Organized by TÜYAP and the Turkish Publishers Association, the 34thannual International Istanbul Book Fair will open on Nov. 7 at the TÜYAP Fair and Congress Center in Büyükçekmece. The fair, which will continue until Nov. 15, will welcome 750 national and international publishing houses and nongovernmental organizations along with 30 authors from countries around the world. The fair will also host 1,500 autograph sessions and 300 various events. The fair, whose motto is "Humor: Looking at Life with a Smile," will feature veteran Turkish cartoonist Tan Oral as the Cartoonist of Honor. The cartoonist is expected to attend various panel sessions and events as a part of the book fair. Moreover, TÜYAP will publish two books titled "Kafa Kağıdı" (Identity Card) and "Çizgili Aydın Okumaları" (Striped Intellectual Readings) on Oral's life, art and a selection of his work. TÜYAP will also hold an exhibition titled "TanTana," featuring portraits drawn by Oral and his artist peers. The exhibition, which is designed and curated by Sadık Karamustafa and coordinated by Cemran Anıl Öder, will be open at Salon 8 until the end of the fair. "Kafa Kağıdı" features Oral's life, his works and his perspective of life and art. The book also includes his articles, photographs taken by the cartoonist, his original drawings and his published books. On the other hand, "Çizgili Aydın Okumaları" features Oral's cartoons in which he questions the problematic social status of intellectuals.

"Kitchen: Food and Book Meetings," which was first held last year, will take place as a part of the International Salon events until Nov. 10. The event is sponsored by Öztiryakiler, and will include chefs and culinary artists such as Ebru Omurcalı, Sevinç Uzcan, Sevim Gökyıldız, Hubert Bourdon, Selin Kutucular, Cüneyt Ayral, Süleyman Dilsiz, Ömür Akkor, Özgün Ünver, Eyüp Kemal Sevinç, Mehmet Yalçınkaya, Erdem Dırbalı, Yıldırım Beyazıt Serim, İbrahim Çelik and Nilgün Tatlı who will create interactive food presentations and hold panel sessions.

Romania will be the "Guest of Honor" at this year's fair. romania will be represented at the fair by 12 prominent writers in romanian literature, two moderators and two translators. romania's stand, featuring examples of romanian literature and culture, will be open for four days and it will organize panel sessions, poetry readings, small music concerts, meet&greet events for professional publishers and special events for children. Moreover,romanian writers Matei Visniec, Dumitru Tepeneag, Mircea Dinescu, Dan Lungu, Octavian Soviany, Carmen Muşat, Daniel Cristea-Enache and Florin Bican will attend to the fair.

The fair will also host many international writers throughout the nine-day event. Sarah Jio, who has been featured on The New York Times' Bestseller List, will be the guest of Pena Publishing. Known for her romantic stories, Jio caused a stir with her latest book "The Look of Love." Her books have been published in 27 countries, including Turkey.

Known in Turkey for his book "Bird Box," American writer Josh Malerman will also be a guest at the fair. Work from recognized writers such as Vassilis Papatheodorou, Yannis Kalpouzos, Manuel Vilas and Jose Mujica, the former president of Uruguay, will be featured at the fair as well. Kirsten Reinhardt, one of the most important authors of German children's literature, will participate as a guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair and Goethe Institute. The writer of the bestselling novel "lemon tree," Sandy Tolan will also meet his fans at the book fair.

Canada-based digital book writing and reading platform Wattpad, which averages 2 million Turkish readers per month and features more than 7 million stories in Turkish, will attend the fair for the first time. Wattpad will celebrate its first anniversary in Turkey with an event that will be overseen by Wattpad's founder and CEO, Allen Lau, on Nov. 14.

The fair will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. The fair will close on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. The fair, which has been held for more than a quarter of a century, will simultaneously take place with the 25th International Istanbul Art Fair. The entrance is free of charge for students, teachers, retired individuals and the disabled, and is TL 5 ($1.74) for all others.