#fbm22 interim report: trade visitor days a success
Some 90,000 participants from more than 100 countries
As of today, Friday, the official trade visitor days of the 74th Frankfurter Buchmesse have come to a close. “A strong international trade programme and 4,000 exhibitors from 95 countries have drawn numerous trade visitors to Frankfurter Buchmesse. The number of visitors exceeded our expectations. After two reduced versions in 2020 and 2021, the 74th Frankfurter Buchmesse was finally able to take place in person once again. With approximately 90,000 trade visitors from over 100 countries, we view the trade visitor days as a success,” says Juergen Boos, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse. The trade visitor days were accompanied by a digital trade programme – thanks to Masterclasses and the digital networking format The Hof, industry professionals had the opportunity to maintain and expand their networks virtually. 1,700 attendees joined the two-day professional programme in the Publishing Perspectives Forum, which featured Peter Warwick, President and CEO, Scholastic; Charlie Redmayne, CEO HarperCollins UK; Jonny Geller, CEO Curtis Brown, and Núria Cabutí, CEO, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, and many more.
The Literary Agents & Scouts Centre (LitAg) was fully booked, with approximately 300 agencies having reserved more than 450 tables. According to UK industry magazine The Bookseller, an auction for the translation rights of Booker Prize winner Shenan Karunatilaka's book The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida took place at the LitAg. Publishers from Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Japan, Brazil, Serbia, Turkey and Spain are in auctions now for the translation rights in their countries. Rowohlt Verlag secured the German rights to the title before the fair. Shenan Karunatilaka is represented in the UK by the agency Peters Frazer and Dunlop.
There was also strong demand for the workstations, a new and flexible option for participating: 60 exhibitors booked close to 200 workstations, in some cases in addition to their exhibition stands.
Three heads of state honoured the book fair with their presence in its first four days: After the festive opening by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international publishing industry on Thursday by video to continue telling the truth about Russia’s war of aggression. “We know the answer,” Zelenskyy said to an audience of some 1,700 publishers. Knowledge is “the answer for those that have fear, for those who manipulate” and for those who are not able to believe something.
The 74th Frankfurter Buchmesse will end on Sunday, 23 October 2022. All events can be found in the App or online in our calendar of events.