So, the 70th Frankfurt Book Fair. (Post-WWII that is; the actual Frankfurt Book Fair dates back to the 1500s, and there' s a hilarious in hindsight account of some printers going to celebrate in the evening to Sachsenhausen (part of Frankfurt) WHICH IS STILL HAPPENING ( Read more... )

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The Frankfurt Book Fair always ends with the Peace Award of the German Book Trade, which is handed over in the Paulskirche, St. Paul's, a secularized church which is one of the few places reliably prone to make me go sentimental in a way related to my country of origin. It's our big might have been: the place where the first German freely elected ( Read more... )

This year's Frankfurt Book Fair changed several things in the layout, and in the security measures. Where in the past, only Hall 8, where the English-speaking publishers plus the Israelis used to be, had handbag-searching at their entrance, this year all bags get searched at the general entrance. Also the English speaking publishers plus the ( Read more... )

This year's Frankfurt Book Fair was exciting and eventful as ever, but unfortunately I cought the dreaded Book Fair Flu. It happens nearly every year to those of us who stay the entire week in the small city of halls with thousands of people breathing the same air, but usually the symptoms wait for Monday. Not this year, where I'm running a fever ( Read more... )

It's that time of the year again - starting tonight, with the opening ceremony, the world's largest book fair takes place in Frankfurt. This year's guest of honor is Finnland. I won't be able to go to the opening ceremony for the first time in eons because of other rl obligations, but from Wednesday morning till Sunday afternoon, I'll be inhaling ( Read more... )

This year there was a satirical article about how you, too, can experience the Frankfurt Book Fair feeling at home, if you: a) surround yourself with lots of stapled books, b) get smartly dressed for an autumnal climate, c) then put on the radiator and all the lights in the room so that it's really hot, and d) start drinking the white wine around ( Read more... )

Back in Munich as of last night, and somewhat damaged, as I caught what's referred to as "The Book Fair cold", i.e. the inevitable result of spending a week in circulated air with millions of people. But never mind that - it was a thoroughly busy and splendid fair for me, with the Book Trade Peace Award yesterday given to Svetlana Alexejivich ( Read more... )

Day Two at the Frankfurt Book Fair was the day of the memoirs; among others, those of Malala which were published simultanously in a couple of languages. Now since she's nominated for the Nobel Peace Award, her German publisher, while not considering it likely she wins, still is fretting because she's currently doing book signings in the US, and ( Read more... )

First day of the Frankfurt Book Fair: over, and the succesfully passed. This years' guest of honour is Brazil, and at the opening ceremony last night, something happened which very rarely does. Actually two things. Usually, the speeches at the opening ceremonies are very sedate affairs, with the occasional exception, as in the year of China, when ( Read more... )