Frankfurt Fellowship Programme
The application deadline has expired.
The Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Frankfurt Fellowship Programme is an intensive training and networking programme for publishers, editors, rights & licensing managers, and literary agents from all over the world.
The Frankfurt Fellowship Programme was launched in 1998 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, with the Zev Birger Fellowship (Jerusalem) serving as a model. The programme focuses on the exchange of information, professional dialogue, and the expansion of an international book industry network. Until now, almost 400 young publishers from more than 60 countries have participated in the Frankfurt Fellowship and created a long-lasting international network.
The Frankfurt Fellowship Programme includes visits to publishers, agencies and bookstores, market presentations, matchmaking events, and numerous networking opportunities in Frankfurt and Berlin as well as at the Frankfurter Buchmesse. This year’s focus will be on non-illustrated fiction and non-fiction, and the programme will take place from 8 - 22 October 2023.
The requirements for participation include several years of work in the publishing industry, a good command of English, and three letters of recommendation from international business partners.
Subject to funding by the German Federal Foreign Office.
The call for applications for the 2023 Frankfurt Fellowship will start at the end of February and closes on 30 April 2023.
Application requirements
- Several years of experience in publishing
- Good knowledge of English
- Three letters of recommendation from international business partners
- Letter of recommendation by the candidate’s employer
Frankfurt Fellowship FAQ
Who can apply?
Publishers, editors, rights and licence directors and managers, and literary agents from all over the world can apply for the Frankfurt Fellowship.
What are the necessary qualifications?
- Several years of experience in publishing (at least three)
- Good English language skills
Is there an age limit?
There is no official age limit for the Frankfurt Fellowship, but the programme is aimed at the younger generations of the publishing business. Most of the Frankfurt Fellows are between 30 and 40 years old when they participate in the programme.
Which application documents do I have to submit?
- The filled-out application form (online from February on)
- Three letters of recommendation from international business partners
- Recommendation by your company's management
Who should write the letters of recommendation?
The letters of recommendation should be written by international publishers, editors, rights managers and literary agents with whom the applicant has worked. Letters of recommendation from authors cannot be considered. The international letters of recommendation should not originate from the applicant's own country.
Costs and Expenses
Frankfurter Buchmesse will cover costs for travel and accommdation within Germany, as well as some meals (2021 for the first time also with federal funding support). Participants will be required to meet the costs of travel to and from Germany, as well as some meals.
What does the schedule look like during the Frankfurter Buchmesse week? Is it possible to arrange your own business appointments?
During the actual Buchmesse week, evening events are planned within the Fellowship programme on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Otherwise, participants are free to arrange their own business appointments from Monday to Sunday.
Fellows of 2022
© Frankfurter Buchmesse, Nurettin Cicek
Our Frankfurt Fellows 2022

Renata Prati - Argentina
Katz Editores, Assistant Editor
Katz Editores, Assistant Editor
Your focus of interest
Our focus at Katz is high quality non-fiction in the humanities, the social sciences, and science. Personally, I am very interested in philosophy, feminism, and interdisciplinary work, ranging from literary studies to science studies.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
Eva Illouz, Hartmut Rosa, Jürgen Habermas, Hans Belting, Ralf Dahrendorf
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Fina Birulés, José Emilio Burucúa, Virginia Cano, Nicolás Kwiatkowski, Andrés Rosler
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
In addition to forging ties and finding new titles, I’m eager to learn about the German book market and deepen my understanding of the publishing world.

Hripsime Madoyan - Armenia
Antares, Head of publishing department
Antares, Head of publishing department
Focus of interest
I am working in one of the biggest publishing companies in Armenia. Even though I already have 16 years of experience in the publishing industry; I am willing to learn more, and understand the foreign culture of the publishing sector. More than that, attending this event will be the opportunity for me to network with numerous people from the industry, so I can broaden my perspectives and come back to Armenia with a professionally improved version of mine. My main goal is to meet publishing houses, literary agencies, and experienced professionals, which in its place can assist me to bring the global attributes of the literary sector to my home country.
5 German speaking authors published by your company
Herman Hesse, Gunter Grass, Thomas Mann, Peter Handke, Goethe, Frantz Kafka
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Gourgen Khanjyan, Grig, Hovik Afyan, Hovhannes Yeranyan, Anoush Sargsyan
What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
Firstly, I want to understand the current trends in the publishing industry, secondly, to peruse where the market is moving, and lastly, gain new connections and new partners.

