Frankfurt Book Fair 2015: A New Era Begins

After a decade of change in the publishing industry, the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair (which runs October 14–18) marks something of a turning point. As evidenced by the changes to the fair’s layout and the topics and speakers in the fair’s professional program, it is clear that the publishing business is in longer in the midst of a digital transition. The transition is complete. There’s less talk of talk of digital disruption, and gone are the tired predictions of the death of print. In 2015, both the industry and the fair have settled into a new phase. And at Frankfurt, it is all on display.

“The variables have never been so broad,” observes Mark Kuyper, the newly installed executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, noting that publishing today can involve any length of content, in a growing array of delivery methods, interwoven with vast amounts of data. “It is exciting and terrifying at the same time,” he says. “So many options, which ones to choose? How many can you choose?”

More to the point, perhaps, is the question, how do you choose wisely? At the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair, you can hear from an array of industry leaders or meet new partners in the Business Club. Conferences like StoryDrive bring together and explore the full range of media now at our fingertips. Demos and discussions at four Hot Spots explore the full potential that technology has to offer—including a boom in mobile access. And in the LitAg, another record of number of agents will trade in an increasingly global market for stories and ideas.

Whether you’re hurrying from meeting to meeting or just wandering the halls, try to pause for a moment to take it all in. Publishing has entered a new era. And the conversation is no longer about print or digital, Kuyper says—it is about meeting the needs of the consumer.

E-book subscription services have been the subject of intense interest in North American publishing, especially with the failure of Oyster last month and the growing pains of rival service Scribd over the summer.

On June 15, Mark Kuyper, former CEO of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, succeeded Len Vlahos as executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, the U.S.’s leading book trade association for standardized best practices, research, information, and educational events.

Despite all that has been said and done, full monetization of intellectual property (IP) continues to be a stumbling block for publishers.

A content-centric approach is the key to resolving accessibility issues for publishers, says Kevin Burns, senior v-p of content solutions.