The International Book Fair in Nancy, France had the colours of Greece.

It is hard to imagine that the meeting of twenty writers in 1979 at the Arch of Héré in the city of Nancy, would become a few decades later the largest book fair in France.

Every September, the book fair “Le Livre sur la Place” sets off the start of a new literary year in France. It is the city where the biggest names of international literature meet.

As the most important book fair in Francem it provides numerous opportunities for meetings and exchanges between authors and their readers.

In September 2021 it opened its gates for the first time for a guest country and this country, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of its independence, was Greece.

Through the books and testimonies of ten Greek authors: Ersi Sotiropoulou, Christos Chomenidis, Christos Chrysopoulos, Kallia Papadaki, Fotini Tsalikoglou, Allain Glykos, Christos Markogiannakis, Konstantinos Tzamiotis and Minoas Efstathiadis, the portrait of an entire country was painted; the image of which was spread to a large audience of visitors from the wider region of Central Europe.

During a festive evening at the Lorraine National Opera which was full of people, Nikos Aliagas in Greek and Anna Mouglalis in French read Cavafy, Seferis and Ritsos in a majestic event filled with poetry and music.

The idea for ​​the invitation and of Greece as guest country belongs to the director of the exhibition, Marie Madeleine Rigopoulos, who envisioned and realized it with great love for Greece.

For the promotion of Greece as the first guest country in the history of the Nancy International Fair, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the institution for books and literature in Greece, collaborated with the Centre Culturelle Hellénique based in Paris (Center of Greek Culture); The presidents of both institutions attended the Book Fair at Nancy.