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More Visitors Than Ever at Frankfurt Book Fair
This year’s Frankfurt International Book Fair saw more visitors and exhibitors than ever. Overall, a total of 286,621 people have surged through the world´s biggest fair for books, multimedia and communication in Frankfurt, attracted by more than 7,200 international publishers displaying almost 400,000 titles. Typically strong-on-content, the fair cast a spotlight on the flourishing literary scene of guest country India and on digitalization as a challenge to the printed word. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Indian Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh officially opened the 58th annual Frankfurt Book Fair on October 3. Steinmeier praised India as “one of the most dynamic economic regions in the world.” The EU should see India as a model. “Taking a closer look at India can also help us better grasp the challenges that we face here in Europe,” Steinmeier said in his opening speech.
India promoted its culture and literature with a broad variety of readings, music and performances. Seventy of India’s most acclaimed writers, including Amitav Gosh, Amit Chaudhuri and Kiran Desai, provided an insight into the country’s literary cosmos with works in 23 official languages. Over the years, the Fair has turned more into a media market. Forums on the challenges of electronic publishing were focusing attention on the growing digitalization of media market. Thirty percent of the products on show in Frankfurt were digital works increasingly. Renowned authors taking part in the fair included Nobel literature prize laureates Günter Grass, Imre Kertész, and Gao Xingjian, the newly announced winner of the German Book Prize; international bestselling authors such as Zadie Smith, Donna Leon and Amitav Ghosh, as well as celebrity director Luc Bessop.
German sociologist Wolf Lepenies was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, an annual highlight of the fair. Lepensies was also honoured for bringing people and cultures together to engage in a peaceful and intellectual exchange after the fall of the Wall. The Frankfurt Book Fair 2007 is scheduled for October 10 to 14. Guest of Honour will be Catalan culture. October 16, 2006
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