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Pitch event on 20 February in Berlin

Eleven exceptional books with a special potential for literary adaptations and serial formats will take centre stage at "Books at Berlinale" on 20 February 2023. The event in Berlin, organised by the Berlinale Co-Production Market in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse, has been spotlighting new releases and bestsellers every year since 2006. At the event, film producers can get in touch with the film rights holders – renowned, internationally active publishers and literary agents.

More than 190 books from over 30 countries were submitted for Books at Berlinale 2023. The eleven selected books come from publishers, agencies and authors from Austria, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the UK and Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour 2023, Slovenia.

The following titles were selected for Books at Berlinale and will be presented on 20 February in Berlin (English title / original title; in alphabetical order of the presenting organisations):

• „A Relative Good“ / „Un bien relativo“ (Teresa Cardona, Spain), A.C.E.R. Agencia Literaria, Spain
• „Aleksandra“ (Lisa Weeda, Netherlands/Ukraine), De Bezige Bij, Netherlands
• „The Art of Losing“ / „L’art de perdre“ (Alice Zeniter, France), Editions Flammarion, France
• „The Warrior“ / „Die Kriegerin“ (Helene Bukowski, Germany), Elisabeth Ruge Agentur, Germany
• „These Streets“ (Luan Goldie, UK), Eve White Literary Agency, UK
• „The Storm is Coming“ / „Familien Brattbakk“ (Julia Kahrs, Norway), Gyldendal Agency, Norway
• „This Is Not Miami“ (Fernanda Melchor, Mexico), Literarische Agentur Michael Gaeb, Germany
• „Why Can’t I Write“ / „Zakaj ne pišem“ (Dijana Matković, Slovenia), Mladinska knjiga Založba, Slovenia
• „The Light Behind Us“ / „Das Licht im Rücken“ (Sandra Lüpkes, Germany), Rowohlt Medienagentur, Germany
• „Sonny, Inside“ / „Zo hoog de zon stond“ (Simone Atangana Bekono, Netherlands), Singel Uitgeverijen, Netherlands
• „Virginia Hill“ (Peter Blaikner, Austria), Thomas Sessler Verlag, Austria

Across a broad spectrum of genres, the selected books portray the most diverse places, topics and issues. For example, in the harrowing Ukrainian family saga "Aleksandra", the protagonist tells the story of her grandmother and shows how this woman's individual life is interwoven with the history of the Donbass region from which she comes and with European history itself. From Slovenia, this year's Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse, "Why Can't I Write" " (in the original: "Zakaj ne pišem") by Dijana Matković has been selected.

Books at Berlinale will take place on 20 February 2023 at 10.30 a.m. in the Berlin House of Representatives (Berlin, Germany); the event will be moderated by Syd Atlas. Film producers who are active or interested in the field of literary adaptations, as well as publishers and literary agents, are invited to register for participation before 14 February via e-mail: books@berlinale.de. Representatives of the press, please also register by e-mail.

On the same day, as part of the Books at Berlinale initiative, a matchmaking event will also take place at which selected representatives of publishers and film agencies will meet film producers in individual meetings.

About Books at Berlinale
Books at Berlinale will take place as part of the Berlinale Co-Production Market (18-22 February 2023). In addition to Frankfurter Buchmesse (18-22 October 2023) as a founding partner, the fair's 2023 Guest of Honour, Slovenia, is also supporting the "Books at Berlinale" pitch. The matchmaking event is organised in cooperation with the Netherlands Film Fund.

The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a Berlinale Pro* initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival and is supported by MDM - Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union. The cooperation partner and main venue is the Berlin House of Representatives.

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

Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communication, Frankfurter Buchmesse
Torsten Casimir, Spokesperson, casimir@buchmesse.de
Ines Bachor, PR Manager, Phone: +49 (0) 69 2102-189, bachor@buchmesse.de