Book Fair: record-breaking edition, with 254 thousand stars and authors

Five days of meetings, readings, shows. And then a curious crowd, made up of 254 thousand people, who toured among the beyond 500 stands at the Lingotto in Turin in search of the titles of the heart. The curtain falls this evening on the 38th of International Book Fairdirected by Annalena Benini, which had as its theme “The World Saved by Little Boys.” Over 34 thousand students, with their teachers and chaperones, visited the Fair. “It was a magnificent and very festive edition – comments director Benini – I will carry in my heart the many young people who happily wandered around the stands of the Show. And I don’t just mean young people, but kids of all ages with their curiosity and their love of reading”. The 147 thousand square meters of exhibition space hosted 1250 editorial brands, 70 rooms and 378 hours of workshops, over 2,700 events at Lingotto and over 500 in the area with the Salone Off.

Many great international guests were sold out

Starting with French writer Emmanuel Carrère, who also spoke about the controversies at the Venice Biennale, and by the writer and Greek screenwriter Petros Markariswith his latest novel “Richness that kills”, which recalled his bond with his friend Camilleri. Sold out and rock star cheering for the US Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the most recognizable protagonists of the American political scene. Sanders, speaking to the public, explained that “what Trump says about Europe is not shared by the majority of Americans” and that “he is sure that we will soon be able to rebuild a solid and strong relationship with Europe”.

Crowd for the Italians

Long queues to access the rooms where meetings with the Italians were held Zerocalcare, Roberto Saviano, Niccolò Ammaniti, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi. Characters from the world of sport also appeared on the stage of the Book Fair, such as the ‘divine pigtail’ Roberto Baggiowho said he was “amazed by such a warm welcome from the public”, from cinema and TV as well Lino Banfi, Orietta Berti and Mara Maionchi interviewed by Luciana Littizzetto. And again Fiorello, Jovanotti and Ligabue. Inside the stand in the Oval pavilion, the protagonists were the stories of the visitors to the fair who contributed to the creation of five murals, each of which dedicated to a great history of literature: from Gulliver’s travels to The Arabian Nights, passing through the imagination of Stephen King and The Neverending Story. Positive and clearly growing results for the publishers present at this edition.

Among the publishing houses that achieved an excellent result, also compared to 2025: the Mondadori group closed with a +10%, and the best-selling titles were “Il tempo del la la la”, by Luciana Littizzetto, “Cesare, the conquest of eternity” by Alberto Angela and “Arkansas” by Chiara Tagliaferri for Mondadori. The best-selling books by the Einaudi publishing house were those by Niccolò Ammaniti, Vasco Brondi and Concita De Gregorio, and Elsa Morante’s book, “The world saved by kids”, was also a great success.