What’s new at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022?
Every book fair is different. To ensure you can keep track of it all, we’ve assembled the most important information here.
App for #fbm22
Practical, fast and always up to date, the official app for Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022 displays all events at the fair. The personal appointment calendar with reminder function will keep you on track, and the matchmaking tool for trade visitors provides you with new contacts. Thanks to an ISBN scanner, book titles can be read electronically and automatically saved in your list of personal favourites. The Frankfurter Buchmesse app for both IOS and Android can be downloaded free of charge. https://www.buchmesse.de/en/app(opens in a new window)
BOOKFEST
This year’s BOOKFEST will feature more than 60 events at 20 venues throughout Frankfurt. Audiobook soundscapes, crime nights, publishers’ soirees – the programme is as diverse as the authors scheduled to appear. Thanks to Elvira Sastre, Najat El Hachmi, Isaac Rosa, José Ovejero and Rosa Ribas, the Guest of Honour country, Spain, will also be prominently represented. One new addition this year: BOOKFEST extra, an evening event on 20 October at 8.00 pm at which Donna Leon will be on hand to answer questions posed by Shelly Kupferberg.
Tickets BOOKFEST extra: https://eventim.de/eventseries/bookfest-extra-donna-leon-3201822(opens in a new window)
BOOKFEST programme: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/public-events/bookfest(opens in a new window)
#BookTok Creation Corner and TikTok Stage on the Agora
On Sunday, 23 October 2022, the social video platform TikTok will host its own stage on the Agora from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, bringing together some of the popular creators, authors and publishers from the #BookTok community in discussions, workshops and performances. Crime novel author Arno Strobel will put in an appearance, as will TikTokers julesboringlife, flying_bengel, avalino.diversity, charlotteschueler, tabeajoanna and treesoul. In the #BookTok Creation Corner, #BookTokers will also be invited to record their own videos and to stream live from the fair, allowing them to share their impressions with the community.
Programme: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/public-events/tiktok(opens in a new window)
Climate crisis and sustainability – Act now!
Under the motto “Act now!”, the United Nations and Frankfurter Buchmesse are hosting two events on Saturday, 22 October, that are meant to raise awareness in the publishing industry of climate change and show young readers how they can act sustainably (“Act now! How young readers can support climate action” and “Act now! How publishers combat climate change”, 5.00–5.30 pm and 5.30–6.00 pm, Frankfurt Studio, Hall 4.0 Raum Europa). The Sustainability Summit organised by the International Publishers Association (IPA) and a session on climate-neutral business practices in bookshops (Azubistro, Hall 4.0 E 82) on Wednesday are some of the other events examining sustainability in the book industry. As part of the German-language event series SHEROES: Fighters for the Future (daily, 2.00–3.00 pm, ARD Stage, Forum) Luisa Neubauer, Maja Göpel and Ulrike Herrmann will discuss how people can get involved to protect the climate and create a better tomorrow. Sustainability, climate change and intergenerational justice will also be the topics during Reinhold and Diane Messner’s book presentation on Saturday (Open Books, 8.00 pm, Haus am Dom). The aspect of sustainability also plays a role for the book fair itself: together with Messe Frankfurt, each year Frankfurter Buchmesse tries to find ways to further reduce the ecological footprint of this major event. Stand construction, energy, waste and hall design are the main areas in which changes are being realised.
Conference on children’s and YA media: “Transform Diversity”
What makes a good children’s book? How are stories for young readers told today? And what role does diversity play in this context? These and other topics are the focus of the Frankfurt Kids Conference for publishing professionals, curated by Frankfurter Buchmesse, which will take place this year for the first time as part of the book fair. Experts from the publishing industry will be joined by representatives of children’s and youth organisations to discuss children’s books in a socio-political context and from an international perspective. Speakers will include Peter Warwick (President and CEO of Scholastic), Loulou Drinkwaard and D’Avellonne van Dijk (founders, Wilde Haren), illustrator Anete Melece and literary agent Anja Mundt. Held in English, the conference will take place on Wednesday, 19 October, from 9.15 am to noon in the Congress Center, Level 3, room Illusion.
https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/professional-programme/frankfurt-kids(opens in a new window)
Cryptocurrency at the fair
At its stand in Hall 4.0 J 88, the B3 Biennial of the Moving Image will be presenting art created specifically for the internet. The pieces shown will be moving-image artwork by international artists who have become known for their NFTs.
