In the past few years, the Frankfurt Book Fair has weathered the aftermath of a global pandemic and celebrated its 75th anniversary. One might forgive the fair’s organizers for being content to host a more routine affair in 2024. But there’s nothing routine about publishing—or the world—these days. And this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, set to run Wednesday–Sunday, October 16–20, is stepping up with one of its most engaging, diverse programs ever.
With the slogan “Read!ng,” this year’s fair aims to address the multifaceted, multiformat nature of publishing in the digital age, while staying true to its roots as the world’s largest marketplace for literary rights.
“Reading is essential for our industry, for our business,” says Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair. “And it doesn’t matter which media we are using. It could be an audiobook, it could be a podcast, it could be whatever.” But what is also essential, he stresses, is the role of the fair in supporting publishing, literacy, writing, and the free exchange of ideas in “the advancement of culture, civilization, and democracy itself.”
A LitAg expansion
Frankfurt has proven resilient and continues to bounce back from the pandemic years, when publishers were forced to reduce their participation. While the fair has not returned to its attendance levels from 2019, it has been steadily climbing back, drawing 105,000 publishing professionals and 4,000 exhibitors in 2023.
The rights trade remains at the heart of the Frankfurt Book Fair, and demand for space for rights professionals to meet continues to grow. Frankfurt’s Literary Agents & Scouts Centre (LitAg) is fully booked, with a record 540 tables reserved, and Frankfurt has introduced the Publisher Rights Center, where subrights personnel from publishers can conduct business. “A lot of publishers asked us to have tables next to the agents,” primarily to cut down on time traveling between the LitAg and their booths, Boos explains, saying the new space features about 50 tables.
The expansion of dedicated rights-trading spaces reflects the evolving nature of publishing conferences. While many meetings will still take place in publishers’ booths on the show floor, many houses have expressed a preference to conduct their rights business outside their main exhibition stands. “This is quite interesting and new for us,” Boos notes, “because now we are finding some publishers may prefer to have two locations.”
Now with more CEOs
As it has for much of its recent history, the Frankfurt Book Fair will once again serve as a platform for publishing executives to talk about their businesses this year, with a series of high-profile executives—many of whom are in the midst of change—set to speak.
Among the highlights, the annual Global 50 CEO talk, hosted by Ruediger Wischenbart, features a conversation with Simon & Schuster president and publisher Jonathan Karp and Richard Sarnoff of KKR Private Equity, the publisher’s new owner. KKR has said the company’s growth plan includes international expansion and has acquired Dutch publisher Veen Bosch & Keuning in May and announced a partnership with France’s Les Nouveaux Éditeurs, a new publishing venture from Arnaud Nourry, former CEO of Hachette Livre, who will also speak at the fair.
In other highly anticipated appearances, Hachette CEO David Shelley will share insights gleaned from his new dual U.S./U.K. leadership role, and former Penguin Random House CEO Madeline McIntosh, now CEO and publisher of Authors Equity, will keynote the fair’s networking event for rights professionals, while her colleague from Authors Equity, Nina von Moltke, will discuss the state of independent publishing on Friday.
Conferences
This year’s fair is also spotlighting what it calls mini conferences. These include the annual International Publishing Distribution Forum on Wednesday, on the International Stage, in the foyer between Hall 5.1 and Hall 6.1, and a half-day iteration of the popular U.S. event the Charleston Conference on Friday, on the Academic Stage, Hall 4.0, which will explore issues ranging from the impact of AI on academic publishing to library funding.
The children’s and young adult book sector is seeing significant growth in Frankfurt, and in response, the fair has reconfigured Hall 1 to make room for more children’s publishers and events, not only for the trade but for the public. “The new arrangement is quite attractive,” Boos says. “The future of reading and publishing lies with these younger generations and, accordingly, we are doing all we can to engage them, from organizing meet-and-greets to providing interactive displays that bridge the gap between traditional books and social media.”
Spanning the globe
Despite global economic challenges and wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East, Boos says the fair is seeing strong participation from around the world. Italy is this year’s Guest of Honor country under the theme “Radici nel Futuro” (Roots in the Future) and will be featured with a pavilion designed to resemble an Italian piazza.
