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Under the tag line ‘Re:connect – Welcome back to Frankfurt’, the 73rd Frankfurt Book Fair will take place from 20 to 24 October and will see approximately 1,500 exhibitors from more than 70 countries along with 200 authors attend the physical fair.
Details were presented at a press conference hosted by the fair at which Frankfurt Book Fair Director Jurgen Boos said: “The focus of this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse will be reuniting with colleagues and authors from around the world. Books proved themselves to be particularly resilient and popular as a medium during the pandemic. Anyone who wants to comprehend the complexity of our times appreciates the creativity and expertise exhibited by writers and the editorial care required for producing books. Literature connects readers all over the world. This year, the book fair will once again bring together the global industry for one week in Frankfurt – and, naturally, people everywhere around the world will be able to follow all the action live.”
He said the number of international delegates registered to attend has fallen to around 700-800, compared to 2019’s peak of 4,000. A number of UK publishers, among them Faber, Canongate, Penguin Random House, Hachette and HarperCollins, have said they will not be attending physically. Boos said there was also “very little representation” from the US and South America.
But the sheer fact that a physical Frankfurt of a moderate size is taking place at all is something to be celebrated – and a sign that a slow return to some form of normality is now underway.
