At Brazil’s 2024 stand at Frankfurter Buchmesse. Image: CBL
By Talita Facchini | @talitafacchinii
This Year, ‘An Even Stronger Presence’
With a new project making its debut at Frankfurter Buchmesse this week, Brazil continues its mission to expand its presence at the trade fair and showcase its literature to the world.
The Brazilian Book Chamber is once again located in Hall 5.0, Stand A149, in partnership with the ministry of foreign affairs and the Instituto Guimarães Rosa.
This year, 28 publishers and companies are scheduled to join the Brazilian Publishers program — an international outreach initiative run by the chamber in partnership with ApexBrasil and the MRE.
They will be joined by 10 other companies supported by CreativeSP, an initiative that supports São Paulo-based businesses in traveling to international events.
“We’re maintaining the same number as last year,” says the chamber’s president, Sevani Matos, “but we expect at least 15-percent growth in business generated, which underscores Brazil’s relevance at Frankfurter Buchmesse.”
Also noteworthy is the 14th edition of the books and rights catalogue, which this year honors Indigenous culture. As a key tool of the Brazilian Publishers program, the catalogue promotes Brazilian authors and works at book fairs and professional meetings worldwide. Rayanna Pereira, Brazilian Publishers’ coordinator, says, “The profile of our partner publishers has become increasingly diverse, so we now have a very strong catalogue to offer, one that grows in importance with each edition.
Passaporte Frankfurt: Opening Doors for New Professionals
An area called Faculdade LabPub (Hall 5.0, B149) is expected to stand alongside the Brazil stand, introducing the country’s first higher-education institution dedicated to the publishing industry. Founded in 2018 by André Castro and Cassia Carrenho, LabPub offers 65 short courses and six postgraduate programs.
The LabPub program is expected to include discussions about the influence of women in Brazilian publishing, with information based on Nielsen research. There’s also to be a lecture on key Brazilian authors, LabPub is also launching its pilot project Passaporte Frankfurt.
In partnership with MVB Latin America and the fair itself, the initiative has brought eight publishing professionals—including authors, translators, narrators, and small entrepreneurs—to Frankfurter Buchmesse for the first time. Its main goal is to show that the fair is accessible to all professionals and stakeholders.
“For the first time, we’ll have books for sale at our stand, as well as special programming designed for the public during the weekend.” Sevani Matos
“We want these professionals to experience the fair strategically and gain direct professional benefits,” says Carrenho, who has curated a range of publishing events in Brazil. The project received support from the trade show’s leadership, represented by Marifé Boix-Garcia, vice president for Southern Europe and Latin America. “With Passaporte Frankfurt,” Boix-Garcia says, “we’re able to align Frankfurt’s mission of giving greater visibility to Latin America and LabPub’s ambition to expand internationally.”
Ahead of their arrival, participants have had four preparatory sessions covering key aspects of the fair including professional meetings, catalogues, and how the trade show works. At Frankfurt, they’ll present their projects at the Brazil stand and join guided tours of Frankfurt Messe, meeting some of the industry’s publishers and companies’ players firsthand.
A New Weekend Program
Image: CBL
The biggest innovation in Brazil’s presence this year, however, will be a public-facing program on the weekend.
“For the first time,” says the chamber’s Matos, “we’ll have books for sale at our stand, as well as special programming designed for the public during the weekend.”
In addition to matchmaking sessions, professional panels during the week, and the traditional Caipirinha Hour —hursday, October 16, at 5 p.m.—Brazil is preparing open events with readings and literary encounters to strengthen its connection with readers and deepen its presence at the fair.
“We’ve noticed the demand, especially from Brazilians living in Germany who attend the fair and ask for this kind of initiative,” Pereira says. “We already leave a library of Brazilian books at every international fair, but we felt it was time to have an even stronger presence.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on the Braizilian market is here, and more on Frankfurter Buchmesse, its events and people, is here.
A version of this story originally appeared in our Publishing Perspectives 2025 Show Magazine.
If you can’t be with us in Frankfurt this year, be sure to download our PDF of the full magazine here.
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