November 23, 2003

It was quite exciting to be there at the six-day long 55th Frankfurt book fair which concluded on October 13. The world’s largest trading place for rights and licenses of books, the fair attracted 6,638 exhibitors from more than 110 countries this year. Over 171,000 trade visitors attended with 70 per cent being from Germany. About 430 literary agents and more than 240 literary agencies were also there to sell the rights of books on various world famous authors, new writers and publishing companies.

Usually they come to the fair to offer their “home produced books” to the rest of the world to promote their authors and literature. About 335,000 titles including 80,000 recent publications were put on display to attract potential business partners. Interested readers and the general public also attend at the weekend.

Unfortunately Pakistan was not there at Frankfurt. Only a small schoolbook publishing firm (Noor Sons) from Lahore, was present. Perhaps, the National Book Foundation and the ministry of education are not aware of the world’s largest book fair. Or is it that they don’t feel like promoting Pakistani literature, books and authors on the world literary stage.

May be the concerned authorities feel that the books published in Pakistan are not of much worth in terms of content and quality? Though we have a large number of quality publications in Pakistan, both in terms of content and quality of printing, I don’t know why authors and publishers lack state patronage. The rest of the world goes all out to promote their publishing industry across the map.

The Frankfurt Book Fair 2003 witnessed billions of dollars worth of agreements for exchange of rights, translation of books into other languages, import and export, and moreover the cost-effective printing of books in developing countries. India remained on top among the South Asian states in grabbing the major chunk of the business just because of its participation at government level. Many Indian publishers and printers were also present and displayed their dynamism in grabbing the best possible networking opportunities at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is not merely a world showcase of books. It also provides ample cultural activities. This year 2,200 cultural and special events were arranged including 300 by the guest of honour, Russia, to promote its authors, publishers and printing industry. About 12,000 journalists from 80 countries were there to report on the book fair, latest publishing developments, trends and the inevitable gossips from the world’s publishing sector, for their readers, listeners and viewers back home.

The chairman of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Mr Volker Neumann, termed the fair an outstanding success as more exhibitors; visitors and more events have been the hallmark of the biggest book show in the world. “This is a clear indication of optimism returning to the industry,” he said.

The positive response to the book fair in the media was reinforced by the results of the exhibitor survey: “The overwhelming majority of exhibitors was very satisfied indeed with their business successes at the book fair. This was also reflected in many personal conversations we had during the fair,” reported Volker Neumann. There had been a clear increase in rights and license business in particular, according to information from exhibitors.

The Frankfurt Book Fair this year witnessed an increase of four per cent in the number of exhibitors and visitors as compared to the statistics of last year’s show. What made the fair so interesting this time? Nearly 273,229 people attended the exhibition centre where more than 335,000 titles were on display. Over 1,000 authors were introduced to their readers in the course of more than 3,000 events.

There were also numerous specialist events for booksellers, librarians, publishers and other members of the book industry. The organizers introduced new events to arouse the readers’ enthusiasm for books. Whether it was Vladimir Kaminer, Gunter Grass, or Paulo Coelho, their presence created much public interest as readers lined up to get their books signed or attend reading sessions. There was also a lot of interest in this autumn’s new titles.

The continued development of the Frankfurt Book Fair as a platform for international rights and license business and the opening up to include new exhibition sections were also considered to have gone well: “The investment in the infrastructure of the Centre for Literary Agents and the creation of a new Centre for Literary Translators provide an important momentum for the future of our industry,” said Volker Neumann. “With our new commitment to audio-books and to film and television, we have also expanded the spectrum covered by the book fair.” Both sectors are closely involved with the book business and represent further links in the chain of commercial exploitation of contents.

There was much focus on the literatures of the South in particular, voices that are still heard all far too infrequently in the West. Once again, the presentation of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in the Paulskirche was the high point of the occasionr. This year the award went to American author Susan Sontag. In an impressive speech, she called for dialogue between peoples to be intensified and for mutual prejudices to be combated by encouraging the flow of knowledge about one another.

This year for the first time, the fair reached out to the region beyond Frankfurt. “Leseland Hesse — the new literary festival” allowed over a dozen towns in Hesse to participate in this fair. The local people were delighted to experience authors from all over the world at more than 250 events, with Russia taking the cake. The programme of readings, exhibitions, concerts and other events at the exhibition centre, in Frankfurt and throughout Germany provided important new insights into the country’s culture and everyday life.

The 56th Frankfurt Book Fair is scheduled for October 6-10, 2004. Next year, the guest of honour will be the “Arab World”. Will Pakistan remain out of the next Frankfurt Book Fair too?

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