The 78th Frankfurter Buchmesse is set for October 7 to 11, with Czechia as guest of honor.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

See also: Frankfurt’s ‘Midway’ Numbers: Trade Visitors Up 3 Percent

Boos: ‘Frankfurter Buchmesse Remains on Course for Growth’

Having checked in with Frankfurter Buchmesse‘s 77th-edition performance at the “midweek” point during the run of the show, October 15 to 19), we return today to check on how the world’s largest international book-industry trade show fared after October 17.

With its total of 238,000 total visitors—118,000 trade visitors and 120,000 “private visitors,” meaning those not there as professional members of the industry—the trade show moved forward in numbers, albeit with an interesting step back in geographical representation: Last year, its turnout (230,000 total) represented 153 countries, while this year its 238,000 attendees represented a reported 131 countries. (In 2023, the turnout represented 130 countries.)

Speaking to what some are saying was a particularly comprehensive fair in terms of programming—if as exhausting, perhaps, as that sounds—Frankfurt president and CEO Juergen Boos says, “We can look back on five successful and intense days.

“Frankfurter Buchmesse remains on course for growth.

“Once again, we have had more visitors and more exhibitors than in the previous year. Our strength lies in the fact that Frankfurt brings together book professionals and literature lovers from all over the world. We combine a marketplace with a festival of literature.”

In that last note, of course Boos is referencing a pattern that more and more major book fair/trade show events have begun to emulate.

For example, Sharjah International Book Fair —the largest of the Middle-Eastern and African shows—runs November 5 to 16, preceded by a highly regarded professional program of three days, November 2 to 4. The co-mingling of a public-facing fair with professional programming for industry attendees has grown there, as in many other parts of the world, while at Frankfurt, the “division” of the public and professional elements is almost equal: trade visitors are there Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with members of the public joining in on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Frankfurt this year had more than 4,350 exhibitors, by comparison to some 4,300 last year.

Schmidt-Friderichs: ‘This Unique Combination of Business and Culture’

More data points:

The Literary Agents & Scouts Centre (LitAg) and the Publishers Rights Centre (PRC) sold a combined 591 tables (previous year: 593 tables) booked out in advance.

With rights dealers from a total of 357 agencies and publishers from 33 countries and 44,900 admissions, Frankfurt’s two work centers for the international rights business were very well frequented (previous year: 355 publishers and agencies and 38,000 admissions).

Many trade visitors noted that the second day seemed notably heavy in attendance, and it was. On “Frankfurt Thursday,” some three percent more attendance was recorded than on the Friday, although the Wednesday also ran some three-percent higher than Friday.

7,800 media representatives (previous year: 7,500) registered to report on more than 3,500 events over the course of the fair (2024: 3,300 events).

Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, the outgoing chair of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, Germany’s publishers and booksellers association, says, “Over the past five days, we have seen a tremendous enthusiasm for reading, especially among young visitors.

“At the same time, key issues of our time were discussed, such as how to deal with artificial intelligence and politicians’ responsibility in this regard.

“This unique combination of business and culture, reading festival and discourse makes the book fair a place that has a far-reaching impact on society.”

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Special Magazines from Publishing Perspectives and Associates

New Developments in China’s Publishing Industry

Don’t miss our China Publishers-Publishing Perspectives Magazine, with its special Frankfurt Report. The publication carries market data on China’s publishing industry and profiles of China’s major publishers. That one is downloadable—free of charge, of course—at this link.

Rights Guide: 2025 Sheikh Zayed Book Award Winners

In our Rights Guide for the 2025 Sheikh Zayed Book Award Winners, you can discover the 2025 winners of this prestigious prize , plus all the past shortlisted titles and winners that are eligible for translation grants, to help publishers acquire the rights to some of the most acclaimed contemporary work of the Arab world.

The guide also includes all the shortlisted titles and winners from previous years’ editions of the Sheikh Zayed program. That one is downloadable at this link.

Frankfurter Buchmesse Publishing Perspectives 2025 Show Magazine

Our Publishing Perspectives 2025 Show Magazine was released in its print edition on the opening day of Buchmesse, October 15.

If you couldn’t be with us in Frankfurt this year, be sure to download our PDF of the full magazine here. 

More China bestseller reports from Publishing Perspectives are here, and more on the Chinese book publishing market is here.

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