Interview on the "Special Guest" appearance by Frankfurter Buchmesse at non/fiction Moscow 2021

Today is the last day of non/fiction Moscow 2021 (2-6 December). We spoke to Katherina Rapp, Manager International Projects at Frankfurter Buchmesse, about her experience of this year's book fair in Moscow.

What is your experience of this year's Book Fair in Moscow?
First of all, we as Frankfurter Buchmesse are pleased that this Book Fair can take place at all - with hygiene requirements. Personally, it seems to me that this year's Book Fair is very well attended, perhaps even better than in previous years. And there seem to be even more event areas, which are also very well received.

We are allowed to present ourselves as a "special guest" at the fair this year, we have our own stand for the first time in a long time and present a wide selection of current books(opens in a new window). What is also remarkable is the great media attention we enjoy here. On the first two days, we had basically all the important news channels, including the 1st and 2nd TV channels in Russia for interviews at our stand, which we are extremely pleased about.

What are the programme highlights?
We are proud to be able to offer an extensive programme(opens in a new window). Especially worth mentioning is the event with Jan Wenzel from Spector Books and his book about the 1990s. In fact, we are trying to publish this book in Russia as the equivalent of German history. In addition, we are looking forward to the event with Katja Petrovskaya, who will also be there, and much more.

Unfortunately, no German publishers are participating this year. Several German publishers were very interested in participating in this fair, but the Corona situation was too unpredictable. In 2019, we were still on site with ten German publishers and under better conditions, there would certainly have been even more this year. Because right and licences to Russia have grown disproportionately in recent years, especially in the children's and young adult book sector. This gives us hope that we will be able to expand our presence even further in the upcoming years.

On 15 December, there will be another The Hof event related to the Moscow non/fiction fair. What can we expect?
Expect the unexpected! In times when "digital fatigue" has become a common word, we have decided to offer only one event, but an extraordinary one: A German publisher (Wolfgang Hörner, Galiani Berlin) and a Russian publisher (Mikhail Kotomin, Ad Marginem Press) will meet for an informal chat over a cup of mulled wine. And anyone who is interested is cordially invited to join them. In addition to sharing mulled wine (unfortunately we can't invite you, so please bring your own!) there will be live music, a mindfulness session and a digital get-together. Click here to register for free(opens in a new window).