Gustavo Faraon - Brazil
Dublinense, Publisher and co-founder
Dublinense, Publisher and co-founder
Your focus of interest
I am interested in literary fiction that do not fit or follow the big trends, I am interested in books that lead the readers to passionate conversations, I am interested in non-fiction books about relevant subjects explored in unexpected manners.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
Uwe Timm; Mithu Sanyal
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Natalia Borges Polesso, Henrique Schneider, Marana Borges, Cristina Judar, Danichi Hausen Mizoguchi
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
I expect to meet interesting people with diverse ideas, working in very different ways, and have the opportunity to create real bonding that so often leads to the most interesting collaboration projects. I expect to learn deeper about the German book market, being able to adopt some of its best practices and explore its opportunities.

Aneta Panteeleva - Bulgaria
Prozoretz, Editor & Rights Manager
Prozoretz, Editor & Rights Manager
Your focus of interest
Prozoretz aims for a varied title list, both in genres and origin, hence we have a very wide focus of interest that makes for a very challenging and fun job for me! What I’ll be looking for is to discover new voices for our well-established collections – commercial historical and women’s fiction, historical non-fiction, memoirs and travelogues – as well as to add quality content to the children’s list we’re aiming to expand: mostly (but not exclusively) I’ll be looking for non-fiction titles with an educational element, both illustrated and not. I’ll be keeping an eye out for new voices, loud and clear, and new perspectives, strong and motivated, and as long as I believe that they will work well with the Bulgarian readers, the genre won’t really matter.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
Hans-Georg Beck, Wladimir Kaminer, Andreas Steinhöfel, Rotraut Susanne Berner, Franziska Gehm
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Hristo Fotev, Mirela Ivanova, Evgeniy Daynov, Kalin Todorov, Margarit Abadgiev
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
I’m truly looking forward to meeting publishing professionals from Germany and all over the world whom I probably wouldn’t have otherwise met, to the dialogue that will occur between us during those two weeks and, hopefully, continue in the following years. And I am very excited knowing that the fellowship will provide me with extensive knowledge about the German publishing scene: market, trends, practices, etc. I am coming to learn, and I’m certain that I will learn a lot.

Sonky Liu - China
Thinkingdom Media Group, Rights Editor
Thinkingdom Media Group, Rights Editor
Your focus of interest
We have always been looking for high-quality literary and upmarket fictions both from local and international authors. We value diversity, uniqueness and freshness, and are scouting new stunning voices who actively explore and interact with the reality, and who can travel across different cultural or societal backgrounds and resonate with our readership. We are also interested in narrative non-fictions, memoirs, and works that touch upon sociological issues with a strong narrative-leaning quality.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
We have published a few German speaking authors including Robert Seethaler, Bernhard Schlink, Siegfried Lenz, etc. We have also acquired titles by Werner Herzog and look forward to publishing them soon.
The names of up to 5 "local" authors published by your company
Eileen Chang, Yu Hua, Ge Fei, Mai Jia, Sanmao, etc.
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
I would like to hear from and discuss with German and international publishers about how they respond to the changes in their markets during the pandemic, with a focus on how to publish literary-leaning works with commercial success and how to bridge them with a broader readership. I also want to learn more about German publishing industry and hope to establish stable and solid connections with so many talented colleagues in aim of commencing on interesting international projects. Ultimately I wish to bring diversity to the landscape of Chinese publishing as well as mutual understanding through great books.

Kalle Siltala - Finland
Siltala Publishing, Head of digital publishing, Executive director, Tutkijaliitto
Siltala Publishing, Head of digital publishing, Executive director, Tutkijaliitto
Your focus of interest
I’m interested in high-quality literary fiction and narrative non-fiction on the one hand, and theory-oriented philosophical and political literature on the other.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
We have published books by for example Iris Hanika, Wolfram Eilenberger, Walter Benjamin, Edmund Husserl, and Martin Heidegger.
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Kari Hotakainen, Pirkko Saisio, Juhani Karila, Aki Ollikainen, and Sari Rainio & Juha Rautaheimo
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?”
I expect to further develop my international network and to become closer acquainted with international publishing and book markets. Also, I expect to gain important insights of the ”continental” perspective to digital publishing which often differs considerably from the Nordic one. And I look forward to meeting fellow participants!

