The 7th annual St. Martin Book Fair, with the theme of "Wired" is set for June 4-6, 2009, said Shujah Reiph, book fair coordinator and head of the Book Fair Committee (BFC).
Authors from Aruba to Canada have been confirmed, said Reiph. "There will be new book launches. "Workshops and panels will focus on subjects such as blogging; transforming history and stories from books and the oral tradition into movies; child abandonment; and interpreting the 2009 Guadeloupe-Martinique labor protests."
"The workshop on key aspects of the current state of the St. Martin economy will be conducted by Jan J. Beaujon, managing director of the Windward Islands Bank," said Reiph.
"We have also increased the number of schools for authors to visit on both parts of the island as well as pre-book fair activities," said Reiph.
The BFC has been meeting for the last two months while there have been ongoing discussions with longstanding and potential new sponsors "with respect to the current sponsorship challenges faced by economies at home and abroad," said Reiph.
"The main book fair venue remains in the South at USM on June 5 while Marigot will host the June 4 opening ceremony at the Chamber of Commerce Building. The book fair opening alternates each year between our island’s two capitals," said Reiph, who is also president of Conscious Lyrics Foundation.
The June 5 cultural evening will be a literary concert of visiting and St. Martin authors reading passages from their newest books.
Conscious Lyrics Foundation and House of Nehesi Publishers organize the St. Martin Book Fair in collaboration with the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau and the University of St. Martin.