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Frankfurt forges on

19.10.07

This year's Frankfurt Book Fair saw a strong bounce-back from Asian coedition trading and a slight increase in trade attendance—although many publishers reported a quieter show than usual.
The five-day event attracted 283,293 visitors, a dip of 1.2% from the previous year thanks to a train drivers' strike in the city on Friday. Fair spokesman Thomas Minkus estimated that the strike cost the fair as many as 1,800 attendees. He also said the number of casual visitors over the weekend was hit, owing to the start of a German school holiday.

But overall Minkus was "very pleased" with the results, adding: "Our trade visitor numbers were up 0.6%, even with the strike." The three trade days saw 154,269 visitors and 7,448 exhibitors from 108 countries.

Publishers admitted that the fair had been less busy than in previous years. "It's quieter this year, but more business-like," said Orion c.e.o. Peter Roche. "We see a huge number of editorial submissions in the two weeks before the fair, but not so much at the fair itself."

Pan Macmillan m.d. David North agreed: "It feels slightly quieter, and people have said that they prefer London. There hasn't been a huge book this year, but that's been the case for a few years now." One senior publisher added: "It's been a bit flat, with no particularly big book this year. Publishers around the world are struggling a bit."

The fair continues to provide a vital platform for coeditions trading, with publishers reporting surges from Korea, China and a resurgent Japan. "The Koreans seem to have an almost inexhaustible appetite for both our frontlist and backlist," said Janet Martin, rights director at Frances Lincoln. "With Japan, there was a lot of activity seven or eight years ago and then it tailed off. Now, I think we're getting back to that level."

Octopus deputy m.d. Andrew Welham agreed: "We are seeing a bounce-back from Asia, and particularly from Japan, where there has been an economic resurgence, and we are seeing the benefit." Roche said that while the European coedition market has "suddenly picked up, America is still pretty tough".

Children's publishers saw strong sales of novelty and gift books. Emma Hopkin, m.d. of Macmillan Children's Books, said: "Pop-ups are massive this year—there has been loads of interest. In fact, it has been a strong year all round." Usborne publishing director Jenny Tyler added: "Almost every title has to have some novelty bit. But our picture books, particularly the narrative non-fiction, have been doing fine."

Booksellers Association president Graham Rand was working the aisles at his first Frankfurt, and digital companies were out in force too, with a strong presence from both Google and Amazon. "We had a great fair," said Amazon.co.uk vice-president for books Chris North. "It's an opportunity to get everyone from Amazon together in front of publishers." "What has been most striking has been the emphasis on the digital companies and the sheer number of them that are here," added Edinburgh University Press c.e.o. Timothy Wright. "These companies are now recognising how important publishing can be to their businesses."

Independent publisher Anne Dolamore, co-owner of Grub Street, said that despite the amount of business being done by email, Frankfurt is still as important as ever. "I had heard from some people about how much of a hassle Frankfurt is and how it is no longer worth it," she said. "But, for us, it has been as busy as ever. It's like that Samuel Johnson quote: ‘If you're tired of London, you're tired of life.' Well, if you are tired of Frankfurt, you are tired of publishing."

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