Frankfurt Book Fair 10/2022

 

My week at the Frankfurt Book Fair
19/10/2022 – 23/10/2022 

I was at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2022. Who would have thought? Had anyone said, as recently as a few months ago, I would follow an invitation to the oldest significant annual Bookfair around the globe, in my native country, with my stand, exhibiting my debut novel sepia. If only he hadn’t. If only she had., the character Darryl Kerrigan of the movie The Castle, would inevitably have replied, ‘tell her she’s dreaming’.

Frankfurt Messe Area

Since the twelfth century, the Frankfurt trade fair has been the place to sell handwritten books. By 1462, after Johannes Gutenberg developed the printing operation, a printers’ and publishers’ fair was established as a hub for distributing texts. Due to its location at the crossroads of Europe, as many as 40,000 people attended from surrounding countries.

Frankfurt Trade Fair in the Middle Ages

Based on the number of publishing companies represented (more than 4,000 exhibitors in 2022), the Frankfurter Buchmesse is the world’s largest and most important for international deals, trading, and networking. Yet, there I was, loving every minute of it: the excitement, the apprehension, the elation, the fear, the skyrocketing adrenaline. 

The trip was amazingly smooth, despite the two-hour delay due to a strike before we departed Brisbane. Accommodation was perfect in charming and autumn-leaved Sachsenhausen; three U-Bahn stops from the Messe Frankfurt area. This exhibition ground covers 400,000 square metres of hall area, 60,000 square metres of outdoor spaces and more than one hundred congress and conference halls, including bars, cafés, and food stands, comprising a ‘city within a city.’ 

Hall 3

‘So what were you doing there?’ you may ask. After channelling an idea into words, conscientious research, too many edits to mention, my journey took the path of assisted publishing. Finally, my baby, sepia, was delivered in print. I experienced that sense of accomplishment every writer can relate to; that extraordinary moment in their life when your fingers feverishly turn the pages, hoping not to find errors. Happy with the result; what do you do next? Yes, I did have a launch, warmly attended by supporters without whom the journey would not have been complete. Writing buddies, friends, family and some unfamiliar but very welcome faces made this launch a special event. Inspired by encouraging feedback, I thus dared to venture out to the German book fair.

Six huge floors occupied various buildings in which all the key players had stands, including little Gibbstreet Professional Services, aka me, with sepia. The international publishing community had embraced this opportunity to meet colleagues face to face again after Covid-19, with the literary Agents and Scouts Centre sold out. 

Floor 6.0

On Tuesday, before the Fair’s opening to the Trade, my partner Geoff and I had fun setting up my stand B76. It was in Hall 6.2, between the rows of the Australian Publishers Association and Penguin Random House.

on my way to Floor 6.2

Two square metres in size, the furniture comprised eight adjustable bookshelves, two lockable cupboards, one round table and three chairs, not to forget the wastepaper basket and spotlight.

positioning the posters

Bearing that my protagonist Sigrid leaves Frankfurt for Australia, Geoff had the brilliant idea to make up two signs: ‘From Frankfurt’—‘to Australia’. We positioned these between the middle bookshelves and received a few one-line comments from the passing public. Brownie point for Geoff!

In the afternoon, we attended the Newcomer Tour and met my Bookfair contact in person, who had been super helpful throughout the whole process. She walked us through various halls and informed us about the protocol and assistance systems. I cannot stress enough the professionalism and goodwill with which the Book Fair organisers ensure the smooth running of this event. Every detail is taken care of; I guess running an event for over eight hundred years gives you practice.

being inducted

The 2022 theme, ‘Translate Words, Transfer Ideas, Transform Minds,’ is at the core of every writer’s dream and aptly attracted representatives from more than eighty-five countries. 

This year’s guest of honour was Spain. King Felipe and Queen Letizia, in the company of Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Bündenbender, ceremoniously opened the Book Fair, which spreads over five days, from 9 am to 6:30 pm daily. The first two are for Trade, and the following for visitors. The Fair was also about the three ‘Cs’ - Connecting, Communicating, and establishing Contacts. 

Queen, King, President, Lady

As we were sitting at our stand, the constant hum of the surrounding nationalities’ partaking in the Bookfair’s enthusiastic three ‘Cs’ created an exciting atmosphere. Diagonally across from us were various publishers, like Balboa Press, Crown Books, Author House, and Hay House, buzzing with several authors giving interviews and publicity shots. We met and conversed with interesting authors and trade people from America, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Mongolia and Malaysia.

