In its anniversary year, the 75th Frankfurter Buchmesse (18–22 October 2023) will offer a high-profile programme of cultural and political events – as a forum for literature and social debate. The publishing industry’s largest gathering will be opened 18 October, by the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar. Author and philosopher Slavoj Žižek and poet and journalist Miljana Cunta will give philosophical and literary keynote addresses at the opening ceremony. The Mayor of the City of Frankfurt, Mike Josef, the State of Hesse’s Minister of State for Science and the Arts, Angela Dorn, and the Chairwoman of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association, Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, will also speak.
“The world is coming undone,” said Juergen Boos, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse, at today’s press conference, commenting on a globe unsettled by simultaneous crises. “We have the crisis of climate change and the crisis among Western democracies. We have been experiencing Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine for over a year and a half. And on 7 October, Hamas’s terrorist warfare against Israel reached a whole new, terrifying level. We are all horrified. Frankfurter Buchmesse has always been about humanity; the focus is on people interacting with each other. This humanity was shattered on 7 October by the attack on Israel carried out by Hamas’s terrorists. Our sympathy goes out to the people whose loved ones have been the targets of this violence and everyone in Israel and Palestine suffering because of this war. We condemn the terror against Israel and condemn those who are financing it and thus making it possible.”
On invitation from the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Brainfeed Magazines’ Editor-in-Chief K V Brahmam is visiting the Bookfair. We will bring you exclusive coverage of the event every day.
Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair and the most important international marketplace for content – from novels and children’s books to academic databases and stories for films, games and virtual reality experiences. Publishing professionals from around the world meet here with partners from the technology sector and from related creative and cultural industries, sparking new partnerships and business models.
Since 1976, the book fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association).
Over the five days of the fair, numerous events will explore today’s most pressing socio-political issues. As the guest speaker at the opening press conference, British science journalist and author Gaia Vince (Nomad Century) shed light on the connection between climate change and the global migrant flows that have already begun. On the main cultural policy stage in the iconic Frankfurt Pavilion, participants in upcoming discussions will include Claudia Roth, (Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media), Deniz Yücel (PEN Berlin), Irina Sherbakova (author and cofounder of the human rights organisation Memorial,), Dmitry Glukhovsky (Russian bestselling author in exile) and Meron Mendel (Bildungsstätte Anne Frank).
On the Frankfurt International Stage, experts from the United Nations will discuss the topic of climate change and encourage people to move from analysis to action, in keeping with the event’s title: “The Era of Global Boiling – What Can We Do?” Climate activist and cofounder of the Last Generation movement, Lea Bonasera, will also be present in Frankfurt. Along with other activists, she will be participating in the programme “SHEROES – Streiterinnen für die Zukunft” (SHEROES – Fighters for the Future) on the Literature Stage hosted by broadcasters ARD, ZDF and 3sat. Other authors invited to appear this year include former Femen activist Zana Ramadani and AI expert Mina Saidze.
From Friday to Sunday on various stages around the fairgrounds, the Frankfurt Kids Festival will bring together major names from the world of children’s and young adult literature. Among the stars scheduled to appear are Margit Auer and Cornelia Funke, along with Benjamin Lacombe and Ursula Poznanski. Otfried Preußler’s birthday (he would have turned 100 on 20 October 2023) will also be duly celebrated. With so many literary celebrities present, book signings are a must: the Meet the Author area in Hall 4.1 is a new event location that makes it possible for authors and fans to interact in an informal setting.
