Book publishing on a small scale at Porto Book Fair

Apart from bargain sales, a book fair is also a place of cultural significance, where people interact with written, sung or spoken words.

Novelty this year at Porto Book Fair is the project "Cabine de Escalas", which offers publishing space to small scale publishers.

This initiative is promoted by Porto City Hall and curated by Isabel Carvalho.

The projects of small numbers of prints often reveal a bleak economic environment, linked to a set of publishing choices that must be safeguarded, namely matters that don't fall within generalist themes, irregular shapes, or the specialised experimental issues.

As such, a set of publishers of this nature, which have been selected through an Open Call, will share the space "Cabine de Escalas" during the fair, free of charge and with the possibility of showcasing their projects.

Porto Book Fair is held at the gardens of Palácio de Cristal, from 7 till 23 September, featuring cinema, concerts, debates, spoken word sessions, exhibits, readings and workshops.

And, like Frank Zappa put it, "so many books, so little time."