Juergen Boos in Conversation with Andreas Rötzer The Dream of a New Beginning – After the Corona Pandemic I’d Rather Be a Poem – Modern German Poetry Who’s Afraid of an Ehefähigkeitszeugnis? – A Column by Olga Grjasnowa BEST OF FRANKFURT 2020

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1 Frankfurt Young Stories Award winner Lea Schillaci presents her slam poem at the award ceremony | 2 Sending Signals of Hope: The #fbm20 Opening Press Conference in the Festhalle | 3 Bestselling Canadian author Margaret Atwood in an interview at BOOKFEST digital | 4 Hong Kong peace activist Joshua Wong in a remote interview on the ARD Book Fair Stage | 5 The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, in his address for the Guest of Honour appearance Canada 2020 at the Opening Ceremony | 6 Edward Snowden in a live remote interview at BOOKFEST digital | 7 German comedian Jan Böhmermann in a remote interview at the ARD Book Fair Night | 8 The Hof creates an online networking atmosphere reminiscent of the hotel Frankfurter Hof | 9 Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo called for more diversity in publishing at the all-digital Frankfurt Conference | 10 Israeli author and peace activist David Grossmann addressed the ability of writers and fiction to provide hope during the pandemic in his video message at the Opening Ceremony | 11 Out on the town: numerous authors read at BOOKFEST city in Frankfurt hotels and clubs | 12 Canadian musician Chilly Gonzales gives a taste of his new book about the singer ENYA

2 EDITORIAL

Dear readers, ‘The real homeland is actually language.’ – ‘Die But what concrete changes have taken place in our wahre Heimat ist eigentlich die Sprache.’ That’s lives over the last few months and how many of

something German scholar, writer and statesman these might become permanent? What impact Itting © Kay Wilhelm von Humboldt knew back at the begin- have they had on our day-to-day work and how ning of the 19th century. And especially now – will they affect our futures? Such questions have Lars Birken-Bertsch when we’re all having to live with multiple con- prompted us to explore how young entrepreneurs is Director for Strategic straints in both public and cultural spheres, and start-ups are supporting and driving progress Project Development, as well as unprecedented restrictions on global in the book sector. We also showcase two special Cooperation & travel – the immense value of our literary worlds, prizes that look to the future of the book industry. Program­ming at the and the importance of books as the carriers of And Bärbel Becker, former director of the Inter- Frankfurter Buchmesse. their ideas, has never been clearer. national Projects department at the Frankfurter Isabel Kreitz’s cover illustration for our new issue Buchmesse, reports on foreign rights business in of the frankfurt magazine also plays, in charming the era of COVID-19, drawing on conversations and pointed ways, with the idea of an imagined she’s had with various colleagues in key German (and thus narrated) world ‘out there’ – and with publishing houses. the relationship between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’. Meanwhile, the book market has responded to For almost 20 years now, Berlin publisher Matthes the situation as well. A lively literary debate is

& Seitz has served as a very special kind of literary underway about what we can learn from the pan- © private and cultural gravitational field. In discussion with demic, to help us create a better politics, a differ- Frankfurter Buchmesse CEO Juergen Boos, its ent kind of society and a more modern economy. Isabel Kreitz is the head Andreas Rötzer emphasises the unique value­­­ You can find out more about this in ‘The Dream of author of numerous of books as a universal and timeless storage a New Beginning’. comic books medium: ‘Books are long-lasting, they can’t get And that’s just a brief glimpse into our new issue. and graphic novels. ‘used up’.’ Stay well and stay positive! Lars Birken-Bertsch isakreitz.de

CONTENT

2 Best of Frankfurt 2020 | 3 Editorial | 4 Singular Plurality Canada – Guest of Honour 2020/21 5 The Unifying Power of Literature A Greeting from Minister of State Prof. Monika Grütters 6 Juergen Boos in Conversation with Andreas Rötzer | 10 Authors, Books, Awards People Are Talking About | 12 Bold Ideas for Books Innovative Publishing Ventures

