Tour of Germany: International editors visit German publishers

Frankfurt, 7 June 2017 – “One must travel, to learn”, said Mark Twain, whose Tom Saywer is one of the classics of children’s and young adult literature. Demonstrating that this piece of wisdom still holds true today, the international offices of the Frankfurter Buchmesse have organised three international editors’ trips in June, with financial support from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Children’s book editors from English-speaking regions – and, for the first time, from Southeast Asia – will tour Germany, while art book editors from Russia will visit to meet with their German counterparts to exchange ideas and learn about the market conditions in the German and Russian publishing markets. “Our editors’ trips promote international dialogue, foster the creation of personal and professional networks between editors from different countries and strengthen hereby the diversity of the book markets”, explains Tobias Voss, Vice President International Markets at the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Editors’ trip for ASEAN children’s book editors to Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Hamburg
Together with Niki Théron, Manager International Projects at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, a group of twelve publishers and editors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will visit German publishers based in Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Hamburg. From 5 to 10 June, visits are planned to publishers, bookstores, illustrators, start-ups and literature houses. In Frankfurt, the visitors will meet representatives of the publishing houses Arena Verlag, Finken Verlag and S. Fischer Verlag at the Frankfurter Buchmesse headquarters. In Nuremberg, they will visit Korn und Berg, the oldest German bookstore, founded in 1531, and the publishing house Tessloff. The trip will end in Hamburg, with a visit to the Literaturhaus (House of Literature) and a meeting with the Oetinger Publishing Group, Carlsen Verlag and Aladin Verlag, and JULIT, the programme for young people of the Hamburg Literaturhaus.

Russian art book editors in Frankfurt, Cologne, Kassel and Berlin
Art will be in the focus of the editors’ trip that will take twelve Russian art book editors to Germany from 20 to 29 June, accompanied by Anastasia Milekhina, Director of the German Book Information Centre (BIZ) in Moscow. Inspired by THE ARTS+, the international marketplace for innovative business models that combine art and technology, which will take place for the second time at the Frankfurter Buchmesse this year, the trip will give the Russian visitors a chance to learn about the German art book market and to see interesting exhibits, including documenta in Kassel, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt and the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Also on the agenda are meetings with publishers and visits to publishing houses, including Carl Hanser Verlag at the Frankfurt Literaturhaus (House of Literature), and the Walther König bookstore in Cologne. The trip will conclude in Berlin and Dresden, where visits are planned to Aufbau Verlag (Die Andere Bibliothek), the Taschen bookstore, Matthes & Seitz Berlin and Hatje Cantz, as well as to the printing company Gutenberg Beuys Feindruckerei in Langenhagen and – a true highlight – the Gemäldegalerie (Old Masters Picture Gallery) in Dresden.

English-language editors hosted in Ravensburg for the first time
From 25 to 30 June 2017, eight editors from the US, Canada and Great Britain, accompanied by Riky Stock of the Frankfurter Buchmesse New York Inc. (formerly German Book Office), will travel to Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich and, for the first time, Ravensburg. Like last year, the focus will be on the flourishing children’s and young adult book market. The trip is of particular interest to the Canadian participants since Canada will be Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2020. “This trip seems like an ideal way to meet children’s book publishers from Germany and around the world and learn more about their programmes”, says Samantha Swenson, Editor at Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers in Toronto. In Munich, the group will visit the publishing houses arsEdition, Hanser Kinderbuch and dtv, amongst others, and will meet other publishers, including Loewe Verlag und Tulipan Verlag, at the Munich Literaturhaus (House of Literature). Naturally, in Ravensburg, a visit to Ravensburger Verlag is on the agenda and, in Stuttgart, Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag. The final stop will be Frankfurt, where the editors will visit S. Fischer Verlag, amongst others, and participate in a “speed dating” event at the Frankfurter Buchmesse headquarters with rights managers from various houses, including Beltz & Gelberg, Carlsen Verlag and Oetinger, and visit “Das LABOR Ateliergemeinschaft”, a studio collective for authors and illustrators.

Editors’ Trip – Southeast Asia
Ms Rosalia Emmy Lestari, Indonesia, PT Kanisius
Mr Tri Saputra Sakti, Indonesia, PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Ms Putri Putri, Indonesia, Bhuana Ilmu Populer
Ms Mooi Yean Tan, Malaysia, Odonata Publishing Sdn Bhd
Ms Cindy Poh, Malaysia, Scholastic Asia
Mr Myo Aung, Malaysia, Pyi Zone Publishing House
Mr Eugene Evasco, Philippines, Lampara Books
Mrs Elaine Ee, Singapore, National Gallery Singapore
Ms Thanyaroj Rojanathanes, Thailand, Amarin Printing & Publishing
Ms Huyen Nguyen, Vietnam, Thai Ha Books
Ms Kate Nguyen, Vietnam, Women's Publishing House
Ms Giang Dang Thanh, Vietnam, Nha Nam Publishing & Communications JSC

Editors’ Trip – Russia
Ekaterina Suverina, GARAGE Museums, Moscow
Elena Rymshina, Stroganov University of Arts and Industry
Ivan Trofimov, trofimov.design
Igor Kaloshin, publisher, partner of Electrotheatre Stanislavsky
Irina Lazebnikova, Tretyakov Gallery
Marina Elsesser, Tretyakov Gallery
Irina Tokareva, Electrotheatre Stanislavsky
Ksenia Velikhovskaya, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
Oleg Chernoussov, State Hermitage Museums, Arca Publishing House
Pavel Gerasimenko, The Art Newspaper Russia
Tatjana Sborowskaja, Moscow Design Museum
Julia Simonova, Boslen Publishing House

Editors’ Trip – USA, Canada, UK
Becky Herrick, USA, Sky Pony Press
Grace Kendall, USA, Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers/Macmillan Children’s Publisher Group
Celia Lee, USA, Scholastic
Kendall Storey, USA, Elsewhere Editions/Archipelago Books
Karen Li, Canada, Owlkids Books
Tanya Trafford, Canada, Orca Book Publishers
Samantha Swenson, Canada, Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers
Joe Marriott, UK, Penguin Random House

About the Frankfurter Buchmesse
The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,150 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, around 278,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and approximately 10,000 accredited journalists and bloggers - in attendance. It also gathers key players from other media, including the film and games industries. Since 1976, the Frankfurter Buchmesse has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. The Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. With its Business Club, the Frankfurter Buchmesse offers essential services and an ideal setting for the activities of publishers, entrepreneurs, pioneers, experts and visionaries. The Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association. www.book-fair.com(opens in a new window)

Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communications, Frankfurter Buchmesse
Katja Böhne, Vice President Marketing & Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-138,press@book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
Kathrin Grün, Head of PR and Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
> Press information online >www.buchmesse.de/en/press/press-releases
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