Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse) is the world's largest trade fair for books, held annually in mid-October in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Representatives from book publishing and multimedia companies from all over the world come to the Frankfurt Book Fair in order to negotiate international publishing rights and licensing fees.
A profile of the company
The Ausstellungs- und Messe GmbH des Börsenvereins des Deutschen Buchhandels is responsible for the organisation of the Frankfurt Book Fair every year in October, the biggest and most important book fair in the world. For five days, around 6,700 exhibitors and more than 270,000 visitors then make Frankfurt the centre of the book industry. And this has been the case for 56 years now. The Frankfurt Book Fair was founded in 1949 by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels – German Publishers & Booksellers Association – and is now its subsidiary company. The history of the fair goes back considerably further in time, however: a fair for books was already being held in Frankfurt in the early part of the modern age. With its services and activities, the Frankfurt Book Fair is now an interface for the international publishing world all year round and beyond the Fair itself. The Frankfurt Book Fair provides the industry’s most comprehensive online databases and promotes German literature in other countries.
Five days in October: the biggest book fair in the world
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the most important marketing event for books put on show in five halls over an area of roughly 164,000 square metres. At the same time, it is the most important trading centre worldwide for rights and licences. For 56 years now, visitors and suppliers from all sectors of the industry have been meeting annually in Frankfurt. They take the opportunity to obtain information, to set up or to cultivate important contacts and above all, to do good business: publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians, academics, illustrators, service providers, film producers, translators, printers, professional and trade associations, institutions, artists, authors, antiquarians, software and multimedia suppliers – they all appreciate the variety of services, the professional working centres and diverse options provided by the Frankfurt Book Fair – and they all benefit from the high level of international attention. In 2004, more than 12,000 journalists from 92 countries reported on the Fair which brought together 6,691 individual exhibitors, 79 national and collective exhibitions and 180,000 trade visitors.
A guest country and hundreds of authors: a cultural event of superlatives
The Frankfurt Book Fair is not just the book industry’s keynote fair, but is also one of the leading cultural events worldwide, attracting thousands of readers with a wide-ranging array of events at the Fair itself, in the city and surrounding region. Book readings, prize presentations, signing sessions, discussions, talks and much more besides - around 3,000 events were scheduled overall in the context of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2004. With approximately 500 events, the different annual choice of guest country makes up a special focus, introducing its book market, its literature and culture to the Fair public in many different ways.
Far more than just a simple website: www.book-fair.com
Registering around 9.5 million hits in 2004, the Frankfurt Book Fair’s website is the industry’s most extensive and most used portal in the world. With its comprehensive databases, market analyses and many interactive services, it is an ideal working tool that is made available to the industry 365 days a year. 19,000 international title rights are on offer in the Frankfurt Rights Catalogue, the Frankfurt Catalogue lists more than 7,000 worldwide publishing companies and the Frankfurt Who’s Who includes 16,000 decision-makers in the industry, all freely available for user research. Directories for trade visitors, translators and journalists further enhance the unique range of information. The Frankfurt Book Fair’s monthly Newsletter with updates from the Frankfurt Book Fair and international trade news is now firmly established as a modern information medium for the book world. To subscribe mailto:newsletter@book-fair.com
Working worldwide for German books: international activities
The Frankfurt Book Fair is active in other countries on behalf of the German book industry. It organises German collective stands at more than 20 international book fairs every year. It targets presentation of titles from German publishing companies on the most important markets, supplies interesting market information and provides support in the facilitation of valuable business contacts – worldwide. As the Frankfurt Book Fair’s permanent foreign-based offices, the German Book Office (GBO) in New York and the German Book Information Centres (BIZ) in Beijing, Bucharest, Moscow / Novosibirsk and Warsaw serve as information and service centres for the industry both at home and abroad. When it comes to German publishing and book business, they are THE key local addresses for publishers, booksellers, libraries and the professional public, whilst their numerous activities promote the sale of German books and licences outside Germany.
