My trip last October to attend the Frankfurter Buchmesse (the Frankfurt Book Fair) was exciting and nostalgic. I was excited because I was there at the invitation of my agent Laurie Blum Guess who invited me to pitch my book; this was another important step in getting Stina’s adventures to wider audience. I also found it a nostalgia trip: as a young lawyer fresh out of law school and ready to take on the world, I attended the Fair.
Each year the Book Fair, is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am Main. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for international deals and trading. Over the course of the five-day long event, several thousand exhibitors representing book publishing, multimedia and technology companies, as well as literary agents and scouts and authors from around the world gather in order to negotiate international publishing rights and licensing agreements. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for international deals and trading. While the general public can only attend on the last two days. Unlike my last visit, this time, as an author and an invited guest, I was there for the full event, including the all-important first three days where I got to meet with publishers, editors, and other trade professionals.
The annual event is as old as the printed page – if not older. It has it roots in the 15th Century, with the invention of the moveable type by Gutenberg, and before that, to the days of when manuscripts were written by hand. During the Reformation, the fair was attended by booksellers and scholars alike. Today, despite the threat of AI, the Book Fair is as important and vibrant event as ever.
Of course, the event was not without its controversies as real-world politics can sometimes intrude upon the world of fiction, such as the year’s debate over the book, Minor Detail.
However, participating in the Frankfurt Book Fair also provided me with an initiation into the publishing industry. I now know more about how the publishing industry works than I ever would have thought necessary. Although we did not find a publisher, I was heartened by the good news was that people like me – not heartless, soulless AI – are still creating and originating new ideas and stories. The timeless professions of storytelling and putting words to paper are not dead – far from it.
No one said it would be easy but the experience in Frankfurt has given me a new respect for the players in the publishing industry and also the ongoing importance of the written word.
Happy New Year to all of you!