Nicolás Rodríguez Galvis - France
Édition Métailié, Editor
Édition Métailié, Editor
Your focus of interest
At Editions Métailié we’ve been building a list that could be resumed by the following motto: “Books to live passionately”, that is texts that create a strong emotion once we start reading them, that make our hearts beat, deeply, like love at first sight, and fiercely, like a lightning strike.
I specially look for literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, and thrillers that make us open our eyes to the world, find perspectives and things we didn’t even know existed, and encourage us to cross every border at sight. We generally look for stories told by those that walk through life with a limp and yet create and share amazement and astonishment.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
Anna Seghers, Herta Müller, Christophe Hein, Sherko Fatah, Thomas Melle.
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Editions Métailié publishes mainly translations so our “local” authors are mostly international, to name a few: Leonardo Padura (Cuba), Camila Sosa Villada (Argentina), Mia Couto (Mozambique), Jenni Fagan (Scotland), and Arnaldur Indridason (Iceland).
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?”
I am looking forward to share ideas and experiences and learn about new books and authors with German and international colleagues from around the world. It is an immense opportunity to be around people from so many different backgrounds and cultures at the same time and also to be able to spend some quality time together, have a coffee, share a good meal, to have more in-depth (and fun) conversations about our trades, challenges, markets, and, above all, literature.

Corinna Kroker - Germany
Klett-Cotta, Editorial director literary fiction
Klett-Cotta, Editorial director literary fiction
Focus of interest
Literary fiction; German and international voices.
German speaking authors published by your company
Iris Wolff, Raphaela Edelbauer, Ulla Lenze, Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, Wolfram Eilenberger
“local” authors published by your company
In my case the German authors are my local authors. So I mention some international voices instead: Bernardine Evaristo, Anna Burns, David Graeber, Stephen Hawking, J.R.R. Tolkien
“What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?”
I’m curious to learn more about different international markets (as well as their best kept secrets) and to exchange ideas about the challenges of publishing. And, of course, I’m looking forward to make new friends in the literary world.

Rahul Soni - India
Harper Collins Publishers, Executive Editor – Literary
Harper Collins Publishers, Executive Editor – Literary
Your focus of interest
My field of interest is literary publishing – fiction, non-fiction, prose, verse, and everything in between – whether in English or translated into English from other languages. At HarperCollins India our focus is on works that have a strong India / South Asia connect.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
We will be publishing our first in November this year – Christopher Kloeble, with his novel The Museum of the World (Das Museum der Welt) – but I hope to find more!
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Harper Collins India publishes a number of major authors – some names familiar to readers in Germany will be Amitav Ghosh, Aravind Adiga, Avni Doshi, Janice Pariat, Shubhangi Swarup.
“What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
I look forward to meeting fellow participants from around the world and exchanging experiences and ideas on how to promote literary works, and forming connections that will enable me to better present literature from India and the subcontinent – whether written originally in English, or in translation – at international forums.

Syifa Fauziah - Indonesia
Bentang Pustaka, Rights and Acquisition Editor
Bentang Pustaka, Rights and Acquisition Editor
Focus of interest
Our publisher is known for our literary titles, but I am also interested in contemporary fiction, romance, and thriller, especially books written by woman author. For non-fiction, I’m focusing on self-improvement, philosophy, popular science/psychology, and parenting books.
German authors published by your company
Nikolaus Piper
Local authors published by your company
Andrea Hirata, Dee Lestari, Feby Indirani, Trinity, Maudy Ayunda
What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship
As a rights editor, I am excited to meet and making new connection with fellow participants while learn about publishing industries, specifically about rights and promotion . I‘d also love to get to know more German publishers and authors and introducing Indonesian authors to them.

