The participants of the Frankfurt Fellowship Programme 2017 have been selected
97 applicants from 42 countries / New: the first "Fred Kobrak Frankfurt Fellow"
Frankfurt, 20 September 2017 – The participants of the Frankfurt Fellowship Programme have been selected. In 2017, 97 candidates from 42 countries applied to participate in the Frankfurter Buchmesse international programme for young publishing professionals. Beginning on 1 October 2017, 16 publishing professionals from 16 countries – including, for the first time, Iceland – will visit publishing companies and attend networking events in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Berlin. The highlight of the two-week programme is the Frankfurter Buchmesse (11-15 October 2017).
This year, for the first time, one participant will receive funding as the “Fred Kobrak Frankfurt Fellow”. In memory of Fred Kobrak, a dedicated and long-serving player in the international publishing industry who passed away in December 2016 at the age of 88 years, his family will cover the travel and accommodation costs for one Frankfurt Fellow. “Fred had a longstanding passion for the Frankfurter Buchmesse – not only did he attend 56 years in a row, the fair became a second family to him. We are happy that the Frankfurt Fellowship gives us, his other family, the chance to support young publishing professionals in taking part in this event that meant so much to him”, says Paul Kobrak, Fred Kobrak’s son.
For the next ten years of the Frankfurt Fellowship Programme, each year one Frankfurt Fellow will receive funding. In 2017, Tynan Kogane from the USA has been chosen as the inaugural Fred Kobrak Frankfurt Fellow. Ahead of his participation in this year’s programme, he said: “The Frankfurt Fellowship is a rare opportunity to join an international community of editors, and to participate in a much more modest, bookish version of the Olympic triathlon.”
Bärbel Becker, Director of International Projects at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, said: “Having a good international network is essential in the publishing industry. The Frankfurt Fellowship Programme gives participants from 16 countries the opportunity to discover the specific features of various book markets and, above all, to make new contacts in the German book industry.”
Niki Théron, Manager of International Projects: “Beyond the programme, we organise annual meetings for former Frankfurt Fellows so that they can benefit from the programme in the long term. In this way, over the past 19 years, we have already reached more than 300 participants from 60 countries and we are looking forward to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Frankfurt Fellowship in 2018.”
The Frankfurt Fellows 2017 are:
Leonardo Archila, Publishing Director, Intermedio Editores, Columbia
Dorothy Aubert, Editor, Hugo & Cie / Publisher & Founder, Belleville éditions, France
Anish Chandy, Head of Business Development & Rights, Juggernaut Books, India
Anne Isabel Cowley Meadows, Commissioning Editor, Granta & Portobello Books, UK
Stella Soffia Jóhannsdóttir, Acquiring Editor, Forlagid, Iceland
Tynan Kogane, Editor, New Directions Publishing, USA
Johanna Laitinen, Executive Editor, Gummerus Kustannus, Finland
Hernán López Winne, Co-founder und Editorial Director, Ediciones Godot Srl, Argentina
Lisanne Mathijssen, Commissioning Editor, HarperCollins Holland, Netherlands
Rita Mattar, Editor und Rights Manager, Companhia das Letras, Brazil
Hiromi Morikawa, Foreign Rights Manager, Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, Japan
Dominique Pleimling, Editorial Director, Eichborn / Bastei Lübbe, Germany
Anna Slotorsz, Rights and Royalties Manager, Sonia Draga Sp. z o.o., Poland
Mariia Shakura, Publisher, Book Club Family Leisure Club, Ukraine
Flavia Vadrucci, Junior Editor, Marsilio Editori S.p.A., Italy
Qian Yin, Foreign Rights Manager, Liaoning Science and Technology Publishing
House Ltd., China
Since 1998, the Frankfurt Fellowship Programme has been bringing together international publishing professionals in the run-up to the Frankfurter Buchmesse. In the course of visits to publishing companies and bookstores, market presentations and matchmaking events, the Frankfurt Fellows gain a better understanding of the German book industry, and network and share information and experiences with each other. At the fair, the Frankfurt Fellows schedule their own appointments and meet again at evening events.
Niki Théron, Manager of International Projects at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, coordinates the Frankfurt Fellowship Programme. Her colleague Katherina Rapp will accompany the group on their trip around Germany.
For more information about the programme go here.(opens in a new window)
The profiles of the Frankfurt Fellows 2017 are available here: https://fbm.cloud.booklan.de/index.php/s/ariWOjXsd3ZqXwj(opens in a new window)
About the Frankfurter Buchmesse
The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,150 exhibitors from more than 106 countries, around 278,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and approximately 10,000 accredited journalists and bloggers - in attendance. It also gathers key players from other media, including the film and games industries. Since 1976, the Frankfurter Buchmesse has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. The Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. With its Business Club, the Frankfurter Buchmesse offers essential services and an ideal setting for the activities of publishers, entrepreneurs, pioneers, experts and visionaries. The Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association.
Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communications Frankfurter Buchmesse
Katja Böhne, Vice President Marketing & Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-138, press@book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
Kathrin Grün, Head of PR and Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
Julia Biermann, Trainee Marketing & Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-165, biermann@book-fair.com(opens in a new window)
> Press information online >https://www.buchmesse.de/en/press/press-releases(opens in a new window)
> Photos in print quality >https://www.buchmesse.de/en/press/press-material(opens in a new window)