detektor.fm: live podcast from the fairgrounds
Podcast radio station detektor.fm is Frankfurter Buchmesse’s official podcast partner. The studio stage in THE ARTS+ area (Hall 4.0 G 59) will welcome over 50 authors and speakers during the book fair week. The majority of conversations on stage will be in German. However, some events, such as the conversation on fake news and disinformation with Muhammad Radwan from The Glass Room project (Friday, 21 October 6.00 pm) will be in English. detektor.fm will broadcast live from Frankfurter Buchmesse on each day of the fair; afterwards, the conversations will be accessible through the N99 podcast on the detektor.fm app and at https://detektor.fm/serien/n99(opens in a new window). The podcast can also be found on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcasts and everywhere where podcasts are available. To the programme overview: https://detektor.fm/serien/n99(opens in a new window)
Focus on Ukraine
Ukrainian publishers and institutions will be the exhibitors at a 100-sqm collective stand that will feature its own stage (Hall 4.0). The stand’s extensive programme will highlight the current situation faced by the country’s publishing industry. Ukraine’s collective stand is being made possible by the cooperative efforts of Frankfurter Buchmesse, Goethe-Institut Ukraine and the Ukrainian Book Institute. Also, both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska will make digital appearances at the fair. In conjunction with the book fair, the journal OSTEUROPA (Berlin) is dedicating the publication Kultur in Zeiten des Krieges (Culture in Times of War) to Ukraine. Contributors to the 500-page compendium shed light on the country’s multifaceted culture.
For a respectful environment at the fair: Code of Conduct
At Frankfurter Buchmesse people from over 100 countries come together in a peaceful and secure environment. The fair’s organisers want to ensure everyone who attends Frankfurter Buchmesse has a positive experience – regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual identity, disability, ethnic heritage, nationality, age, language, religion or worldview. Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Code of Conduct lays out rules for an appreciative and respectful environment at the book fair: www.buchmesse.de/en/about-us/code-conduct(opens in a new window)
Frankfurt Audio: Networking thanks to the Audio Ambassador
Audiobooks, podcasts, audio software and audio services: some 250 square metres of the Frankfurt Audio area (Hall 3.1) will be putting a spotlight on the spoken word. International players such as Spotify, Zebralution, Beat Technology, Bookwire, Pozotron, I-Contact, Saga Egmont and Blackstone Publishing will have their own stands or workstations in the area. More than 20 German-speaking exhibitors will be present at the German audiobook collective stand. New this year is a special service for exhibitors and trade visitors: as the book fair’s Audio Ambassador, Matthäus Cygan, consultant for media and audio publishing, will be networking interested parties with audio companies at the IG Hörbuch collective stand (Hall 3.1 K 61) from Wednesday to Friday (19-21 October 2022).
https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/professional-programme/frankfurt-audio(opens in a new window)
Frankfurt Pavilion: The stage for culture and politics at Frankfurter Buchmesse
It hasn’t been seen for two years, but this autumn the eye-catching wooden structure designed by architects schneider+schumacher will once again be a commanding presence on the Agora. The Frankfurt Pavilion will feature a programme of cultural and policy events curated by Frankfurter Buchmesse and its partners that will address many current issues, helping shape the discourse at this year’s book fair. Scheduled topics include democracy’s ability to defend itself, diversity in the media and culture industry, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian opposition in exile, the situation in Iran, Afghanistan today, Europe’s future and its literatures, current challenges facing translators, the climate and economics, and many more. On Sunday, the programme at the pavilion will focus on media for children and young adults and on audiobooks. Please find more information in the press release on the Frankfurt Pavilion in this press kit. For more on the programme:
https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/public-events/frankfurt-pavilion(opens in a new window)
Media partners are ARTE, Financial Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung and taz – die tageszeitung. Additional partners: Goethe-Institut Germany, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, bpb – Federal Agency for Civic Education, Institut Français Berlin, Litprom e.V., Freedom of Expression Committee at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association, European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), among others.
German government at the fair
Germany’s federal government will have its own stand at Frankfurter Buchmesse (Hall 3.1 E 30 and E 31). Staff members from the Federal Press Office are looking forward to speaking with visitors, who can experience the stand’s interactive elements. Various quiz sessions will allow members of the public to test their knowledge of politics and current events. During moderated panel discussions, guests from politics and society will shed light on topics such as the changes resulting from the war in Ukraine and how people can respond to disinformation.
