Italy has been selected as the guest of honor at this year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition from Feb. 4 to 9 at the Taipei World Trade Center, and is set to showcase its illustrators and authors across literary genres, organizers said yesterday.
The Italian Pavilion would feature two sections, dedicated to Italian illustrators and comic artists, and children’s book authors, with the first section showcasing works from 30 artists, and the second featuring about 60 children’s books and picture books selected by the International Board on Books for Young People, Italia, the Ministry of Culture said.
Eleven “heavyweight” Italian authors published in fields from contemporary literature to picture books, suspense, children’s literature and detective fiction are slated to make appearances to promote their new books and speak at related forums, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
The authors are Beatrice Alemagna, Mario Barenghi, Gianni Biondillo, Davide Cali, Laura Imai Messina, Eliana Liotta, Federica Manzon, Fabiano Massimi, Susanna Mattiangeli, Lorenzo Mattotti and Luca Peyron.
Meanwhile, more than 50 international authors are scheduled to give speeches, including Hong Kong novelist Jozev Lau (喬靖夫), British illustrator Marion Deuchars and Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto, the Taipei Book Fair Foundation said.
Other countries to be featured at the book fair include Thailand, India, Belgium, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.
People aged between 18 and 22 who present the ministry’s “culture points” digital vouchers would be granted free admission.
Those who purchase a ticket would receive a coupon equivalent to the ticket’s face value, which they could spend at the book fair, the ministry said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the