A network of know-how and culture: sponsorship programmes and post-entry training
The Frankfurt Book Fair is particularly concerned to further the industry’s networking and to promote international exchange. To this end, the Book Fair – in cooperation with various partners – organises and finances numerous sponsorship and training programmes for virtually all target groups within the industry. The Invitation Programme enables publishing companies from structurally weak book markets to attend the Fair, young and highly qualified publishers from international companies can apply for a seminar place on the prestigious Fellowship Programme, whilst in the course of ten-day bookseller seminars, international booksellers with an interest in the import of German books are given indepth insights into the German book trade. In addition, the Book Fair is committed to international cultural and literary interchange and contributes to a variety of programmes for literature and authors both in terms of content and financially.
The Frankfurt Book Fair in Figures
A selection of interesting data on the Frankfurt Book Fair from the booklet “Facts & Figures”
- At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2004, 6,691 exhibitors and 79 national and collective displays were presented on an area of around 164,000 square metres.
- With approx. 1,800 exhibitors from English-speaking regions, the Frankfurt Book Fair is also by far the biggest event for the Anglophone world.
- 415 agents and 237 agencies were represented in the Literary Agents & Scouts Centre (LitAg) in 2004.
- The exhibitors at the Frankfurt Book Fair show products from 155 different subject areas.
- Only 42 per cent of the products presented at the Book Fair 2004 were books.
- Last year’s Book Fair showed a total of 104,566 new publications out of total exhibits of 350,619 titles.
- The Frankfurt Book Fair generates a billion euros of spending in Frankfurt and the surrounding area and 600 million euros directly at the Fair itself.
- More than a quarter of all exhibitors stated that they did better in 2004 than the previous year, over 43 per cent noted an equally good outcome.
- 91 per cent of 2004’s exhibitors are planning to be present again at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2005.
- 270,413 people came to the Frankfurt Book Fair over the five days of the 2004 event, 173,943 of them were trade visitors.
- 59.3 per cent of trade visitors and 64.8 per cent of private visitors were women.
- 12,275 journalists from 92 countries were accredited for the Book Fair 2004.
- The Frankfurt Book Fair’s website noted around 9,5 million hits in 2004 and is the industry’s most used portal in the world.
- The Frankfurt Rights Catalogue lists 19,000 titles from more than 1,000 exhibitors.
- With around 16,000 entries, the Frankfurt Who’s Who is the industry’s biggest address book.
- 1,300 literary translators are listed in the Frankfurt Book Fair’s directory of translators.
- Altogether 2,855 events were presented in the context of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Frankfurt Book Fair 2005 - Practical Information
The Frankfurt Book Fair 2005 will take place from 19 - 23 october. From Wednesday to Friday, the Book Fair is reserved exclusively for trade visitors. The general public can attend the Fair on Saturday and Sunday. Opening times are from 9.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. daily and to 5.30 p.m. on Sunday. This year's Guest of Honour is Korea.
An Overview over the Frankfurt Book Fair 2005
Market place of contents: the trade fair
From Wednesday to Friday, book business booms at the Fair. Trade in rights takes centre stage here: the Frankfurt Book Fair is the most important market place in the world for rights and licences. For many of the 400 literary agents and rights traders expected to attend, the Book Fair already begins on Tuesday with the prestigious Rights Directors Meeting, looking in 2005 at the Spanish-speaking markets. Since its relocation last year in Hall 6.2, their trading centre, the Literary Agents & Scouts Centre (LitAg), is much more accessible and has moved closer to the rest of the Fair’s activities.
Trade visitors have a central port of call in Hall 4.0. In the immediate vicinity of German publishing companies, the centre for German booksellers (Sortimenter-Zentrum) is flanked by the International Booksellers & Trade Visitors Centre, launched last year to welcome international trade visitors. With its adjacent cafeteria, the Centre provides a quiet atmosphere for meetings with business partners and colleagues. The forum Publishing Solutions and Book Trade Services is also in Hall 4.0, with the added feature in 2005 of a new focus on book production.
