Frankfurt Book Fair concluded over the weekend, with overall trade attendance rising to 105,000 (up from 93,000 in 2022), a continuing rebound since the pandemic. (Our standard reminder: Their count is not what it seems. FBF tallies visits or scans rather than unique individuals. So the three trade days averaged 35,000 visits a day. Many of those were likely the same people, on multiple days.) What was supposed to be a celebration of the fair’s 75th year was ultimately politically fraught. In the halls of the convention center the conflict in the Middle East was inescapable, sometimes with messy outcomes. […]
