Frankfurter Buchmesse, highlights. Press events for Friday, 22 October 2021

STARTS Day

STARTS is a European Commission initiative that aims to connect technology and artistic practice. This year, STARTS is partnering with the Frankfurter Buchmesse for the first time. Topics such as sustainability, humans in the digital world and the climate and biodiversity crisis will be explored from different perspectives, such as art, technology and science. Among other things, insights into the work of the projects awarded the STARTS 2021 Prize will be provided. The winning projects will present their innovative approaches and products in the fields of upcycling, artificial intelligence and mixed reality, as well as the exploration and artistic representation of climate change.

Press Briefing with Peace Prize Laureate Tsitsi Dangarembga

  • 10 am, Hall 4.C, mezzanine level, in the Alliance and Entente rooms

The Zimbabwean author and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga will receive the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade on October 24, 2021. She will answer questions from media representatives in a press briefing at Frankfurter Buchmesse. Accreditation required at: presse@boev.de

LitCam Panel “Reading promotion and the Corona Pandemic”

  • 11.45 am-12.30 pm, Hall 3.1, C28

Members of EU Read discuss what happened during the Corona pandemic, when schools were closed in various European countries, and how to motivate children to read after the pandemic. With: Dr. Simone Ehmig, Stiftung Lesen, Germany; Marc Lambert, CEO Scottish Book Trust, Scotland; Daan Beeke, Stichting Lezen, The Netherlands Moderation: Karin Plötz, LitCam The event is a joint activity of Frankfurter Buchmesse and ALDUS UP, the European Book Fair Network co-founded by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union. Livestream on fbm2021-forum-education.streamslive.de

Publishing Arabic books – opportunities and challenges

Arabic literature is diverse and has a long history. There are over 400 million Arabic speakers, yet bringing Arabic literature to the Western market is a challenge. Why is that? Conversely, which titles and themes particularly spark readers’ interest and sell well? How can Arabic literature be disseminated and which authors are currently worth discovering? And vice versa: which books by non-Arab authors could be introduced to the Arab market? What are and aren’t Arab readers interested in today? With: Rasha al Ameer, author, publisher and winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for 2021, Piero Salabè editor at Hanser, poet, publicist, translator; and Yasmina Jraissati, Literary agent, researcher, publishing manager, RAYA agency for Arabic literature / Storytel MENA. Moderation: Lena Bopp, editor, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The Hof with Royd Tolkien: Bucket List – A Journey Beyond My Limits

Book presentation by Amazon Publishing Germany with film producer and Tolkien great-grandson Royd Tolkien Moderation: Felix Zeltner This digital event will take place in English and German. Registration for all sessions via Zoom

German Youth Literature Award ceremony 2021

The German Youth Literature Award ceremony will be broadcast live from Frankfurter Buchmesse on 22 October 2021 at 5.30 pm, hosted by Vivian Perkovic (3sat/Kulturzeit). Prizes will be awarded for the best picture book, children’s book, youth book and non-fiction book as well as the prize book of the youth jury. The special prizes “New Talent” and “Complete Works” will be awarded to German translators. The event will take place as a hybrid format: On-site with 200 guests and digitally via buchmesse.de/en Contact for media representatives: presse@jugendliteratur.org

LiBeraturpreis Award Ceremony Pilar Quintana

  • 6.00 pm, Villa 102, Bockenheimer Landstrasse 102, Frankfurt

The LiBeraturpreis is an annual award for female authors from the Global South. It was established in 1987 by the LiBeraturpreis e.V. initiative and has been organized by Litprom e.V. since 2013. The prize is endowed with 3,000 euros and will be awarded to Pilar Quintana at the KfW Foundation’s Villa 102 during the Frankfurt Book Fair. The Colombian author is being honored for her novel Hündin (Aufbau Verlag, translation by Mayela Gerhardt). If you are interested in attending this event, please contact melien@buchmesse.de.

ARD-Buchmessennacht

  • 8.00 pm, ARD-Buchmessenbühne, Festhalle, Messe Frankfurt (with livestream)

Participants include authors Helen Macdonald, Colm Tobín, the winner of this year’s German Book Prize Antje Rávik Strubel, and many more. Registration for accredited press only via press@buchmesse.de Hybrid event: Livestream on buchmesse.de/en