"Honeycomb of Words" – Slovenia, Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023
Presentation of the literary and cultural programme and the Guest of Honour Pavilion
Slovenia is the Guest of Honour of the 75th Frankfurter Buchmesse (18-22 October 2023). On 15th June 2023, Slovenia presented its literary and cultural programme, the concept of the Guest of Honour Pavilion and the list of authors who will be attending the fair at a press conference in Frankfurt. The director of the Slovenian Book Agency JAK, Katja Stergar, the architect Jure Sadar and the curators Matthias Göritz, Miha Kovač and Amalija Maček provided insights into the different themes.
The literary and cultural programme
Cultural institutions in Frankfurt and other German cities present Slovenian artists and culture under the motto "Honeycomb of Words": The SCHIRN Kunsthalle will showcase the Slovenian visual artist Maruša Sagadin. The German Romanticism Museum will have an exhibition dedicated to France Prešeren. The Fotografie Forum Frankfurt displays selected photographic art from Slovenia. Shortly before the book fair, Villa Clementine in Wiesbaden invites you to a Weekend of Slovenian Literature, while the Ensemble Modern provides insights into Slovenia's surprisingly diverse new music scene on 7th October. On 19th October, the Slovenian band, Laibach, will give an exclusive concert in Germany at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt. They will present the story of “Alamut” in cooperation with the Iranian collective, a/political, a story based on a famous tale from eleventh-century Persia. The book of the same name by Vladimir Bartol is a bestseller in Slovenia. All events can be found in the press kit.
The partners of the Guest of Honour cultural programme:
Ensemble Modern, Romanfabrik, Haus am Dom, Struwwelpeter Museum, Stadtbücherei Frankfurt, Deutsches Romantik-Museum, Museum für Kommunikation, SCHIRN Kunsthalle, Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum DFF, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Batschkapp, Literaturhaus Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden Stadtgalerie, Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt, Portikus, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Mousonturm, Internationales Theater Frankfurt, Kulturamt der Stadt Frankfurt, Kunstverein Familie Montez, Skica Berlin, Skica Wien, Goethe-Institut Ljubljana, MEK Berlin, Literaturhaus Kiel, Lyrikkabinett München, and Musil-Haus Klagenfurt.
Authors and themes at Frankfurter Buchmesse
The team from the Slovenian Book Agency announced the first authors, translators and poets who will be guests at Frankfurter Buchmesse: Drago Jančar, Aleš Šteger, Ana Marwan, Maja Haderlap, Slavoj Žižek, Mladen Dolar, Mojca Kumerdej, Goran Vojnović Erica Johnson Debeljak, Ana Pepelnik and others. There will be over 70 in total. The complete list of authors can be found in the press kit.
Katja Stergar, director of the Slovenian Book Agency and heading the Guest of Honour project, says: "We are looking forward to presenting Slovenian literature and culture to an interested audience at the book fair and at the numerous exhibitions and events that are already taking place throughout Germany until October, and to further enlarge the Slovenian book industry’s international network." With reference to the themes of the Guest of Honour presentation she says: "In addition to a focus on Slovenian poetry and philosophy, the role of the Slovenian mountains and the Slovenians' love of nature are among the main themes. The enthusiasm of Slovenians for sports, for example when it comes to alpinism and cycling, will also be present in Frankfurt. The professional programme will include events that provide insights into the Slovenian book industry and focus on reading in the age of screens, and the importance of deep reading as cognitive training in digitally volatile times. It will also be about methods and ways of selling rights from small markets in a global context."
Juergen Boos, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse, says: "With more than 70 Slovenian authors, poets and translators coming to the book fair in October, the German and international attendees can look forward to a rich literary programme by the 2023 Guest of Honour Slovenia. I am very much looking forward to it and am excited that the Guest of Honour presentation will also put a special spotlight on Slovenian poetry, thereby opening it to a wider, international readership. So far, more than 80 titles from Slovenia and about Slovenia have been published in German as part of the Guest of Honour programme. I also very much hope that the professional exchange, the forging of new contacts and partnerships between Slovenian and international publishers, authors, translators and booksellers, resulting from the Guest of Honour project, will continue beyond the 2023 fair."
The Guest of Honour Pavilion
Jure Sadar from Studio Sadar presented the concept for the 2,300 square metre exhibition hall. The Pavilion is the hub for all activities relating to the Guest of Honour theme, "Honeycomb of Words", an open space divided into honeycomb-shaped, semi-transparent auditoriums for exchanging knowledge, culture and literature during readings and panels. The centrepiece of the pavilion is the "Books on Slovenia" exhibition, which will be complemented with artworks and poetry quotations displayed on the walls. The pavilion's furnishings are inspired by the Slovenian landscape and are made from recycled material which can be reused afterwards. More details of the concept can be found in the press folder.
Further information:
English press kit(opens in a new window)
List of new publications in German 2022 and 2023(opens in a new window)
Website: www.sloveniafrankfurt2023.com/en(opens in a new window)
Contact for the media:
Press contact for Guest of Honour, Slovenia
Annika Grützner, Sophie Radecker and Mathias Voigt
Literature Test
Alte Jakobstraße 87/88
10179 Berlin
Phone +49 (0)30-531 40 70-27
Fax +49 (0)30-531 40 70-99
slowenien@literaturtest.de
http://literaturtest.de (opens in a new window);
Press contact Frankfurter Buchmesse
Press and Corporate Communication, Frankfurter Buchmesse, press@buchmesse.de(opens in a new window)
Dr Torsten Casimir, Vice President | Communications & Content, casmir@buchmesse.de(opens in a new window)
Ines Bachor, PR Manager, Phone: +49 69 2102 189, bachor@buchmesse.de(opens in a new window)
> Find all press releases and photos on our website. https://www.buchmesse.de/en/press(opens in a new window)
About Frankfurter Buchmesse
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). https://www.buchmesse.de/en(opens in a new window)