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Frankfurt Book Fair opens

October 7, 2014

The opening ceremonies for the 66th Frankfurt Book Fair have begun. Through October 12, organizers expect more than 300,000 visitors to browse the shelves and digital titles of 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries.

https://p.dw.com/p/1DRm4
Frankfurter Buchmesse
Image: Reuters/Ralph Orlowski

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was on hand in Frankfurt Tuesday to open the fair alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, whose country is featured this year at the world's biggest book exposition. Though Tuesday's ceremony was invitation-only and October 8-10 is reserved for industry, the book fair opens to the general public on Saturday with admission costing 18 euros ($23).

"The book and content business is global, it functions in an international network, and for one week each year the Frankfurt Book Fair is its world capital," the expo's director, Juergen Boos, said in a statement ahead of the opening. "This is where meaning is created - at the same time as earning money."

On Wednesday, the fair will award the European Prize for Literature to authors from 13 countries, with each receiving 5,000 euros. The German Book Prize was awarded Monday to Lutz Seiler for his debut novel, "Kruso." The calendar also boasts more than 3,860 events, including appearances by authors such as the New Age novelist Paulo Coelho, from Brazil, who the country honored in 2013; Ken Follett, who has just finished his largely well-received Europe-spanning Century Trilogy; and even the German hip-hop artists MC Fitti und Cro.

Kruso von Lutz Seiler (Buchcover)
Seiler made his novel debut as Germany's highest-honored author.Image: Suhrkamp

This year's fair opens during a period of mourning for Germany's literati. It was announced on Tuesday that the German novelist Siegfried Lenz had died at the age of 88.

More materially, the fair opens at a transitional point for publishers in Germany and the world over. Ebooks are increasingly nipping sales from hard copies, and presses are faced with the constant need to reinvent their products and business strategy.

mkg/bw (dpa, epd)