By Siobhan O’Leary

The Leipzig Book Fair came to a close on Sunday and organizers announced a significant increase in visitors over last year. Some 156,000 people were in attendance (up from 147,000 last year), 45,000 of whom were professional visitors. According to a press release from the fair, more than 90% of exhibitors surveyed characterized the event as a success. Of the 2,071 exhibitors from 39 countries in attendance, a vast majority said they planned to return next year. The 2011 fair will take place from March 17-20 and the guest country will be Serbia.