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Despite Economy, Frankfurt Book Fair Thrives

Yesterday’s post about readers selling their old books for gas money depressed me a little, but I was encouraged by this bit of news from Publishers Weekly. According to statistics, attendees at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair were up 5.6% from last year.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s largest trade fair for books and is held each October in Frankfurt, Germany. Publishers and multimedia companies descend annually upon the fifth-largest city in Germany to negotiate international publishing rights and licensing fees. Fair director Juergen Boos credits this year’s boost in numbers to the topic of digitization in the publishing industry, which we all know is becoming more and more prevalent. “One of the main reasons for the increase in trade visitors is the need for guidance with regards to the new business models and fields of business which digitisation creates,” Boos explained.

The 2008 fair also included a speech by Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and visits from the presidents of Germany and Turkey. Turkey was this year’s Guest of Honour, with 250 publishers and 100 authors in attendance to present their country’s literary prowess on an international stage. Next year’s Guest of Honour is China.

I am inspired by this. The economy might be in the crapper, but let’s keep focus on the vital importance books play in any society. If we need to sell things for gas money, why not get rid of those Adam Sandler movies cluttering our shelves? I’m reminded of that terrific quote by Erasmus: “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”

Story Source Publishers Weekly, Frankfurt Book Fair, Wikipedia | Image Source Frankfurt Book Fair

October 23, 2008 | Filed Under Authors, Newsies

Comments

3 Responses to “Despite Economy, Frankfurt Book Fair Thrives”

enervis on April 4th, 2010 3:23 pm

I read about it some days ago in another blog and the main things that you mention here are very similar
Haigha on April 17th, 2010 6:26 pm

How you find ideas for articles, I am always lack of new ideas for articles. Some tips would be great
Johnke on July 6th, 2010 5:13 am

I’m looking forward to getting more information about this topic, don’t worry about negative opinions.

Comment away, my little snarkie-pies. But please play nicely. Poopy-pants comments (spam, hate speech) will be flushed down the shitter.

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