New year, new opportunities – once again with you.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse has for the last 20 years been one of the certainties of my working life. It was a key stone of the year. As an editor and publisher I was preparing myself as if I was preparing for a marathon: be as focussed as can be, be as fit as can be. As part of the team that was in charge of the Gastlandauftritt 2016 I was preparing as if it was the Olympics. It was the first time I really knew what the Frankfurter Buchmesse was about: a large and divers representation and celebration of literature and books in it's broadest sense.
I got to speak not only to publishers from all over the world, but also to readers, authors, librarians, booksellers. That real life sensation of meeting with people that are either professionally or passionately connected to literature cannot be replaced with Zoom, Teams, Webex, Facetime or whatever digital medium you can think of. I am very much looking forward to being at the Frankfurter Buchmesse again and resume that marathon!

The Georgian book sector should have been flourishing in the post-Frankfurter Buchmesse Guest of Honour period. Just when it started to bear fruit, however, the global pandemic hit the world, bringing distancing and isolation with it. Now, more than ever, we need a platform to reconnect – a place to recuperate. And the Frankfurter Buchmesse is the only place left where this can be achieved this year.

I have visited the Frankfurter Buchmesse many times since my first edition which was in 1993, when the Netherlands were guest of honour and I was the youngest assistant. Now it is almost 30 years later and I have met many hundreds of editors, agents and translators from all over the world. Seeing everybody every year is essential to the international book business. For me, it is the highpoint of the year.

The pandemic slowed down the literary processes. The contacts we made during years of working and which were enhanced by direct meetings with our partners and readers, are getting weaker. For us, for Georgia – the country that was Guest of Honour of Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018, after which the most important period of Georgian literature was supposed to begin, it’s more than important to attend the physical fair for bringing back that hype we created in 2018. Otherwise, the resources we’ve invested in the Guest of Honour project can be considered lost.

What I miss most – Frankfurter Buchmesse

What I love most – Frankfurter Buchmesse

What I’m waiting for – Frankfurter Buchmesse

Literature is the cornerstone of culture, and the Frankfurt Buchmesse provides the ideal opportunity to take in the best that the literary world has to offer! The size, scope and prestige of the event is unmatched, which is why Canada is so proud to showcase the “Singular Plurality” of its diverse culture as the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (for the second year in row!). After a challenging 2020, Canadians from across the country are eagerly anticipating a return to normalcy and we look forward to participating in the 2021 Fair, as the world begins the road to pandemic recovery.

Frankfurter Buchmesse 2021 is supported by German Minister and Commissioner for Culture and Media, as part of the country’s NEUSTART KULTUR stimulus package. The aim of the funding is to enable as many exhibitors from Germany and abroad as possible to take part in Frankfurter Buchmesse 2021 during the ongoing corona pandemic.