In advance of the program, more than 150 books have been translated from Italian into German. Scores of Italian authors will be appearing at the fair, including Nicola Lagioia, Francesca Melandri, Carlo Rovelli, and Igiaba Scego. Each day of the Italian program has a discrete theme—for example, Wednesday will be focused on independent publishers, Thursday on female self-determination, and Friday on anticolonial perspectives.
Elsewhere at the fair, neighboring European countries are reluctant to be outdone. “The French collective stand will be the largest at the fair, occupying about 1,500 square meters, reflecting recent industry consolidations in France,” Boos says. Spain will also have a significant presence, though Boos notes that participation from Latin American countries remains thin.
Boos says there will also be increased participation from Central and Eastern Europe. Romania is bringing more publishers to match its growing importance in the literary world, and Kazakhstan will have a significant presence for the first time at the fair, with a 150-square-meter national stand.
The fair has also dedicated a new Asian Stage in Hall 5.1 to offer insights into literature and publishing from the Asia-Pacific region. “We are seeing many more visitors returning to the fair from Asia this year, including from China and Japan, as well as the Philippines, which is our Guest of Honor in 2025,” Boos says.
This year American publishers have even more reason to attend Frankfurt and interact with people beyond the English-language stands, since it has become increasingly evident that European readers have shifted to buying English-language editions of popular titles when editions in their native languages are not yet available.
Boos describes this change in consumption habits as “inevitable,” attributing it to the influence of streaming services and social media. “For a decade, they’ve been watching English-language television,” he says. “It’s easy for many Europeans to read in English as well, and to listen to English-language podcasts.” It’s a trend that could translate to significant change in the industry, with more European publishers starting to acquire English-language rights to books to prevent market cannibalization.
Hot trends
TikTok, which has become a significant driver of book sales, particularly in the YA market, will have an expanded presence at Frankfurt. “TikTok Europe is based in Berlin, so we are very close with them,” Boos says, adding the 2024 fair will feature stations where TikTok users can record their own videos.
In addition, the TikTok Book Awards, introduced last year, will return, and Boos notes a surprising level of interest from high-level officials: “The German minister of culture wants to attend that,” he says.
Artificial intelligence also remains a hot topic for the industry, with the fair featuring numerous events and discussions on how AI is influencing publishing, from content creation to rights management. These discussions will explore both the opportunities and challenges presented by AI, including its potential impact on copyright law and the creative process.
There will also be an increased emphasis on audiobooks, which continue to show strong worldwide growth, at this year’s fair, including a full-day program on Wednesday at the Frankfurt Studio, with speakers including Amanda D’Acierno (president and publisher, Penguin Random House Audio Group), Jon Watt (trade audio and business development director, Bonnier Books UK), Owen Smith (VP of audiobooks product, Spotify), Aurelie de Troyer (head of regional content Europe, Audible), and Niclas Sandin (CEO, BookBeat).
The fair is now seeking to forge closer ties with creators from the video game industry and has launched a new Games Business Center, which is the result of a cooperation between the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The focus will be on giving publishers and other content creators opportunities to connect with independent game publishers, many of which are popular in the educational sector.
The relationship between the publishing industry and the TV and film business is also a key element of the fair. “We have a dedicated film day,” Boos says. “We have a lot more international cooperation. I’m trying right now to create a network of book fairs that deal with this topic.”
As always, Frankfurt will continue to serve as a platform for important cultural and political discussions, and Boos emphasizes the fair’s role in fostering diverse perspectives. “Frankfurt is a stage, and a lot of people are going to use this stage,” he says. “Publishing is about diversity. It’s about discourse.”
Read the rest of our Frankfurt Book Fair feature:
Frankfurt Book Fair 2024: Program Highlights
The Frankfurt Book Fair, the main event of the global book publishing calendar, is upon us.
Frankfurt Book Fair 2024: Are We Publishing the Right Stories for Kids?
PW Talks with Lawrence Schimel, host of Frankfurt’s second annual children’s publishing conference.
