Today Zagreb Fair saw the closing of Interliber, 45^th International Book Fair.

Pavilions 5, 6 ,7 and 7a hosted more than 300 exhibitors from 13 countries.

"The fair for all generations celebrates 45 years, during which we have been witnessing the creation of love for books and the written word. Interliber is a place for the promotion of books, writers, reading, science and knowledge, and it gathers the most important publishers and booksellers.

Interliber has long ago surpassed the boundaries of Zagreb Fair, and our goal is to connect all stakeholders of the publishing industry: readers, institutions, publishers, the cultural and economic sector and the media, and to achieve further development and qualitative growth of the country's central literary event. Success can also be seen in numbers, as we record the growth of the fair's indicators - 5% more exhibitors and 13% larger exhibition space", said Mrs. Renata Suša, Zagreb Fair Director, at the official opening of Interliber.

Interliber was inaugurated by Mrs. Nina Obuljen Koržinek, PhD, Minister of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia and Envoy to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Andrej Plenković, and the guests were also addressed by Mr. Tomislav Tomašević, Mayor of Zagreb.

Interliber was attended by over 120.000 of content visitors, who were able to buy books at favourable prices during six days of the fair.

The main guest at this year's fair was the world-famous writer and Indian diplomat, Mr. Vikas Swarup, whose novel "Q&A" was the inspiration for the famous film "Slumdog Millionaire" that won multiple awards and Oscars. Vikas Swarup held a particularly well-attended meeting with the audience titled "The Talk: Vikas Swarup", moderated by Jasen Boko, author, dramaturge, travel writer and journalist.

"My presence at Interliber shows 3 key things: 1) Croatians are great book lovers, 2) there is a very vibrant culture of translation in Croatia, because my book eventually is reaching my readers in Croatia through my publisher Znanje, and 3) that you want to engage with other cultures, people, ideas. If Croatia is an example of a great democracy in action then Interliber is an example of the democracy of the imagination in action. We celebrate the democracy of the imagination, that there are no limits in fiction and today at a time when the world is badly divided, when walls are being erected, fences constructed I think books can be the unifying factor, books can bring us all together in a common pursuit of our shared humanity because books have the quality of empathy. So I am delighted to be in Croatia, at Interliber and I am really looking forward to this opportunity of engaging with not only the readers but also the writers of Croatia and hopefully getting inspired to write a new book maybe based on Croatia", said Mr. Vikas Swarup at Interliber.

The attention of numerous visitors was also attracted by the "Let 3" singer Mrle, who promoted his new picture book for the first time at Interliber, as well as the lecture of the Croatian astronomer Korado Korlević on the topic "The Great Reset". The 150^th birth anniversary of Marija Jurić Zagorka, the first Croatian journalist and writer, was also marked through costumed walks of Zagorka with her characters.

Interliber was visited by Mr. Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, with colleagues Mrs. Nina Obuljen Koržinek, PhD, Minister of Culture and Media, Prof. Radovan Fuchs, PhD, Minister of Science and Education and Mr. Davor Božinović, PhD, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.

The Publishers and Booksellers Association at the Croatian Chamber of Economy organized a Premium programme, which included book promotions, meetings with authors, various educational workshops, awarding of prizes, quiz shows as well as a music programme that took place daily at the open-air space in front of the pavilion 5. There were more than 200 hours of accompanying programmes in total. This year as well, Knjigodar was organizer. This is an action to donate books to a school library that does not have the conditions for quality renovation or addition of book material. The school library of the Elementary School Budaševo - Topolovac - Gušće in Sisak-Moslavina County near the city of Sisak was selected.