Alexia Caizzi - Italy
Einaudi, Editor
Einaudi, Editor
Your focus of interest
As a Fiction-in-translation and Narrative non-fiction editor, I deal with literature from all around the world, with a focus on works written in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese. Lately, I have been concentrating in particular on Spanish speaking authors and in addition on international young authors as we would like to expand our catalogue also in these directions.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
Our list includes Marcel Beyer, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Milena Michiko Flasar, Elfriede Jelinek, Robert Schneider
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Paolo Cognetti, Donatella Di Pietrantonio, Nicola Lagioia, Melania Mazzucco, Marco Missiroli, among many others
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
I would like to learn more about the German book market, and get to know its strengths and the strategies it is adopting to face new challenges. I hope to deepen my knowledge of publishing houses that focus on German Fiction and Narrative non-fiction in order to explore their lists and find works to be translated and published in our collections. Also, I think that the Programme will be a privileged channel for sharing ideas and experiences with other international partners and I look forward to meeting fellow participants and being inspired by their work.

Carme Riera - Spain
Penguin Random House, Editor at Literatura Random House and Reservoir Books
Penguin Random House, Editor at Literatura Random House and Reservoir Books
My focus of interest
Literary fiction.
German speaking authors
Daniel Kehlmann, Elfriede Jelinek, Judith Schalansky.
“Local” authors
Gabriel García Márquez, Javier Cercas, Fernanda Melchor, Samanta Schweblin.
What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?
I am thrilled to have a deep immersion in the German book market, establishing fruitful connections with editors and participating at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Marwan Adwan - Syria / UAE
Mamdouh Adwan Publishing, Publisher
Mamdouh Adwan Publishing, Publisher
Your focus of interest
The majority of our publications are translated novels, recently we started new non-fiction publishing lines focusing on political studies, social studies, feminist Studies, philosophy, and astronomy.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
Our main focus was fiction novels, we have published many German speaking authors including:
Ikarien by Uwe Timm, Stiller by Max Frisch, Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, Don Juan by Peter Handke, Recently we started to focus more on non-fiction, so we published: Die Politik der Demütigung: Schauplätze von Macht und Ohnmacht by Ute Frevert
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Mamdouh Adwan, Maha Hasan, Mamdouh Azzam, Khalifa Khuder, Mamdouh Hamada
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
Being a publisher is a nonstop learning process, I am looking forward to meeting well established German publishers to learn more about their processes, strategies and techniques, and to find new titles to work on, especially in our new nonfiction’s lines.
Also, I am looking to meet young professional publishers from around the world to build connections, exchange our experiences and thoughts, find cooperation methods, and explore new markets, new methods and new titles.

Helena Gonda - UK
Canongate, Senior Commissioning Editor
Canongate, Senior Commissioning Editor
Your focus of interest
I commission narrative non-fiction for Canongate Books in the UK, with a focus on books that capture the zeitgeist.
The names of up to 5 German speaking authors published by your company
Herman Hesse and Thomas Glavini
The names of up to 5 “local” authors published by your company
Sten Nadolny
Your answer to the question “What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
‘I hope to learn more about the publishing industry in Germany, connect with like-minded publishing professionals, share skills with other delegates and discover great new writers.’
Emma Raddatz - USA
Archipelago Elsewhere Editions,
Editor & Development Associate, Archipelago / Director, Elsewhere Editions
Archipelago Elsewhere Editions,
Editor & Development Associate, Archipelago / Director, Elsewhere Editions
Focus of interest
Archipelago publishes urgent literary translations of classic and contemporary world literature. We've published books from over 35 languages, and our recent seasons include works from Turkish, Icelandic, Danish, Portuguese, French, German, among other languages. We mostly publish novels, poetry, and short story collections – startling works that reflect on art, language, birdwatching, dreams, mothers, and so many other things. And under our children's imprint, Elsewhere Editions, we publish artful children's books in translation.
5 German speaking authors published by your company
Maja Haderlap, Heinrich von Kleist, Joseph Roth, Robert Musil, and Novalis
(We publish only works in translation, so I don't have any local authors to list!)
What do you expect from the Frankfurt Fellowship?” in 150 characters
I'm so excited to meet with other fellows, learn about what writing is speaking to them right now, and meet in-person with German editors and publishers. The fellowship offers a rare space to exchange ideas and share books, and I feel it may shape our list in unexpected ways.
Why participate?
The Frankfurt Fellowship Programme offers participants from 16 countries the opportunity to discover the special features of various book markets and, above all, to make new contacts within the German book industry.
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