BOOKFEST: Frankfurter Buchmesse launches new festival

An international literature programme with a first-class line-up in the new Frankfurt Pavilion, bestseller events on the exhibition grounds, plus poetry slams, tastings and discussions in cool Frankfurt locations: Welcome to BOOKFEST – Frankfurter Buchmesse's international festival for literature, stories and ideas! From 10 to 14 October 2018, for five days and five nights, exciting events will take place in unusual locations around the city.

With BOOKFEST, the Frankfurter Buchmesse has created a new festival that not only provides the perfect stage for authors and ideas during the day, but also promises visitors memorable experiences in a singular atmosphere at night. “When the day’s business at the fair is done, an exhilarating blend of trade and private visitors emerges in many locations around the city”, explains Marketing Director Markus Gogolin. These venues include: Walden, Libertine Lindenberg, Club Michel, 25hours – The Trip, the English Theatre, Deutsches Architekturmuseum (German Architecture Museum), Genussakademie and many others.

Already in 2017, the idea of creating a meeting place for fair visitors, exhibitors and Frankfurt locals in the evening, beyond the exhibition grounds, was implemented very successfully on a small scale. This year, BOOKFEST will be a festival for the entire city. “Rather than classic readings, we will hold interactive events like poetry slams, talks, cooking events and performances that touch on a very wide range of topics at almost 20 bars and unusual locations in Frankfurt”, says Frank Pauli, Director Business Development, explaining the festival’s atmospheric character. The idea being that, in this way, it will be possible to reach those who aren’t typically part of the Book Fair audience.

That said, naturally BOOKFEST will also take place on an extensive scale on the exhibition grounds themselves. In the “Harmonie” Hall, visitors can see national and international stars live: On Thursday, 11 October 2018, bestselling Swedish author Håkan Nesser will meet the cast of the film adaptation of his thriller “Barin’s Triangle”. The film adaption “Intrigo: Death of an Author” will be released across Europe in October. On Saturday, 13 October 2018, German Comedian Otto Waalkes will prove that, even at 70, he’s anything but subdued. In conversation with Bernd Eilert, the solo entertainer will present his recently published biography “Kleinhirn an alle” (Cerebellum to All).

Another festival highlight is the Frankfurt Pavilion, the new emblem of the Frankfurter Buchmesse. Occupying 500 m² and being 6.5-m tall, the iconic wooden structure serves both as the main stage for events with authors and industry experts from around the world and as the heart of BOOKFEST. Almost 50 events will be held there – with authors and prominent guests including bestselling authors Paul Beatty, Meg Wolitzer, Maja Lunde, Deniz Yücel, Dimitry Glukhovsky, Cixin Liu, Robert Seethaler and German musician Udo Lindenberg. On Sunday, 14 October 2018, from 9.30 am to 2 pm, the pavilion will host events for families and children.

For an overview of all the events and for more details, see www.buchmesse.de/bookfest(opens in a new window). #fbm18 #bookfest

About the Frankfurter Buchmesse

The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,300 exhibitors from 102 countries, around 286,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and some 10,000 accredited journalists and bloggers in attendance. It also brings together key players from other media, including the film and games industries. 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. 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 entrepreneurs, publishers, founders, pioneers, experts and visionaries. THE ARTS+ was launched in 2016 as a fair, business festival and international meeting place for the cultural and creative industries. It aims to exploit the potential of digitalisation for creative content and to develop new business areas. The Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (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
Kathrin Grün, Head of PR and Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@book-fair.com
Tina Pfeifer, PR Manager, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-271, pfeifer@book-fair.com

> Press information online >www.book-fair.com/press_releases(opens in a new window)
> Photos in print quality >www.book-fair.com/press_photos(opens in a new window)