Publisher Sebastian Guggolz has been named to succeed Karin Friderichs-Schmidt as chair of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. Image: Börsenverein, Nils Stelte
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
A Three-Year Term
On October 25, the Saturday following Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 15 to 19), a new chairperson will succeed Karin Schmidt-Friderichs at the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, parent company of Frankfurt B00k Fair.Sebastian Guggolz is the publisher of Guggolz Verlag and team leader of classics at S. Fischer Verlag. At 43, he got 258 of the 401 votes cast in the election that put him on course to follow Schmidt-Friderichs in her two terms.
Guggolz studied art history, German studies, and folklore in Hamburg and subsequently worked as an editor.
He founded Guggolz Verlag in 2014 and has also been responsible for the classics at S. Fischer since 2022. Since then, Guggolz has also served as spokesperson for the board of trustees of the German Literature Fund and has served on various juries, most notably as the head of the Italo Svevo Prize.
He also has a long-standing reading sponsorship-relationship with a Berlin elementary school.
The Börsenverein’s Board of Directors consists of nine members. Five of them were elected on September 30 at the annual general meeting.
The chairs of the specialist committees and a representative of the regional associations complete the board.
The term of office of the new board of directors is three years.
More election results from the Börsenverein’s annual meeting included naming Katja Berger (HarperCollins Germany, Hamburg) as the new treasurer on the board,
Lucia Bornhofen (Buchhandlung Bornhofen, Gernsheim); Klaus Kowalke (Buchhandlung Lessing und Kompanie, Chemnitz); and Alyna Wnukowsky (Libri GmbH, Hamburg) were named to other board positions.
At the Upcoming Buchmesse
Of special interests to German book fans who follow the events in Frankfurt each year, the general public will this year be able to enter Frankfurt Messe, the fairgrounds, starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 17).
And book sales will be permitted on all days of the fair this year.
- The German broadcaster ARTE has a program arranged for Buchmesse that will include Maja Lunde will talk about her book Unplug our Kids.
- Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa of Guest of Honor Philippines will present her book How to Stand up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future.
- Irina Scherbakowa, founding member of the human rights organization Memorial—awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022—will provide insights into her latest book, Moscow Memories.
A Literature Stage is being organized by television broadcasters ARD, ZDF, and 3sat, with confirmed international guests including Can Dündar; Georgi Gospodinov; and Jens Stoltenberg, the former NATO chief.
Following the success of the 2024 Buchzeit Literary Gala, another high-profile gala featuring renowned authors will take place at the book fair in 2025, hosted by Thea Dorn and Denis Scheck. Participants who have confirmed their attendance include Karl Schlögel, winner of the 2025 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, bestselling author Ursula Poznanski, among others.
The gala will be recorded with a live audience on Friday, October 17, at 8 pm on the Literary Stage organized by ARD, ZDF, and 3sat.
More from Publishing Perspectives on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here; more on international book fairs and publishing-industry trade shows is here; more on world book publishing and politics is here; and more on the German book publishing industry and book business is here.
Wherever our international readers are in the world, they use our free daily email to be sure they don’t miss any news. Sign up now.