Goal: Accessibility
Frankfurter Buchmesse continually strives to reduce barriers with the goal of making the book fair accessible to everyone. In addition to reduced-price tickets for people with disabilities, a personal assistance service and the possibility of renting a wheelchair or electric scooter on the fairgrounds, this year a tour of Spain’s Guest of Honour Pavilion will also be offered for the visually impaired. Another new feature is that on Saturday, 22 October 2022, various events for the general public will be translated using German sign language. In addition, numerous events will examine issues related to accessible publishing and reading, such as the English-language expert discussion “Accessibility in action” on Wednesday, 19 October. This discussion and further events on the topic are being organised by the European book-fair network Aldus Up. Information on services and events: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/visit/barrier-free(opens in a new window)
Guest of Honour Spain
Spain is the Guest of Honour country at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022. Under the motto “Creatividad Desbordante – Spilling Creativity”, it will use its time at the fair to focus on topics like multilingualism. On all five days of the fair, events on the two stages of the interactive Guest of Honour Pavilion (Forum, Level 1) will take a look at Spain’s rich and vibrant literary and cultural landscape, offering space for exciting interactions with 200 individuals and organisations from the Southern European country. Guests will include Kiko Amat, Elena Medel, Elizabeth Duval, Rosa Montero, Cristina Morales, Sara Mesa and Fernando Aramburu, who will be presenting their new works and existing titles. By the end of the year, more than 400 titles will have appeared on the German-language book market since 2019 as part of Spain’s appearance as Guest of Honour. For more on the programme: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/guest-honour(opens in a new window)
New opening hours for the general public | Book sales at the weekend
For the first time, members of the general public can visit Frankfurter Buchmesse beginning 9.00 am on Friday (21 October 2022). Book sales can also take place from this time onwards: from Friday to Sunday (22-23 October 2022), visitors can purchase books and media from exhibitors at fixed retail prices.
Publishing Perspectives Forum: Expert talks on Wednesday and Thursday
At the Publishing Perspectives Forum, leading voices from the global publishing industry will discuss challenges and analyse trends transforming the sector. Speakers will include Charlie Redmayne (CEO, HarperCollins UK), Núria Cabutí (CEO of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial) and Jonny Geller (CEO of Curtis Brown). Curated by the trade journal Publishing Perspectives in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse, the two-day programme will take place on Wednesday, 19 October, from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, and Thursday, 20 October, from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, in Raum Spektrum (Congress Center, Level 2). Participation is free of charge. For more on the programme: https://publishingperspectives.com/pp-forum/(opens in a new window)
Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries
Carried out with support from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, the special programme will bring together publishers, editors, licencing managers and literary agents from Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. A total of 17 participants, nine of them from Ukraine, will interact digitally and in person at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022.
Spotlight on Africa
With its own collective stand (Hall 4.1 H 102) and a seminar for publishing professionals, the International Publishers Association (IPA) is focusing on book industries and reading promotion in various African nations. The stand will feature selected projects of the Africa Publishing Innovation Fund (https://apinnovation.fund/(opens in a new window)), such as Book Aid International, OliveSeed (Kenya) and Yanbow Al Kitab (Morocco). The seminar on Thursday, 20 October (10.00 am to 1.30 pm, Hall 4.1 H 102), will examine a number of topics, including making publishing more inclusive, the library landscape and access to books for school students in African countries, especially during a pandemic. Participation is free of charge; no registration is necessary. For more on the programme: https://apinnovation.fund/en/media-center/news/28/9/2022/frankfurt-2022-apif-leads-spotlight-on-africa-program.aspx(opens in a new window)
Spot on: Media partners at Frankfurter Buchmesse
New location for a proven crowd puller: this year, the ARD stage can be found once again in the Forum (Level 0), where visitors can experience bright minds discussing their books and ideas. Guests will include Elke Heidenreich, Maja Göpel, Judith Holofernes, Richard David Precht, Leïla Slimani, Harald Welzer, Wigald Boning, Amelie Fried, Francis Fulton-Smith, Liao Yiwu and the winner of the 2022 German Book Prize. The Blue Sofa, the writers’ forum jointly organised by Bertelsmann, ZDF, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and 3sat, will be back at its accustomed location in Hall 3.1. Talks are planned with some 80 authors, including the 2021 Nobel laureate in Literature, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Peace Prize laureate Serhiy Zhadan, Donna Leon, Robert Menasse, Dörte Hansen, Charlotte Link, Andrej Kurkow, Ian Kershaw, David Van Reybrouck, Stefanie Stahl, Vanessa Mai, Melanie Raabe and Takis Würger. The German Children’s Literature Award will be featured on the Blue Sofa for the first time, when nominee Kirsten Boie discusses the award with two experts from the youth jury. On Wednesday, 19 October 2022, the 3sat show “Buchzeit” with presenter Gert Scobel will be recorded live at the fair. Under the headline “Crime Time”, Scobel will be joined by Sandra Kegel, Katrin Schumacher and Barbara Vinken who will discuss gripping novels that are perfect companions as the days grow shorter. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, the weekly Die Zeit and radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk Kultur are also planning their own stage programmes. In addition, Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung and business magazine brand eins will each have a stand in Frankfurt. Among other topics, cultural broadcaster ARTE will dedicate an afternoon to “Und jetzt? / Et maintenant?” (And now?) at the Frankfurt Pavilion. The pavilion’s programme will also feature high-profile events organised by newsweekly Der Spiegel, and Brigitte magazine.
