Not fiction: the spring non/fiction is dedicated to the anniversary of Victory and the problems of AI

Almost 300 publishers, two thematic exhibitions dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory, a series of discussions with modern writers about artificial intelligence — all this awaits visitors to the spring non-fiction book fair, which opened in Gostiny Dvor on April 10 and runs until the 13th inclusive. Traditionally, twice a year, this spacious building near the Kremlin becomes a place of attraction for the country's bibliophiles. Izvestia couldn't miss this event either.

Humans and robots

Perhaps the main feature of the current fair is two thematic "leitmotifs". One of them is artificial intelligence. The central stand, topped by a large white tower, is called "I+AI" and is dedicated to the theme of computer creativity. During all four days of non-fiction, Lev Naumov's "Inspiration Machine" performance will take place here, in which the writer will create a new work together with the neural network, starting from a dialogue with visitors. In the same space, meetings will be held with authors, publishers and researchers who will discuss various aspects of the use of AI in the modern literary process and book publishing.

The second "leitmotif", even more important and noticeable, is the 80th anniversary of the Victory. Two mini-exhibitions are dedicated to this topic, located right near the entrance to the fair: posters from the time of the Great Patriotic War and "The Great Books of the Great Victory". Among the posters taken from private collections, there are both textbook samples and lesser-known examples of anti-fascist propaganda. As for the books, the original editions of the early 1940s are located in the showcases, and the vertical transparent columns contain modern analogues, primarily from the new Eksmo publishing house series, after which the exhibition is named.

The series will include works by Konstantin Simonov, Daniil Granin, Mikhail Sholokhov, Valentin Kataev, Lev Kassil, Vladislav Krapivin and other classics of Soviet literature, the press service of the publishing house told Izvestia.

— Interest in books about the Great Patriotic War is consistently high, and it usually increases in April and May, on the eve of Victory Day. According to a study that we conducted jointly with the NAFI analytical center, over the past two years, every third Russian has read books about the Great Patriotic War — 32%,"Eksmo—AST emphasized.

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The exhibition will run in Gostiny Dvor from 3 to 6 April.

About the war — for adults and children

It is significant that the AST-ABC stand is entirely devoted to military topics. Moreover, it is divided by a large screen into two sections: on the right — what is related to the events in Donbass, and on the left — publications about the Great Patriotic War. Many of them are new items presented for the first time. Along with historical works and adult literature, there is, for example, Sergei Mikhalkov's "Children's Shoe", a cycle of 11 poems decorated not only with drawings, but also with photographs of those years, which is not at all typical for publications aimed at the youngest readers.

Other recent publications include Igor Nosov's collection of short stories "Young Heroes" about boys and girls whose childhood was invaded by war, the interactive family encyclopedia "The Great Patriotic War" by historians Alexei Isaev and Artyom Drabkin, and Dmitry Filippov's "Collectors of Silence", awarded the Slovo Literary Prize.

There is a lot of literature about the Great Patriotic War at the Kitay-Goroda stand. A special area has been allocated for it, called "Along the Memory Road". Well, on the counter of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of Russia, there are a number of biographical books about political and military leaders of the 1940s. Among them are Stalin, Zhukov, Malenkov, Mikoyan and others.

Art, prints and Norstein

Izvestia's interlocutors at the stands of various publishers, whose assortment includes books about the Great Patriotic War, unanimously noted the increased demand for them. However, it cannot be said that the other areas and thematic areas are worse represented this time than usual.

In particular, non-fiction fair traditionally features a wide range of literature about art ("UFOs", Ad Marginem, museum and university publishers), sports and various hobbies. One of the largest and most polyphonic stands on the subject is at the Bombora publishing house. And here visitors can find books branded by Izvestia. The dust jackets of several publications ("Moscow in a Poster, a Poster in Moscow", "Behind the Front Doors: Moscow Mansions in Photographs and Stories" by Elena Krizhevskaya, etc.) contain quotes from our reviews published in a traditional book review.

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There is a place in non-fiction for all sorts of rarities, which are sold by small independent publishers and bookstores, united in a group section. Aside from the main route, you can also find various exotics: prints, reprints, second-hand books, atlases.… Well, the traditional joy for adults and children is a corner where posters, print runs and books based on cartoons by Yuri Norstein are sold. The classic himself sits modestly there and signs them to everyone.

In general, one of the trump cards of non—fiction is democracy in everything. Yes, admission is not free, but inside you can find a huge number of books at publishing prices. And some things are sold at significant discounts, one and a half to two times cheaper than on official websites.