In the Agora at Messe Frankfurt during the 2015 Frankfurter Buchmesse. Image: FBM, Alexander Heimann
By Richard Charkin | @RCharkin
‘The Book World in One Place in One Week on the Calendar’
Once again, Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 16 to 20) is on the horizon, beckoning, welcoming, attracting the worldwide book trade like an electromagnet.
All those who, after last year’s terrific fair, immediately reserved their stands, their flights, their hotel rooms, can feel pretty smug. They got good deals and they’re secure.
Others, like me, panic, rush around at the last minute, cobble together an itinerary and the inevitable overcomplicated logistics of 21st-century travel.
Suddenly I had to renew my passport, not because it had run out but because, post-Brexit, the European Union requires me to have at least three months left before expiry—and many international destinations require some six months remaining on a passport. Argh. That means that all my future plane bookings have to have their pre-flight info updated with the new passport details. Am I getting old or are things simply more complicated?
Richard Charkin
By my estimation, there are more than a hundred book fairs and trade shows every year, maybe even more than a thousand, from Cairo to Lima, Kolkata to Kampala and Australia and South Africa, Guadalajara, Hong Kong and many places in between, not to mention London, New York, Bologna, Beijing, New Delhi. They all have a raison d’être and a distinct character.
Some are there to sell physical books; some focus on children’s books and literacy. Many are there to showcase their country’s cultural identity. Some specialize in rights trading. Others are great for disposing large quantities of unwanted and unsold dud books. Some parade authors on the catwalks of their fairs. Some herald politicians, others promote business gurus. Some even manage to pull in a royal or two.
‘Such Great Names as These’
There’s an old unfashionably imperial, bellicose, and jingoistic song which we sang at my school in the hope that it would turn us into British patriots:
Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules,
Of Hector and Lysander, and such great names as these.
But of all the world’s great heroes, there’s none that can compare
With a tow, row, row, row, row, row, to the British Grenadier.
It reflects my view of Frankfurt Book Fair. And here I must declare an interest: I’m a longtime member of Buchmesse’s international advisory board.
But of all the world’s great book fairs, there’s none that can compare with the annual Frankfurt Book Fair.
It combines all the specialties of the other fairs with a renewed focus on adjacent industries such as film and music; major technology companies scaring us witless; every country and every sub-genre represented; more parties than you could possibly attend; more presentations than you’d want to attend; more late nights; more unplanned meetings resulting in more business; more planned meetings resulting in nothing; too much coffee and booze; far too many sausages; too many people passing you the wrong way on the moving sidewalk and leaving you wondering who the old guy was, a close colleague 30 years before; not enough juicy gossip, or maybe I’m out of the loop; people looking for jobs; the inevitable political crisis for the organizers.
In short, Frankfurt Book Fair is the book world in one place in one week on the calendar.
All our shortcomings are on display, as are all our strengths. It’s expensive—so is a Bentley—but there has never been a better return on investment. The fair serves the German public; German publishers and booksellers; international publishers; literary agents; editors; service providers; distributors; printers; and, of course, authors—although one of the saddest sights is that of an author trundling along the aisles trying to find a publisher to take on her or his work(s) of genius. Why, they say, is nobody interested in listening to my story and publishing my book? Isn’t this a book fair?
So here’s to welcoming Frankfurt Book Fair 2024, to meeting old friends, making new friends, meeting old enemies, and patching up any differences. And have fun.
In Hall 5.1 during the 2008 Frankfurter Buchmesse. Image: FBM, Alexander Heimann
Join us monthly for Richard Charkin’s latest column. More of his writings and coverage of his work from Publishing Perspectives is here. Richard Charkin’s opinions are his own, of course, and not necessarily reflective of those of Publishing Perspectives. More from us on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, and more on trade shows and book fairs in many world markets is here.