I am ready for you

The passing human traffic asking questions about sepia also kept us on our toes. Luckily, I had Geoff with me, enabling me to attend an interview with one of my favourite crime writers, Donna Leon. Every time I leave Europe, I pick up one of her novels about the mysteries of the Venetian detective Brunetti. Donna was on the blue couch in conversation with Michael Sahr for ZDF TV. What a treat. The lady has lived in Europe, mainly Italy, for over fifty years. Originally from America, she loves the European lifestyle; who wouldn’t?  At eighty years of age, she promoted her new book ‘A Life in Stories’. Naturally, I did leave Frankfurt with Brunetti’s thirty-ninth case.

Donna Leon on the blue couch

On Thursday, I managed to sneak away for another author-talk feast, with Melanie Raabe, in a podcast about kindred spirits between people thus far unknown to each other. Is it sometimes easier to talk to a stranger than a loved one known for many years? This is the topic of her new novel. Amongst my cherished authors I was delighted to see at least two in person. Even though Thursday was a Trade Day, I sold quite a few books to passing visitors. It probably helped that Ingram Spark on floor 6.0 had a copy of my book in the middle of one of their shelves. 

sepia 2nd shelf, 3rd from the right

The next three days were for the public. On Friday, my friend Anke, whom I met this year during our July trip to Alice Springs, arrived from Lüneburg, 370 km away, to spend the day with us. She brought good luck as sales increased. I also had my first reading at 2 pm, the beginning of the chapter, when Sigrid arrived in Australia. 

sepia reading at 2 pm

I received a few comments and questions about life down under. Reading to a live audience from my stand and signing my book was exhilarating. Visitors filed passed, looked at the posters behind us, turned, inspected my book on the table, asked questions, took out their wallet, I signed the book, they left with a smile, and I remained with a very satisfied smile. The day ended farewelling my friend and locking up shop.

Saturday, we braced ourselves for the onslaught of eager readers. By then, several agents had left their stand to return home. This proved very advantageous, as the stand opposite was eight times the size of mine. Would you leave a bigger stand empty when doing a scheduled reading from one that is much smaller? Well, I didn’t. My audience could sit comfortably for my fifteen minutes time slot. I had good sales. Talking to the readers made me realise that for a German audience, my book’s blurb emphasising the theme of indoctrination seems to bring out some anxieties. Faced with a war on their doorstep, disconnected gas supplies to their homes, dimmed lights, rising prices, and an influx of Ukrainian refugees, a reminder of war is not a platform for merriment. I pondered whether the trauma of the last war had passed down through generations and is still embedded in the German psyche. In hindsight, I could have focused on the lighter aspects of my narrative, reducing possible apprehension. Next time! The afternoon passed with remarkable celerity. 

Sunday was the last day, and following a tradition unknown to me, young people turned up in the weirdest and most fantastical costumes. Filing past in groups of sixes and more, they were the high-spirited stars in their platform boots. In between, buyers looked for bargains. Penguin Random House had a 50% off sale starting at 11 am, and the queue was very long. I had a final reading, but sales tapered off; nonetheless, over the five days, I sold most of my books and was able to travel home lighter and much to Geoff’s joy. An overall party mood infused the afternoon, and we allowed ourselves an early getaway at 5 pm. 

Reflecting on this experience, would I recommend it to other writers? Absolutely. The thrill, anticipation, meeting those who understand the book industry, and communicating with readers are worth it, one hundred per cent. Like in my case, the gentleman who flicked through my book, stopped at a page, exclaiming, ‘you mention here the maritime loss of the Cap Arcona, I’ve just seen a doco about it.’ The lovely lady, who pointed to the illustration of The University of Queensland, ‘I was there forty years ago. That’s exactly how I remember it.’ Or the young German writer asking my advice on exhibiting at the Fair. These comments inevitably lead to further discussions, treasured congruent moments forever embedded in your memory.

Going in pairs, or sharing a stand, is advisable, as you are not supposed to leave your stand unattended. I cannot emphasise my relief at having Geoff by my side. Next time I would take more flyers, those I had, I handed out selectively while the experienced teams around me, stood in the aisles freely distributing theirs. Having the advice of a legal-minded person is beneficial, as the approach by a few publishers from other countries fazed me by my not being versed in signing over rights.

Finishing on a big positive, the German Government supports the arts. That makes it enticing as Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media’s funding Neustart Kultur, refunded almost half of my costs. Can you believe it? I wish I had another book ready to take next year. I’ll just have to keep writing.

Auf Wiedersehen, Frankfurter Buchmesse