The Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest book fair in the world and offers space for 4,000 exhibitors from all over the world. Styria was also represented by a delegation and numerous publishers.
STYRIA/FRANKFURT. She is the one largest book fair in the world and brings together authors, publishers and literature-loving people in one place year after year. We’re talking about the Frankfurt Book Fairwhich took place for the 76th time this year. Also a Styrian delegation organized by the Graz Academy made his way from the Styrian capital to Germany to mingle with the international audience among paper, cardboard and printer’s ink. The participants also included several authors, including Graz Silvana Cimenti, Florian Dietmaier, Mario Hladic as well as Cordula Simon. Among the media representatives was MyDistrict also in the party.
Transition point of reading
From Graz we took the train – unfortunately under difficult conditions in parts of Austria due to the severe weather conditions – to Frankfurt. But even canceled trains and delays couldn’t stop the group and so they found themselves at the Frankfurt Book Fair – sleepless but full of energy around 40 Austrian publishers presented with their own stand. 18 others exhibited at the Austria stand, which is organized by the Main Association of the Austrian Book Trade and Foreign Trade Austria/WKO. Leykam, Klingenberg, Droschl and the Styria publishing group were represented as Styrian publishing representatives.
The opening took place Theresia NiedermüllerHead of Section for Art and Culture (BMKÖS), Benedikt FögerPresident of the Main Association of the Austrian Book Trade (HVB), and Commercial Councilor Friedrich Hinterschweigerchairman of the trade association of the book and media industry WKO, took place. These not only found words of praise for the media and publishing industry, but also once again the WKO’s long-standing demand for one Adjustment of the VAT rate on books and e-books. This is very high in Austria compared to other German-speaking European countries.
The book is dead – long live the book
At the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Austria stand has now established itself as a popular meeting and trading point. And the scope that the Frankfurt Book Fair has to offer is impressive. Around 4,000 exhibitors from over 100 nations offer the opportunity to delve deeply into the literary scene and to experience the book, which has often been declared dead, in a lively and future-oriented way. Every year there will be one Host country highlighted. This year, this honor was bestowed on Italy, which presents its diverse literary and cultural program under the motto “Rooted in the Future,” including readings and contemporary publishing publications.
The Austrian program items also attracted people with readings and discussions on current topics. The South Tyrolean provided a special highlight for Styria Nadia Ruggerwho studied German in Graz and received the Lichtungen poetry scholarship from the state of Styria in 2024. She discussed the topic of languages with few speakers and gave an insight into how she translates her own texts into Ladin and what it means to be part of the large language family of Neo-Latin languages.
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