Nothe Belém Cultural Center (CCB), book day is celebrated in the Foyer of the Great Auditorium with readings of short children’s stories, in the morning, by Cláudia Jardim and Miguel Mateus, and book excerpts, in the afternoon.
The CCB invited some personalities linked to literature and the word, who were asked to join this initiative to read an excerpt from a book of their choice.
The program begins at 3 pm with Ana Zanatti reading short stories by Lydia Davis and Paul Kellerman, as well as an excerpt from ‘The Prince’, by Niccolò Machiavelli.
This is followed by Lígia Soares, who chose to read part of the second volume of the ‘Copenhaga Trilogy’, by Tove Ditlevsen, dedicated to ‘Youth’.
José Leite reads parts of ‘Stories of Cronópio and Famas’, by Júlio Cortázar, and Teresa Mello Sampaio opted for ‘O Púcaro Búlgaro’, by Campos de Carvalho.
There will also be readings by José dos Anjos, Margarida Pinto Correia and Patrícia Portela.
In another initiative carried out by the CCB, the public is invited, throughout the day, to propose a book based on one of the themes present on a posted panel. These suggestions will be published on the website of the National Reading Plan.
“In this year’s celebration, we will also promote, among our public, a collection of books in exchange for a red rose: ‘A Rose for a Book’. The collected books will be donated to a social solidarity institution or a library”, adds.
The Portuguese Association of Publishers and Booksellers (APEL) and the Lisbon City Council (CML) will celebrate April 23 with various literary activities for all ages, they announced in a statement.
On that day, several bookstores in the city will be open, in an initiative that also involves occupying some public space outside the physical stores.
The celebration of World Book Day in these participating bookstores will be “marked by promotions and special offers”, sessions with the presence of authors and a children’s program, with story hours and the presence of authors of children’s books.
A meeting is also planned between the president of APEL, Pedro Sobral, the president of CML, Carlos Moedas, and some authors, at 5 pm, at Livraria Buchholz, from where they will depart “for a walk towards downtown Lisbon, visiting some emblematic bookstores of the city, such as Bertrand Chiado and Férin”.
Francisco Moita Flores and Domingos Amaral are two authors who will be with the readers that afternoon, to drink coffee, which is provided by Buchholz, for a conversation and to sign books, according to information from the Leya publishing group.
But the activity around books and writers in this bookstore starts in the morning, with a program aimed at younger readers.
At 10:30 am, Thereza Ameal will tell the story of her book ‘O Foguetão dos Sentidos’, illustrated by Pedro Rocha e Mello, in a session that combines fun and learning: with the help of some characters, the authors take children to discover the vision , hearing, smell, taste and touch.
An hour later, it will be Ana Luísa Pais’s turn to tell the adventures of Teo Patufa, a little dog about whom the author has already written two books. Using posters and cloth dolls, the author bets on interaction with the youngest in a presentation that she has already given in schools from north to south of the country.
Porto Editora marks the day by offering a thousand audiobooks of ‘The Son of a Thousand Men’, by Valter Hugo Mãe, narrated by the author himself.
Copies will be made available free of charge to the first thousand readers who access the ‘link’ that will be available on social networks and on the publisher’s website.
“This initiative intends to promote the Portuguese language through a format capable of capturing the attention of new readers, namely younger ones, and combating the low reading rates in Portugal”, explains the editorial group.
In a more traditional way, the publisher will promote a ‘performance’ with the poet Aurelino Costa, at Torel Palace Porto, a story time for hospitalized children at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, with Rita Sineiro, and a conversation around a new historical novel by João Pedro Marques, ‘Until the end of the Earth’, at the Hotel Sana Malhoa, in Lisbon.
Richard Zimler presents, in conversation with César Nóbrega, ‘What we are looking for is always looking for us’, the second volume of the historical saga ‘A Aldeia das Almas Desaparecidas’, at FNAC in Santa Catarina, Porto.
The Porto Editora group also participates in an action for schools that combines physical activity and the promotion of reading among young people, the Pedalar pela Leitura initiative, by Braga City Council.
Penguin Random House (PRH) also joined the World Book Day initiatives, with the decision to donate a set of books to the Ana de Castro Osório Specialized Library.
This library was set up, itself, as a result of a donation from Maria Antónia Palla, Ana Sara Brito, Anne Cova, Manuela Tavares and Maria Teresa Sales, “destined to embody a specialized collection, consisting of about two thousand works dedicated to the theme of feminism and gender equality”, says the editorial group in a statement.
In this context, and on this occasion, PRH will deliver titles by Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, Katherine Mansfield, Lucia Berlin, Michelle Obama, Lúcia Vicente, Cátia Vidinhas and Gilda Barros, among other writers.
Also Read: Portugal takes “(There are no) forbidden words” to the Leipzig Book Fair
Always be the first to know.
Seventh consecutive year Consumer Choice for Online Press.
Download our free App.
