21.10.21 Free


At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2021.


Hall 6.0, Stand A46


Attendees welcome a return to the fair with optimism despite lower turnout


FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR DIRECTOR JUERGEN BOOS AT THE EVENT’S OPENING


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tendees at The Frankfurt Book Fair are pleased to be back in person this year, despite the reduced numbers, with many anticipating a beter year for atendance at international fairs in 2022. Frankfurt is the first major physical book fair this year, and although “quieter than expected”, delegates have said it was important to have a presence on a stand aſter the pandemic. Jon Malinowski, president of the Combined Book Exhibit (CBE), said: “This show had to happen—it was crucial. Everybody knows Frankfurt needed to happen in order to get the whole process rolling again, and to [reassure] everybody that it’s OK to go back to shows.” Malinowski added: “Normally we get 60 publishers in the pavilion, this year we have about 15. Obviously, it’s smaller.”


Exhibitors have said the number of meetings booked in are at around 10% of the number held in previous years, but that atendees are “very appreciative” of physical meeting and engagement. Ilvi Liive, director of the Estonian Literature Centre, noted an “increased level of interest” in face-to-face conversations. “People are ready to do business,” she said. “It feels fresh somehow... [atendees] want to reconnect on a personal level”. Tiia Stranden, director of the Finnish


Literature Exchange, said the delegation was “very happy to be here” and that the atmos- phere feels “very optimistic”, while Rebekah Ampadu, corporate relations manager at Eurospan, said it was “very beneficial to be [at the fair]” for “spontaneous meetings” and to establish “a more global presence” in person.


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Despite the markedly quieter feel of the fair, the future is bright for upcoming events. “We’re full for [The London Book Fair], everybody is coming back from 2020,” said Malinowski, while “2022 is looking very prom- ising. Everybody is dying to get back to shows, they’re all Zoomed out. We’re very optimis- tic”. CBE will be atending The Guadalajara Book Fair next month, with representatives from Overdrive and Simon & Schuster among its delegation for the Mexico event. Suzanne Wilson-Higgins, deput c.e.o. of the SPCK Group, said it was “so important to show solidarit with German publishers through having a physical presence. It’s particularly important for independent publishers, as things slowly get back to normal”. The group is planning to be at the London Book Fair and Bologna next year. Cat Russo, president of RussoRights, has been a regular presence at the fair since 1996. “Two years ago we had over 100 meetings booked in,” she said. “Things are different this year of course, but being here is important. Somebody has to be the first to start this all again.”


Reporting Ruth Comerford


World rights in début


First-timer Ryan’s incident goes to HoZ


Head of Zeus has snapped up Irish author Alice Ryan’s début novel, a “poignant examination of grief” based partly on the author’s experience of the tragic death of her mother a decade ago. Editor Clare Gordon acquired world English- language rights for There’s Been a Little Incident from Sheila Crowley and Emily Harris at Curtis Brown. The novel centres around the eccentric Black family. When flighty Molly goes missing, the family convenes in Dublin for an emergency meeting and “must decide whether to try and find her, or if—at nearly 30—it’s time to let her go”. Ryan grew up in Dublin and was The Bookseller’s


conferences and community manager before becom- ing head of insight at BBC Studios. She now works for the Arts Council of Ireland. Ryan said: “Following the tragic death of my mum, writing became an act of hope. I wrote what I hoped would happen. The Black family suffers terrible loss but somehow they manage to keep hold of each other—through grit, perseverance and industrial-sized lasagnes.”


Thursday


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