Digital programme running up to Frankfurter Buchmesse: Introducing Masterclasses by #fbm21 and partners / Frankfurt Conference with Siv Bublitz, Cyrus Kheradi, Peter Warwick and many more.

Tickets for Frankfurt Conference on 11 and 12 October to go on sale / Application for Masterclasses (11-15 October) is open / Frankfurt Studio: Inside Publishing - live from the fairgrounds / Networking series The Hof

Under the motto Re:connect, the international publishing industry will come together at Frankfurter Buchmesse (20-24 October 2021). An all-digital professional programme will take place in the run-up to the book fair week from 11 to 15 October 2021 for the first time. Tickets for Frankfurt Conference go on sale on 22 September 2021. Registration for various formats, which are in part free of charge, is already open.

Distilled knowledge at Frankfurt Conference on 11 and 12 October 
Frankfurt Conference kicks off the digital programme on 11 October with an afternoon full of topical issues and debates from Academic Publishing. In fifteen-minute sessions, international industry leaders will provide impulses for academic and scientific publishers. Speakers include Judy Verses, Executive Vice President, Wiley (USA), Penelope Lewis, Chief Publishing Officer, AIP Publishing (USA), and David Worlock, Co-Chair, Outsell Leadership Community (UK). In the programme curated by Sven Fund, General Manager Publishing Solutions at ResearchGate, speakers will give very brief, clear opinions on a single, focused topic, providing executives with an overview of what is important or will be vital to their business in the near future.

On Tuesday, 12 October, Trade Publishing will be the main focus of Frankfurt Conference. Mini-keynotes, videos, panel discussions and interviews, all revolve around the central challenges in international publishing. Siv Bublitz, President and Publisher, S. Fischer Verlage (Germany), Cyrus Kheradi, Senior Vice President of International Sales and Marketing, Penguin Random House (USA), Marco Garcia, Editorial Director, V&R Editoras (Brazil), and Peter Warwick, President & CEO, Scholastic (USA), among others, will cover topics such as international perspectives on book sales and book trade, editorial strategies, what’s ahead for children’s book publishing and trends in the field of rights and licensing.

The two conference days both start at 2.30 pm and end at 5 pm. Afterwards, the participants can enjoy a “The Hof" event with live music, breakout sessions and short interviews reflecting the conference day. Tickets will go on sale on 22 September at www.buchmesse.de/conference.

Masterclasses – Learning from the best
Monday, 11 October, also marks the start of the new Masterclasses by the Frankfurter Buchmesse and its partners. Until Friday, 15 October, two to three Masterclasses will be held daily. In about 45 minutes each, various companies and representatives of the international publishing industry will present business cases and give insights into exciting future fields and current topics – from audio book production through AI and the digital transformation of the value chain to mentoring and self-censorship in publishing. Following the presentations, the experts will be available to answer the participants' questions. Participation is free of charge, application for participation is open now until 3 October 2021 at www.buchmesse.de/masterclasses.

The twelve Masterclasses will feature top-class speakers like Jo Surman, Fionnuala Barrett, and Jessica Barnfield of the HarperCollins UK Audio Team presenting “Audio Publishing: Behind the Scenes" on Monday, 11 October at 4 pm, and DeGruyter Vice Presidents Brian Bishop and Scott Williams, whose class will be on "How digital transformation works at a mid-sized academic publishing house” taking place Tuesday, 12 October, 5 pm.

The Hof – more than just networking
The networking series The Hof starts again on 30 September 2021! In interactive networking sessions, the global publishing community gathers at the virtual bar accompanied by live music and potential business contacts. Juergen Boos, President and CEO of Frankfurter Buchmesse, will open the season on 30 September at 5 pm. Fun digital networking can also be expected at the event with literary agent Andrew Nurnberg, live from the Frankfurter Hof (the hotel the format is named after) and YA author Cornelia Funke, who will dial in from Malibu (Tuesday, 19 October, 7 pm). Other highlights will be the virtual stand party of the Brazilian Publishers Association (Thursday, 21 October, 5 pm), and at the book presentation by Amazon Publishing Germany with film producer and Tolkien great-grandson Royd Tolkien (Friday, 22 October, 5 pm). Participation is free of charge, find an overview of the events and the registration links here: www.buchmesse.de/thehof

Frankfurt Studio: Inside Publishing – live from the fairgrounds
Frankfurt Studio is Frankfurter Buchmesse’s brand-new hybrid stage. At the Inside Publishing Programme running from 20 to 22 October 2021, trade programming will be broadcast live both on an LED screen on the Agora – the open space between the exhibition halls – and on buchmesse.de. The Frankfurt Studio is a 500 m² fully equipped studio with a 72 m² multifunctional stage. A large part of the events will be streamed live from the studio on the exhibition grounds, some contributions will be pre-recorded.

For the new format, Frankfurter Buchmesse and its partners have curated a varied professional programme. Experts from all over the world will be appearing on stage and on screen. Events include the Global CEO Talk 2021 with Klaus Driever, Managing Director at Allianz, on Wednesday, 20 October at 2 pm, and panel discussion organised by Frankfurter Buchmesse and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) titled "The impact of COVID-19 on the global publishing industry" with the President of the International Publishers Association (IPA) Bodour Al Qasimi taking place on Wednesday, 20 October at 11 am. Part of the programme will be also be Frankfurter Buchmesse's first STARTS Day on Friday, 22 October, where stakeholders from diverse backgrounds will shine a light on the key issues the EU-project STARTS is concerned with, such as sustainability, humans in the digital world and the climate and biodiversity crisis.
The Frankfurt Studio: Inside Publishing programme can be found at https://www.buchmesse.de/themen-programm/fachprogramm/frankfurt-studio-inside-publishing.