia Jorge, Gonçalo M. Tavares, Bruno Vieira Amaral, Isabel Rio Novo, Filipa Martins, João de Melo, Dulce Maria Cardoso, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Ana Paula Tavares and Valter Hugo Mãe. Access to the sessions is secured through the purchase of books at a network of around 50 participating bookshops and second-hand and antiquarian bookstores. Each book purchased entitles the buyer to a token with a code, which allows them to reserve a seat, subject to capacity, via BABELL’s official website. According to the organisers, this unprecedented access model aims to draw thousands of people into the city’s bookshops and promote books and reading. Anyone wishing to attend any session must also be carrying a book in their hand. As well as literary conversations, the programme includes exhibitions, film screenings, history classes, children’s sessions, poetry readings in the streets and concerts. One of the most eagerly awaited musical moments will take place on Avenida dos Aliados on the 25th, with a show bringing together Pedro Abrunhosa and GNR, who will also perform new songs inspired by poetry from northern Portugal. A surprise artist will also join them, himself one of the biggest names in Portuguese music and closely linked to the city of Porto. On 26 June it will be the turn of Bárbara Bandeira and Carminho to take to the stage. Another highlight is contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang, responsible for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games and for the temporary closing show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, who on 27 June will present, for the first time in Portugal, a new work created especially for BABELL. The literary event will take over public spaces such as Praça dos Leões, Avenida dos Aliados, Praça da Batalha, Ribeira do Porto and Torre dos Clérigos, strengthening the bond between literature and the city.