Invitation to preview press conference: Canada as Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2020
Thursday, 17 October 2019, 11 am at Frankfurter Buchmesse
Canada is proud to be the Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2020 (14-18 October 2020). We look forward to introducing you to our diversity and our culture, and to our multiple communities. In Canada, while we are all unique, we are also connected both by our differences and by our shared values.
Canadian books are the product of a mature industry that is national in scope, with approximately 300 book publishers located in over 80 towns and cities in all 10 provinces and 3 territories. These publishers include firms of all sizes, from microbusinesses to established international leaders, both Canadian- and foreign-owned. Combined, the publishers produce approximately 8,500 new Canadian-authored titles per year in all formats, namely print, digital and audio.
Canada and Germany proudly nurture extensive cultural relations. A Canada-Germany cultural agreement was signed in 1975 and Canadian visual artists are well represented in major German art museums and galleries. Canadian author Margaret Atwood famously began writing her renowned novel The Handmaid’s Tale while living in West Berlin in 1984.
You are cordially invited to the preview press conference at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019, during which you will be introduced to what will be driving our literary and cultural programming throughout the year. The press conference will also provide an opportunity to present rising Canadian literary and artistic talent.
Date: Thursday, 17 October 2019
Time: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Location: Frankfurt Pavilion (on the fairgrounds at the Agora in front of Hall 4, Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1, 60327 Frankfurt)
Participants:
- Juergen Boos, President and CEO, Frankfurter Buchmesse
- Hélène Laurendeau, Deputy Minister, Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada
- Caroline Fortin, President, Canada FBM2020
Literary guests:
- Lisa Moore, author
- Christian Guay-Poliquin, author
- J.D. Kurtness, author
Moderator:
- Nam Kiwanuka
Performance by classically-trained Canadian cellist Cris Derksen with recorded excerpts from the works of the three authors.
Please confirm your attendance by 12 October 2019 by clicking this link: https://en.xing-events.com/HKPWGCW.html
If you have any questions before the event or would like to arrange appointments for interviews, please do not hesitate to contact Franz Handermann at FleishmanHillard Frankfurt (contact information provided below).
We look forward to seeing you there!
Best regards,
Hélène Laurendeau and Caroline Fortin
You are invited to watch a short excerpt of the preview video that will be launched in its entirety during the preview press conference: https://youtu.be/kJL3vuV9A7s
> Find all press releases and photos on our website. https://www.buchmesse.de/en/press/
About the Guest of Honour Canada
Canada is proud to be the Guest of Honour country at Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2020. This prestigious distinction is a great opportunity to showcase not only our country’s publishing industry, but a wide range of cultural programming, including film, theatre, music, dance and multimedia.
The literary programme will bring Canada’s literary community together in Frankfurt and throughout Germany to promote a wide range of Canadian-authored books to readers from everywhere in the world. They will be developing and fostering partnerships, and increasing the visibility of Canada’s cultural industries.
As Guest of Honour country, Canada will be featured in its own pavilion in 2020 where cultural performances, culinary events, readings, public discussion panels and literary performances will take place, focussed on Canada and its specific themes chosen for the event. The Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) is the overall lead for the Government of Canada and is responsible for delivering a cultural programme in the year leading up to and during the fair in 2020 and for the creation of a Canada Pavilion which will officially open on October 15, 2020.
Canada FBM2020 was established as an entity in collaboration with the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) and the Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) and independent publishers to manage, in French and English, the role and involvement of the Canadian book publishing industry at Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2020.
About Frankfurter Buchmesse
Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,500 exhibitors from 109 countries, around 285,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and some 10,000 accredited journalists and bloggers in attendance. It is the most important international marketplace for content – from novels and children’s books to academic databases and stories for films, games and virtual reality experiences. Publishing professionals from around the world meet here with partners from the technology sector and from related creative and cultural industries, sparking new partnerships and business models. A strong conference programme ensures that Frankfurter Buchmesse is a major source of inspiration for content experts from around the world. Since 1976, the book fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. 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. Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association). https://www.buchmesse.de/en
Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communication, Frankfurter Buchmesse
Katja Böhne, Vice President Marketing & Communications, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-138, press@buchmesse.de
Kathrin Grün, Head of Communications, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@buchmesse.de