S+T+ARTS Day: Projects at the intersection of art and technology
Three projects from the pool of 2022 S+T+ARTS Prize winners and nominees will be featured in THE ARTS+ area and during S+T+ARTS Day on Friday, 21 October (https://starts.eu/(opens in a new window)):
The Glass Room (Hall 4.0 F 30): Misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories – what makes information reliable or dodgy? The exhibition will be open on all five days of the fair.
Gran Turismo Sophy: 21 October, 11.00 am – noon, Frankfurt Studio
Deep learning and algorithms: how do you develop an artificial intelligence that wins against the best drivers in the most successful racing-simulation video game Gran Turismo® Sport? Kaushik Subramanian, senior research scientist at Sony AI, will speak with Holger Volland, member of the board of brand eins magazine and author.
Antarctic Resolution: 21 October, noon – 1.00 pm, Frankfurt Studio
What do we know about Antarctica and how can we protect it? From chemists and climate scientists to logistics managers: 150 experts on Antarctica from various disciplines have contributed their knowledge to the book Antarctic Resolution (Lars Müller Verlag). Speakers: Guilia Foscari, architect and founder of UNLESS; publisher Lars Müller; and creative director Marco Cendron of POMO.
Support in case of discrimination: Awareness Team
An Awareness Team, consisting of members of the Bund für Antidiskriminierungs- und Bildungsarbeit e.V. (BDB – Association for Antidiscrimination and Education), will be on duty during the fair. BDB is a self-organised group of people with different national and cultural backgrounds who are active in the field of human rights, anti-discrimination, anti-racism, asylum and gender. The team will be located in the foyer of Hall 4.0. Visitors who feel they have been discriminated against while at the fair for reasons having to do with a characteristic attributed to them can contact the awareness team directly, by phone (+49 152 587 84634) or by e-mail (AwarenessTeamBDB@bdb-germany.de(opens in a new window)). Members of the Frankfurter Buchmesse team can also be approached at any time. BDB offers short- and long-term counselling for people affected by discrimination and racism. The goal is to be available for people who have been subject to discrimination and to support them as they search for a response to what they have experienced. Security personnel and law enforcement officials will be on site to deal with security-related issues.
Translate. Transfer. Transform. – Focus on translation
Under the motto “Translate. Transfer. Transform.” Frankfurter Buchmesse is putting a special focus on the topic of translation. Together with VDÜ, the German translators’ association, the organisers will be staging a diverse programme of events in the International Translation Centre (Hall 4.0 G101/G114): Events will focus on translating comics, nonfiction and children’s and young adult literature, as well as post-colonial translations and sensitivity reading, among other topics. The visibility of translators and editors will also be discussed. The interactive Translation Slam, which allows the public to take part, will round off the programme. For more on the programme: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/professional-programme/translation-centre(opens in a new window)
The International Translation Centre’s partners are European literary organisations such as Czech Lit, ENLIT, FILI, Goethe-Institut, Litprom e.V., the Slovenian Book Agency, Die Weltlesebühne e.V. and others. The complete programme is available on the Frankfurter Buchmesse website and in the online Calendar of Events. More information is also available in the press release “Translate. Transfer. Transform.” included in this press kit.
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
Together with this year’s Guest of Honour, Wikimedia Germany and Wikimedia Spain will be organising a multilingual “Wikipedia Edit-a-thon” at the book fair for the first time. During “Edit Sessions” at the Wikimedia stand (Hall 4.1 D 85), authors, publishing house staff and interested members of the public can create and revise Wikipedia articles on writers, publishers and literary works for the online encyclopaedia’s different language versions. Experienced Wikipedians will be on hand each day of the fair to provide assistance. Professional photographers will also be available to photograph authors for their Wikipedia entries. The photos can be used on the Wikipedia site with a free Creative Commons licence.