A WORLD of books will soon show its face in Sofia. The 25th International Book Fair will take place from December 14 to 18 in hall 3 of the National Palace of Culture (NDK).

Organised by the Bulgarian Book Association (ABK), it will feature more than 120 publishing houses from Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Macedonia and Russia, among others.

The first book fair took place in 1968. Since 1993, when the book fair was re-established, it has been joined by the National Centre of the Book as a supporting partner.

With its global scope, this December's event stands out. Though the fair occurs twice a year annually - in the spring and before Christmas - it is only every other winter that it goes international.

Yonko Yonchev, chairman of the executive board of the ABK, said that one of the main purposes of the fair is to find new markets.

"We want to introduce Bulgarian publishers to the public - international and Bulgarian," he said. "Bulgarian publishing houses will demonstrate new products. Foreign publishing houses are our partners in business and our regular participants. Here, they will observe our international book market and try to conceive new book ideas."

Last year brought about 12 000 visitors, and they anticipate "maybe 15 000 this year," said Petko Dyulgerov, ABK's executive director.

At the event will be presentations of new books - including children's books and textbooks, cultural programmes, special guests from Austria and Libya, a theatre production for children, and, of course, the opportunity to indulge in some freshly printed pages.

The play for children is an adaptation of Bulgarian author Yordan Radichkov's, We the Sparrows (Nie vrabchetata), a fable told through a sparrow's view of life.

Some of the round table discussions will focus on the publication of books and texts; children's books illustrating; the Bulgarian National Library and editors: library specialists, editors, and the needs of libraries and their patrons; and books in print, or how to inform readers about new books before their release.

Bulgarian Book Association has invited 130 children from three Bulgarian towns: Montana, Stara Zagora and Trun, to the fair. The 30 children coming from Trun are orphans. All of these special guests will have the opportunity to observe the world of books, stroll around Sofia and receive a special gift voucher to purchase items at the fair.

In addition to this charitable act, the Union of Libraries and the ABK will co-operate under ABK's new project - Read Bulgaria (Chetyashta Bulgaria) - to renew libraries in devastated towns in the Rhodope Mountain region, said Dyulgerov, starting after the fair concludes.

The ABK is a non-profit professional organisation founded in 1994 that includes publishing houses, bookstores and distributors, said Yonchev.

"We exist to protect professional interests, to take initiatives in society to develop interest towards books and reading in general, and to develop a web of relations, along with representing the interests of publishing houses before the state," he said. For these reasons, the association organises its twice-yearly book fair.

Bulgarian publishers Bard (fiction), Hermes (fiction and textbooks) and Prosveta (one of the largest textbook publishers in the country) will be represented at the International Book Fair.

Sofia's Goethe Institute will present Away Game: Books from Germany on the World of Football, an exhibit presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair in April 2005.

Simone Bertran, head of information and library at the institute, said that the collection focuses on all aspects of football: fields, history, managers, business and players.

"Very little actually deals with the sport itself," she said.

December 2005 is her first book fair here. She anticipates hearing what Bulgarians think about books, how they like the book fair and what the future will be for the Bulgarian book market.

"I'm interested in the work, profiles, politics and problems," she said.

And, like most others in the industry, she hopes to make contact with Bulgarian publishers.

The Institut Francais will focus on children's literature. One of the largest publishers in France - Gallimard Jeunesse - will be present, and will present a selection of illustrated children's books.

"For us, books for youth are documents that can be a source of promotion for the French culture, and also a valuable means of learning to read and to write," said Anne Begramian, cultural attachee at the institute.

The institute's Vitocha programme, which translates French books into Bulgarian, demonstrates this objective. Since its inception in 1992, more than 100 Bulgarian editors have translated about 900 French books into the language.

"At the fair, we want to create relationships between French editors and their Bulgarian counterparts," she said. "We also hope to, one day, see a tradition of co-editions of French books of quality translated into Bulgarian."

The desires of the Institute Francais coincide well with the goals of the International Book Fair.

Here in Bulgaria, where current literary preferences lean toward science fiction and reference books, new young authors are starting to arrive on the scene.

"With their contemporary narratives," said Yonchev, "we have a great insight into the life of the coming generations".