Salman Rushdie, Lizzie Doron, Cornelia Funke: Audience highlights at FBM23
Events with Deborah Feldman, Lexi Ryan, Christopher Clark / New: Meet the Author Area & TikTok Book Award
For the 75th time, Frankfurter Buchmesse (18–22 October 2023) will be celebrating new books, inspiring authors and moving stories: on the first literary stage jointly hosted by broadcasters ARD, ZDF and 3sat, in the Congress Center’s main hall, in the Frankfurt Studio, in the Frankfurt Pavilion, on the new open stage, and throughout Frankfurt during BOOKFEST city.
Literary stage from ARD, ZDF and 3sat
Every day from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, new literary works will be presented on the literary stage organised by broadcasters ARD, ZDF and 3sat. Well-known presenters such as Bärbel Schäfer, Denis Scheck, Knut Cordsen, Mona Ameziane, Thea Dorn, Katty Salié, Jo Schück, Vivian Perkovic and Gert Scobel will interact with acclaimed authors. Guests will include Elke Heidenreich, Peter Wohlleben, Terézia Mora, Thomas Hettche, Kai Diekmann and Otto Waalkes. For the series “SHEROES – Streiterinnen für die Zukunft” (SHEROES – Fighters for the Future), author and journalist Jagoda Marinić will debate daily with socially and politically engaged women. ZDF presenter and author Thea Dorn will welcome viewers to a special edition of the “Literary Quartet” book discussion show. Moderator Gert Scobel of 3sat and book experts from “Buchzeit” will take a critical look at selected new publications. The prestigious aspekte literature prize will also be awarded during the book fair. Highlights by broadcasters Arte, Phoenix and Deutschlandfunk Kultur will round out the offerings.
Literary gala and BOOKFEST
In Harmonie Hall at the Congress Center, ARD, ZDF and 3sat will host a literary gala with Salman Rushdie, Christopher Clark, Lizzie Doron, Cornelia Funke, Amir Gudarzi and Thomas Hettche. Salman Rushdie will be awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade this year. At the literary gala, the laureate will talk about his new book Victory City – an epic novel about power, love and what it means to be human. Meanwhile, in the Frankfurt Studio, Die drei ??? will read from their new graphic novel, followed by a STERN Crime Talk on real-world illegalities. The book fair will also be putting in an appearance beyond the fairgrounds – as BOOKFEST city in bookshops in the greater Rhine-Main area and in Frankfurt’s libraries, among other locations. Participants will include Deborah Feldman, Gaby Hauptmann, Tom Hillenbrand, Nilufar Karkhiran Khozani, Judith Merchant, Rüdiger Safranski, Axel Scheffler and many others.
Frankfurt Kids Festival
A highlight for families: the Frankfurt Kids Festival, which will take place from Friday to Sunday. The festival programme will include readings, signings, drawing workshops, games and activities for small (and big) literature fans. For the first time, the venue for the festival will be an open stage outdoors on the fairgrounds. That’s where Tafiti the meerkat will celebrate his 10th birthday, for example. The fun will continue when German comic Otto Waalkes reinterprets 75 art masterpieces using his Ottifanten figures. What’s more, pop star Sasha will present read-aloud stories and children’s songs. Also outdoors and not to be missed is the Frankfurt Pavilion. On Sunday, the pavilion’s spotlight will be on bestselling children’s books, when authors such as Katja Brandis, Alice Pantermüller, Daniela Kohl and Ursula Poznanski discuss their new works.
TikTok Book Award
The official award ceremony for the first German TikTok Book Award will take place on 21 October 2023 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Frankfurt Pavilion on the Agora. TikTok will also have a stand in the new Meet the Author area, where the social video platform will provide insights for users, authors, publishers and creators – during the panel discussion “#BookTok: From TikTok to Bookshops”, for example. Participants will include Tobias Henning, General Manager TikTok DACH & Central Eastern Europe.
Meet the Author area
The Meet the Author area in Hall 4.1 is the new event location for informal interactions between authors and fans. Verena Pooth, Sasha, Elke Heidenreich, Susanne Fröhlich, Guido Maria Kretschmer and many others will be present at the area’s four tables for signings and selfies.
Book sales
Book sales are permitted this year beginning at 2:00 pm on Friday and continuing until Sunday.