Turin Book Fair 2024, events and presentations not to be missed

One of the most anticipated cultural events of the year returns from Thursday 9 May to Monday 13: the Turin International Book Fair with almost 2 thousand events at the Lingotto and 650 spread throughout the area. With the theme “Imaginary Life”, and directed for the first time by Annalena Benini, it will be the largest ever, with 137 thousand square meters of surface area, 15 thousand more seats in the Auditorium of the Congress Center, over 800 stands, 51 rooms and 180 laboratories. Here are the main events not to be missed, including the general programming appointments and the meetings planned by the seven parallel sections, an absolute novelty of the 2024 Salon.

Events not to be missed with international guests

Among the most anticipated international guests, Salman Rushdie will arrive at the 36th edition of the Turin International Book Fair. Friday 10 May, in the Auditorium, at 6.30 pm in dialogue with Roberto Saviano, the writer will present his new book “Coltello. Meditations after an attempted assassination”, where for the first time he brings to life the traumatic events that involved him in the attack of 12 August 2022. Above all, the book also tells the story of the aftermath of the attack: his complicated path towards physical recovery and healing made possible by the love and support of his wife Eliza, his family, the doctors, the physiotherapists and his community of readers around the world. The inaugural lecture by the American Elizabeth Strout, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for the short story collection Olive Kitteridge, is also highly anticipated. On Thursday 9 May, at 2pm, in the Sala Oro, he will hold the lesson entitled “The very slow start of my very fast career”. The sisters Amélie and Juliette Nothomb will also arrive in Turin: on Friday 10 May, at 3.45 pm, in the Sala Azzurra, with Nadia Terranova, they will talk about their respective books, “Psicopompo” and “In Praise of the Horse”. On Sunday 12 May, however, at 4.15 pm in the Sala Bianca, the Japanese writer Murata Sayaka, for the first time in Italy, with Irene Graziosi, will present her latest collection of short stories “Parti e homicides”, set in the Tokyo of a not so well-known future. specified. Following this, at 6.30 pm, in the Sala Azzurra, there will be the Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk as a guest who will present, with Annachiara Sacchi, his book “Memories of distant mountains”. Also highly awaited are Don Winslow, who on May 10, at 7.30 pm, will present the last novel of his career “City in Ruins”, before his announced retirement and Nicolas Barreau, best-selling author whose name is a pseudonym and has promised to reveal its identity at the Salone, on 10 May, at 5.15pm.

Meetings not to be missed with Italian guests

There are also many names of the Italian guests expected at the Salone. Starting with Alessandro Baricco, who will close the Salone Off on Monday 13 May, at 8.45pm, at the Teatro Carignano with the world premiere of Abel Concerto. The Turin writer will go on stage together with three musicians (Cesare Picco, Roberto Tarasco, Nicola Tescari) to read and “play” 7 chapters of his latest book “Abel”. Professor Alessandro Barbero is expected in the Auditorium on Friday 10th, at 3pm, who will tell, with Giuseppe Laterza, “The imaginary story”.
Gianni Morandi will also arrive at the 2024 Salone: ​​on Saturday 11 May, at 12.30, he will be in conversation with Luciana Littizzetto, curator of the “lightness” section. Also on May 11th, at 2.30 pm, Roberto Saviano will present “We two belong to each other”. On Sunday, at 5pm, another noteworthy meeting is scheduled: Fedez will talk about the importance of supporting the mental health care of younger people in an open dialogue with the national president of the Order of Psychologists David Lazzari.
Also on Sunday 12 May, at 5.15pm, for one of the most anticipated events of the Salone, Elena Cecchettin, the sister of Giulia, killed last November by her ex-boyfriend Filippo Turetta, will be at the Arena Robinson Repubblica on the occasion of the event “Really, I don’t want to!”, in which the theme of unconscious patriarchy will be explored. As a guest there will also be Giulia’s father, Gino Cecchettin, who will present “Dear Giulia. What I learned from my daughter.” On Saturday 11 May, however, Selvaggia Lucarelli, at 7.30 pm, will present her book “Il vaso di Pandoro”.

The main events on comics

This year too, comics will have a significant space at the Salon, with many meetings with the public which will see the participation of authors, publishers and comics experts in the Comics Room. In particular, on Friday, at 10.30am, Donald Duck’s ninetieth birthday will be celebrated with a great event dedicated to schools (Panini Comics) and on Saturday (at 4.15pm) Mafalda’s sixtieth birthday. Among the highly anticipated authors we find Zerocalcare, who on May 11th at 3.30 pm will present “When you die it stays with me” in the Auditorium.

The freebies

There is also room for giveaways. On Saturday 11 May, at 7.30 pm, Michela Murgia will be remembered in the Sala Oro, through the voice of some of the many writers who loved her: Maurizio De Giovanni, Alessandro Giammei, Valeria Parrella, Roberto Saviano, Chiara Tagliaferri and Chiara Valerio. On the same day, Natalia Ginzburg will also be remembered, in a highly anticipated event with Domenico Scarpa (at 6pm) and James Baldwin (at 5.15pm).

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