Internationale Förderprogramme der Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022
Approximately 110 programme participants from over 50 countries / The book fair as a meeting place for international exchange
Frankfurt, 7 October 2022 – From Armenia to South Africa, from Azerbaijan to Togo: in 2022, more than 110 publishers, booksellers, literary agents, translators and rights and licensing managers from over 50 countries will be taking part in Frankfurter Buchmesse’s international fellowship and grant programmes. Around 90 of the participants will travel to this year’s book fair as part of the programmes. After two years of the pandemic, the focus will be on face-to-face meetings in Frankfurt.
“Supporting our industry’s young professionals and promoting exchange across countries and cultures all year round is an important part of Frankfurter Buchmesse,” says Juergen Boos, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse. “The grant and fellowship programmes we have been organising together with our partners for many years serve as catalysts for the participants’ professional careers. As a result, I am all the more pleased that this year, after many digital interactions, in-person meetings will be taking place in Frankfurt once again. Our programmes make it possible for participants to visit the fair, expand their professional networks, gain insight into international book markets and, not least, experience formative face-to-face encounters.”
New: Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries
Frankfurter Buchmesse has a long tradition of hosting workshops for publishers in Central and Eastern Europe, one that dates back to the early 1990s. A continuation of the successful Summer Academy for publishers from Central and Eastern Europe was planned for 2022 in Kyiv. Unfortunately, the ongoing war is preventing Frankfurter Buchmesse and its local partner institutions, International Book Arsenal Festival and Goethe-Institut Ukraine, from carrying out the project as scheduled. The book fair has therefore launched a Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries, which is being organised with support from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. The programme brings together publishers, editors, rights and licensing managers and literary agents from Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. The programme’s 17 participants, 9 of them from Ukraine, will meet digitally and in person at the book fair in Frankfurt.
Invitation Programme: 20 publishers from 20 countries at the fair
In 2022, 80 publishers applied to participate in Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Invitation Programme which, in cooperation with Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, has enabled publishers from Africa, Asia, the Arab world Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe to participate in the world’s largest industry gathering for over 50 years. As part of the programme, 20 publishers from 20 countries will travel to Germany to exhibit at the collective stand (4.1 H101 and 4.1 H81) at the fair. This year, publishers will attend from Azerbaijan, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Nigeria, Colombia, Cuba, Rwanda and Togo, among other nations. Prior to the fair, participants will take part in a multi-day professional programme and will have the opportunity to discuss a range of topics with publishing experts, such as marketing and sales, rights and licensing, and book design.
Frankfurt Fellowship: International exchange for more than 20 years
Thanks to the Frankfurt Fellowship Programme, Frankfurter Buchmesse has been bringing together publishers, editors, rights and licensing managers and literary agents from around the world every year since 1998. The programme focuses on promoting an exchange of information and developing an international network. The 15 Frankfurt Fellows will be traveling to Frankfurt from a range of countries, including Armenia, Brazil, Indonesia, France and Finland. Having successfully competed against 82 candidates from 38 countries during the selection process, this year’s fellows will visit publishing houses, literary agencies, bookshops and, of course, the book fair. Their agenda also includes matchmaking sessions and networking events in Frankfurt and Berlin. The programme is organised with financial support from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.
Analogous to the Frankfurt Fellowship, the Paris-Frankfurt Fellowship is designed to strengthen the industry’s network of young professionals from Germany, France and Switzerland. This year, 14 fellows will be taking part in the programme, which includes study visits to Germany and Paris. One thing the fellows all have in common is a keen interest in the book markets of their neighbouring countries. The programme is organised by Frankfurter Buchmesse together with the Bureau International de l'Edition Française (BIEF) and Pro Helvetia, with financial support from the Deutsch-Französisches Jugendwerk (DFJW).
Booksellers from across the globe to attend the fair
Through Frankfurt International Booksellers, the book fair promotes the presence of foreign-language literature in the book trade. 15 booksellers from 15 countries will travel to Frankfurt to attend the book fair. All of them offer foreign-language titles in their bookshops and want to gain concrete insights into Germany’s book market and publishing landscape. In addition to interacting with others in the programme, the booksellers will also meet with participants of the Frankfurt Fellowship and the Invitation Programme. Frankfurt International Booksellers is organised with financial support from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.
Translate. Transfer. Transform. – Programmes for promoting translation
The topic of translation runs like a thread through all areas of Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022. For the second year, the Special Programme for young German-language translators will take place in cooperation with the German Translation Fund and with financial support from the German government’s NEUSTART KULTUR programme. The special programme assists young translators who translate literary texts into German and who are just beginning their professional careers. Twenty translators will travel to the book fair as part of the programme.
The Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt Programme makes it possible for 10 young translators from France, Germany and Switzerland to become acquainted with publishing houses in all three countries. Participants work on their own projects under the guidance of experienced translators. The grant programme is organised jointly by the Bureau International de l'Edition Française (BIEF) and Pro Helvetia, with financial support from the Deutsch-Französisches Jugendwerk (DFJW).
All information on the 2022 fellowship and grant programmes and on this year’s participants is available at: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/fellowship-and-grant-programmes
Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communication, Frankfurter Buchmesse
Kathrin Grün, Head of Communications, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@buchmesse.de
Svenja Pütz, PR Manager, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-114, puetz@buchmesse.de
About Frankfurter Buchmesse
Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair and 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. 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 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