‘Don’t believe what you read in the newspapers,’ said book publishers association chairman Bert de Groot during his welcome speech at the traditional Book Ball (Boekenbal) in Amsterdam on Tuesday night.

He was referring to media reports press that the book trade is feeling the effects of the financial crisis with sales down and shops closing.
‘We have more readers and more books are being published,’ he told his audience of writers and publishers. ‘The book lives,’ he said. De Groot did not however quote any figures to support his enthusiasm.
The Boekenbal is the traditional opening of the annual Book Week which continues until March 21.
This year’s theme is animals and many of the guests were sporting toy animals on their shoulders or wearing animal masks. They also played the bird flutes they received with their invitations. The ball began with a performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals.