The International Book Fair Chisinau - 2009 has closed today with the Gala of Laureates, where there were awarded prizes and diplomas for the best editorial accomplishments. “My Life is a Tour” by Maria Biesu became the Book of the Year 2009. The late Andrei Vartic won the Opera Omnia Prize given by the Chisinau City Hall posthumously, Info-Prim Neo reports.. “The International Book Fair is close to an end and we are glad that this year the library had a record number of visitors. During only three days, we housed over 14,000 visitors. This gives us hope and makes us determined to continue this tradition,” said Alexei Rau, the director general of the National Library. “Silvius Libris” and “Pontos” were named the Publishing Houses of the Year, while “Socogen” and “GrafiCart” won the Coresi Top Prize awarded by Amedeo Carrocci for the collection of albums dedicated to Moldova. Literary critic Ana Bantos, scientific researcher at the Romanian Language House and a member of the jury, said that this year"s fair included important poetry, literacy criticism and other types of books. “It is sad that the number of participating foreign publishing houses was much lower this year, but we will continue to communicate through the book and hope that the intercultural dialogue will go on,” Ana Bantos said. Simion Ghimpu with the volume “Life Within a Hair"s Breadth of Death” won the Prize for Prose, while Ion Hadarca with “The Piano from the Abattoir” and Leo Butnaru with “From the Opposite Direction”- the Prize for Poetry. The prize “In Memoriam Grigore Vieru” was awarded to the Romanian Language journal for its special number dedicated to the poet. Twenty-six prizes and nine diplomas were awarded overall. The prizes included prizes for the promotion of the national and universal values, for the promotion of literature, for the promotion of the national written and imprinted heritage, for debut etc.