The confusion of the Frankfurt book fair is taking bizarrere forms. Since the stock market club group has taken in consultation with the trade fair, city, and country, the brave decision, the largest book event in the world, in spite of Corona in this October meeting and to defy the Virus with spacing, and innovative ideas, followed by a contradictory message to the next, so that some see as already the existence of the exhibition as a Whole is put at risk.
Sandra cone
Responsible editor for the Feuilleton.
F. A. Z.
First of all, it was on the part of the trade Fair boss, Juergen Boos, the concept for the five-day Corona-issue was made in consultation with the Group’s publishing companies Bonnier, Holtzbrinck and Random House, which had, however, the next day know that you have to build the stands in the halls, but their own digital platforms will be the lack of play, why not just Piper, Rowohlt, or Luchterhand, but also the Frankfurt, S. Fischer Verlag. The Independent is no different: Diogenes, Zurich is missing, but also Schöffling, Frankfurt, and even though some announcing their participation, the decision of such important houses like Hanser, Suhrkamp, or Klett-Cotta yet. It will remain at the announced visit to the fair for a day up to twenty thousand book friends? And in what Form to make such costly presence in a time, in the lecture halls and class rooms may virtually be recorded? Especially since now it became known that at the start of the exhibition in the Imperial hall to be awarded the German book prize is dispensed to the hall of audience.
How to receive writers and editors, agents and Publishers in reality, when the Mainz-based broadcaster ZDF to present the famous blue Sofa, on the otherwise half-hourly authors and their new releases, at the fair time rather in the Berlin Bertelsmann-the Foyer is to be set up? As if this were not enough, this days plans public, after which the book fair should rise from next year, together with the Musikmesse and Gaming vendors in a festival of creativity, following the example of pop culture meeting “South by Southwest” in Austin, Texas.
A Cry in the industry
An Outcry went through the book industry, and the press conference, the mayor is Peter Feldmann, the plans wanted to introduce, was again cancelled. Feldmann and his head of Cultural Affairs, Ina Hartwig insured in a joint statement, the book fair, their autonomy, but at the same time, a collaboration of book and music fair in the fall of 2021. While the head of the börsenverein, Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, such plans contradicted, described the managing Director of Messe Frankfurt, Detlef Braun, his “Vision of Events”, the “musicians, authors, artists, Content developers, Publishing experts, and Business Developer, multipliers and Influencers,” together bring. And while Frankfurt’s Green party leader, Sebastian Popp by this “motley grocery store” the brand book fair threatened that Thomas Dürbeck of the CDU, the international industry meeting of the old Form already given up: The book fair, as they had been organized in the last fifty years, it’ll can be in the Form of not giving, he is convinced.
