Home 5 News 5 Letter from Frankfurt: relief as industry comes face-to-face again

Letter from Frankfurt: relief as industry comes face-to-face again

by | Oct 20, 2021 | News

The chairwoman of the Börsenverein Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, declared the 73rd Frankfurt Book Fair ‘re:opened’ on Tuesday this week (19 October), a play on its ‘re:connect’ theme.  Out on the floor of the fair there is a palpable sense of relief that the industry is face-to-face again, and while it is by no means full, there are still some 2,000 exhibitors here (70 signed up just this week) and this year’s return of the physical event seems like a grateful step in the right direction.  There are still fist pumps rather than handshakes, but there is a good deal of hugging too: the international book industry is much like a family and occasions like Frankfurt are its equivalent of Eid or Christmas: a chance to get together.

The opening ceremony showed the best of Frankfurt with thoughtful addresses that stressed the importance of books, not just during the pandemic but universally, and dare one say it, eternally.  Schmidt-Friderichs said that during the pandemic people had read books for “escape and support” and that the industry had shown “great agility” in coping with an unprecedented situation.  She went on to suggest that the pandemic had led to a reappraisal and that “we should now look for more tolerance, respect, open-mindedness…”  She added that she felt “freedom of expression, freedom of speech” were “increasingly important”, as were respect for the environment and “lively city centres not just full of chain stores”.

This plea for tolerance and respect for the written word, was echoed by Frankfurt’s First Deputy Mayor of Frankfurt, Dr Nargess Eskandari-Grunberg, who was born in Tehran.  She noted that “democracy cannot be taken for granted, it must be defended.  In almost 90% of the world freedom of speech cannot be taken for granted”.

But one woman received a standing ovation after her address.  This was Her Excellency Governor General of Canada, Mary May Simon.  If books can take you to another world, so can Her Excellency.  She recalled her Inuit upbringing, “where I learned to sled with dogs, paddle a kayak, hunt fish and live off the land”.  She believes Canada’s glorious multi-culturalism is one of its finest qualities and said she was delighted that it is being highlighted here in Frankfurt.

Via a satellite link that left something to be desired Canada’s unofficial literary Queen (she shares the position with Alice Munro), noted how the situation for indigenous writers was so much better than when she was starting out in the Fifties.  “Every province, every territory has its writers and artists of all kinds now.  The rise of indigenous writing has been remarkable.  And books allow us inside other worlds.”

But Simon also acknowledged how important it was for indigenous writers to shine a light on dark aspects of the country’s history, notably the mistreatment of indigenous children at the country’s residential schools.  There is more pain to come on this subject, but books are playing their role in the difficult reconciliation that is underway.

 

 

Recent News

17Jul
Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin said release date of On Winter Hill would be changed in order to ‘support the author’ after allegations that Raynor Winn lied in her bestselling memoir. Author Raynor Winn’s new book has been delayed because questions about her bestselling work The Salt Path have caused her and her husband “considerable distress”, her publisher has […]

17Jul
Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, will publish in March […]

16Jul
Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was Bonnier publisher. Among the authors who are making the jump with them […]

Related Posts

Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the...

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was...

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

In a timeless moment etched into the memory of human heritage, the sun of Sharjah rose once again on the map of the world, this time through the gateway of deep history. At its recently concluded 47th session in Paris, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this