Nobel laureate among luminaries at Shanghai Book Fair

French Nobel laureate J.M.G. Le Clezio, Irish writer and lecturer Colm Toibin, and British writer Jeanette Winterson, author of the popular novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, are among the internationally acclaimed authors who will interact with their peers, publishers and readers from all over the country at the Shanghai Book Fair.

The fair, which runs from Aug 17-23, will for the first time include an international literature festival.

Le Clezio will give a public lecture on Aug 18, and sign the Chinese edition of his books. Meanwhile, Toibin's new book Mothers and Sons will be launched on Friday afternoon.

"Two books by an important contemporary author, Ian McEwan - the Chinese edition of Amsterdam and The Cement Garden - will be launched at the fair this year, and hopefully we will be able to invite the British author to China for the book fair next year," says Huang Yuning, director of the Literature Department of Shanghai Translation Publishing House.

More than 400 lectures, book signings and other events will be held over the seven days of the fair.

About 500 publishing companies from all over China will participate in the fair. More than 150,000 books will be exhibited in a space of 22,000 square meters, alongside the latest in digital publishing.

With Chongqing being the featured city at this year's fair, a series of books and publishers from the western China municipality will be highlighted.

Besides popular writers and novelists, the fair will also introduce scientists and academics to readers.

It is open daily from 9 am to 6 pm. On the weekend of Aug 19-21, it will remain open till 9 pm. Tickets, costing 20 yuan ($7.83), will be available at the door. About 20,000 free tickets will be given to people in need through residential communities.

Last year, the fair achieved record sales of more than 40 million yuan ($6.26 million) and drew at least 250,000 readers.