"Absolutely enormous," this was my friend Louisa’s first comment when I asked her what she thought about the Frankfurt bookfair. We were travelling back to Oxford, after two exhausting days exploring the fair. Being German myself and visiting what was for me a familiar international event, I was really curious to hear her views from an English perspective. To her it felt like "the whole world was there, and for a change not only Europe." Just take a look at the list of publishers in Hall 5 – and there were lots more in other halls from all over the world!
Over five days, from 9th to 14th October, more than 6000 exhibitors from 110 countries created a rather busy atmosphere. You are quickly drawn into one of the eight halls. Come prepared or you’ll soon get lost! It’s not so much the sheer number of books – it’s the incredible variety and the thousand ways in which they are presented. The first three days are for the trade. This is when the exhibitors offer that special touch of professionalism: dark-suited men and smartly-dressed women. I felt relieved to meet the friendly fellow on his folding chair, patiently offering "Gedichte für ein Lächeln" (poems for a smile). I saw many people giving him a broad grin – almost involuntarily – and picking up their reward in the form of a little paper roll with a poem on it.
Obviously books come in amazingly different forms, shapes and sizes – one leading international art specialist had a book in the form of a spoon. The book entitled "SPOON" comes in a wavy silver metal cover demonstrating how the form of a book can represent its content: it is all about modern industrial design. The ultimate coffee table book, though a bit too large to stir your coffee with.
Some stands are loaded with books, while on others you might not see a single one – just a few photographs on the wall. The books are only taken out of the drawers to do licensing deals. Which is, of course, what it’s all about in the first three days, when the fair is only open to those within the publishing industry. On Saturday and Sunday, when the fair is open to the public, the suits give way to numerous events, with famous and not so famous authors putting the emphasis on entertainment rather than presentation and serious negotiation.
After the 'new media hype' of recent years, new media is now smoothly integrated into the world of books. E-books, audio books, CD Roms – you can find them with lots of different publishers, who either specialise in new media or use it as and when appropriate. Hall 4, devoted to 'Media & Information', was mainly inhabited by service providers rather than publishers.
So much more one could write about: the special guest Lithuania with wonderful presentations, – "Bridges for a World Divided"a future-oriented congress, the blue sofa events, featuring lots of German authors ... the bookfair really is enormous! If you are a bookworm wanting more than just these few impressions, why not visit the Frankfurt bookfair in October 2003?
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