May 11-15, 2011 the 5th International Chekhov Book Festival was held in Taganrog. The program of the festival was rich in events - including meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian writers and artists, presentation of new books, new art exhibitions, inauguration of the new monument "Fat and Thin"(based on Chekhov's story of the same name) near the Chekhov Lavka memorial museum, etc.
It was also the start of the international workshop "International workshop "Genius Loci: Famous Writers as the Basis for a Local Development Strategy" that brought together Russian (major literary museums in Russia) and international participants who discussed various opportunities in improving the tourist infrastructure and better usage of existing advantages in development strategies. Among the international participants of the festival were Paul Ogden (Director, Paul Ogden Consulting from W.Shakespeare's birth place Stratford-upon-Avon), Carol Brown (Watkins Brown, Burmingham, UK) and Ejnar Stig Askgård (Chief Curator, Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark).