Extending the range: new exhibition sections in 2005
The Frankfurt Book Fair not only provides for excellent working conditions, it also serves as a platform for forward-looking trends. The Frankfurt Book Fair 2005 opens up two new exhibition sections with the planned PresseMesse – Trade, Popular and International Press, and the 1st Frankfurt Antiquarian Fair. In cooperation with LeserAuskunft GmbH, the Frankfurt Book Fair is creating a new market place for the press in Hall 4.2. A programme of specialist events focusing on press-related topics will complete this new fixture. In Hall 4.0, antiquarian dealers from Germany and abroad will be at the 1st Frankfurt Antiquarian Fair, displaying the entire spectrum of the classic antiquarian book trade. Collectors of rare prints and valuable books are expected to strike lucky just as much as visitors with a smaller budget.
As part of a new partnership with the International Toy Fair Nürnberg, a collective stand will be in place for the first time to show the book trade how games, in particular educational games, licenced and merchandising products can be useful additions to book collections for all target groups.
Giving a structure to diversity: forums for themes and trends
Many fairs in one big fair: nowhere else are there as many books on as many different subjects from all over the world as at the Frankfurt Book Fair. To ensure their appropriate presentation to their huge public, the Frankfurt Book Fair is continuing with its now well-established concept of theme-based forums. For Hall 3 and 4, plans include forums for Children’s Books, Fiction & Non-Fiction, Film & TV (Forum Level 0), Innovation, the FOCUS Forum Audiobooks, the SPIEGEL Education Forum and in the international area, Forum Dialog. The International Centre in Hall 5.0 at the Frankfurt Book Fair also serves as a showcase for events that promote international exchange.
More than books: Digital Market Place and Forum Innovation
The ongoing process of technological change does not stop at the publishing industry. With this in mind, the Frankfurt Book Fair is following up on last year’s positive response with a new edition in Hall 4.2 of the “Digital Market Place”. On a considerably larger area than in 2004, this will be where software and multimedia businesses, electronic publication publishers, online services and consultancies can introduce their solutions for ePublishing and content management. The Forum Innovation is in the same hall with a programme of specialist talks on this range of topics.
The best films were once books …: Forum Film & TV
As a recent addition to the Book Fair, the film section has enjoyed huge success in the two years of its existence and was further expanded last year. The new International Centre for Adaptations & Screenplay provides publishers, agents, producers and representatives from the film and TV industry with a market place at the Book Fair where they can introduce and broker material from all genres. The Frankfurt Book Fair’s cooperation venture with the Berlinale has brought a prestigious partner on board, with joint presentation of numerous workshops and panel discussions on the subject of books / films and screenplay, whilst the Book Fair Cinema shows previews and premieres of current film adaptations.
Festival of books and authors: the fair for the public
On Saturday and Sunday, the Frankfurt Book Fair is open to all those not wanting to miss the biggest international festival of books and authors. Visitors enjoy a fascinating show of new books and encounters with authors from all over the world. The many hundreds of events featuring authors and creative artists from around the globe are entertaining, controversial and inspiring.
On Sunday, the last day of the Fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair is also transformed into the world’s biggest bookshop where more than 350,000 titles are on sale at fixed shop prices. Book sales are also allowed on the other days of the Fair in relation to events held in the forums.
“Enter Korea”: Guest of Honour appearance 2005
Taking as its motto “Enter Korea”, Korea is this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair Guest of Honour, introducing its literature and culture with a widely diverse programme. In the Book Fair’s exhibition “Books on Korea”, publishing companies from all over the world will show translations of titles by Korean authors as well as current books about Korea. In conjunction with the guest country appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Korean embassy has declared 2005 as Korea Year in Germany. Throughout the year, the Land of the Dawning Day will introduce itself to the German public at numerous events held all over the country. Since March, around 60 Korean authors have already been taking part in a “LiteraTour” of Germany, with its last stop scheduled for the Book Fair in Frankfurt.