As the Frankfurt Book Fair wound down, the fair announced that attendance was up by 9 percent for the three trade-focused days of the event, October 16-18. They estimate 114,000 total badge scans–many of whom were likely the same people returning to the Messe day after day–for an average of 38,000 attendees each day. The organization reported 105,000 badge scans for the same three days in 2023, (up from 93,000 in 2022). On the ground, many attendees felt that the fair was the busiest it had been since the pandemic. According to Fair administration, there were 4,300 exhibitors this year, […]
Book Fairs
Panelists Urge Rights Holders to License Content for AI
In one of the final industry events of the fair, a panel titled Let Licensing Bloom: The Root of Responsible AI, hosted by the Copyright Clearance Center, panelists discussed their concerns about AI technology and the value of licensing content in order to protect it. They acknowledged several issues about the technology, including the fears that courts will rule in favor of tech companies on their use of copyrighted content, the speed with which tech companies are moving, and the need for transparency about what data LLMs are trained on. Still, they agreed that licensing cannot be ignored. EVP, global […]
New Ventures and a Return to Normal at FBF Day 2
The Frankfurt Book Festival continued on Thursday, seeming like business as usual after years of change. Attendees said that the crowds seemed back up to pre-pandemic levels, and security was back down after being heightened last year in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. While some international publishers said they have been busy making deals throughout the fair, several others said that the bulk of their dealmaking happens throughout the year. For them, the fair serves more as an opportunity to catch up with colleagues and friends in person, which they maintain is just as valuable. A conversation with […]
“Middle-Aged White Men Speaking to Each Other”: CEOs On Stage at FBF
On Wednesday at the Frankfurt Book Fair, two ceos discussed the top-level changes at their companies, their opinions on growth, and more. In conversation with Publishing Perspectives editor in chief Porter Anderson, Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK ceo David Shelley, who took over as CEO of the US division less than a year ago, discussed ways he can bring the two companies together. “I come from an editorial background, so I could see ways in which, if you get editors and publishers talking more, there’ll be more things that just organically come with that,” he said, primarily getting world […]
This Year’s Media Controversy: Saviano To Speak at FBF After Being Absent From Guest of Honor Programming
Bestselling Italian author Roberto Saviano will appear this weekend at the Frankfurt Book Fair, despite not being among the initial writers chosen to represent Italy, this year’s guest of honor at the fair. Saviano will appear on a panel at a PEN Berlin event on Wednesday and will speak several times on Friday and Saturday of the fair, the days that typically cater to consumers. In June, 41 authors signed a letter of protest, saying that Saviano’s exclusion from Italy’s official programming was a form of censorship by the government, led by far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni, of whom Saviano has […]
Pre-Frankfurt Press Conference Sets Stage for Discussions on Politics, Conflict, AI
While exhibitors were preparing for the official start of the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday, the opening press conference on Tuesday morning—featuring speeches by German Publishers and Booksellers Association chair Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, Frankfurt Buchmesse director Juergen Boos, and Turkish author Elif Shafak—foreshadowed what will likely be topics of discussion across the event—politics, global conflict, and technology. Schmidt-Frederichs noted that diversity has always been part of the fair, and that it is “an event where clear distinction is made between fact and fiction,” “where debate is cultivated, freedom of opinion is practiced.” While she did not reference the US election or […]