15 The Dream of a 23 I’d Rather Be New Beginning a Poem After the Corona Pandemic Modern German Poetry

19 The Foreign Rights Business in Corona Times Global Publishing Perspectives | 27 Outstanding Examples of Design Most Beautiful German Books 2020 | 28 Books That Travel 2021 Selected Translations | 34 Bookselling Heroes Six International Locations in German Novels Kitchen Heroes 35 Book Heroes 2020 New Books in German PEN Heroe Imprint | 36 Discoveries to Combat Boredom Do It Yourself | 37 Weighty Subjects with a Light Touch Reading Tips for Parents and Kids 42 Who’s Afraid of an Ehefähigkeitszeugnis? A Column by Olga Grjasnowa

3 CANADA – GUEST OF HONOUR 2020/2021

Singular Plurality Canada is the first guest country to present its literature and culture as the Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour for a second year running.

Ceremonial within one text. Sonja Finck, a literary translator of handover of the many well-known Canadian authors, translated GuestScroll from Margit Walsø, Leblanc’s text into German. Director of Finck explains that the text is a ‘bilingual poem, NORLA, to originally written in French and English, which also Caroline Fortin, President of plays with indigenous concepts.’ Another tech- Can­ada nique used by the Canadian poet is the re-compo- FBM2021. sition of quotes from mainly literary texts written by Canadian authors, adds Finck. This idea sym- bolises Canada’s polyphonic, mosaic-like nature, which is reflected on both the large scale, as in © FBM/Marc Jacquemin Canada’s national identity, and the small scale, as in Leblanc’s poem. According to Finck, the text s part of the Frankfurter Buchmesse’s tells the story of multilingualism and the legacy of 2020 Special Edition, Canada demon- the Canadian founders’ vision. It juxtaposes indig- strated its digital creativity. Under the enous traditions with those of immigrants from Ann-Kathrin Ludwig Amotto ‘Singular Plurality’, the country’s rich diver- every corner of the globe, and testifies to a crea- is a trainee at the sity was illustrated in exciting documentaries and tive energy that can forge new things from old – Frankfurter Buch- articles in the press and on social media. The multi­ and vice versa. messe’s international faceted nature of Canadian literature is typified The superpower, if you like, of Canadian society relations department. by more than 351 new releases in German that and literature, and of this poem, is the ability to She studied German, have been published in the context of the Guest of recognise the special way in which everything is Spanish and Portu- Honour appearance since September 2019. linked and we are all connected to each other. guese literature in What lies behind Canada’s ‘singular plurality’? An Rather than highlighting divisions, the text invites Germany, Spain and answer to this question can be found in the poem us to forge connections and establish our own indi- in Brazil. by Georgette Leblanc which appears on the Frank- vidual points of contact. furter Buchmesse’s GuestScroll – a work of art Following on from its appearance last year, Canada created especially for the Guest of Honour pre­ will be our Guest of Honour again in 2021. We can sentation – and which is symbolic of Canada’s expect stories from new voices and well-known guest nation appearance. It combines all the most authors who, we can already be sure, will surprise striking characteristics of Canadian literature and fascinate us all over again. ◊

4 A GREETING FROM MINISTER OF STATE PROF. MONIKA GRÜTTERS THE UNIFYING POWER OF LITERATURE

Dear friends of the book and publishing industry,

Contact restrictions, mandatory mask-wearing and travel warnings: until recently, such terms would have sounded more like something out of a dys­ topian novel than part of everyday life. But 2020 has shown us how quickly our lives can be radically altered by external forces. At times like this, more than ever, reading is food for the soul. Books en­ able us to meet people without having to follow social distancing rules, and to travel to faraway­ FBM/Marc Jacquemin places with no quarantine period required. © To help protect literary and publishing diversity Monika Grütters at the Frankfurter Buchmesse’s virtual in Germany, the German government is making Opening Ceremony 2020 considerable funding available to the book and publishing industry through the coronavirus stim- ulus package NEUSTART KULTUR, as well as the small exhibitors this year, in recognition of the annual support it provides in the form of various contribution made by publishers who are doing programmes and prizes. The German Booksellers good and important work outside of the main- Prize, for example, is awarded to bookshops that stream. The corona crisis is forcing people all over have done particularly valuable work in terms of the world to keep their distance from each other – promoting books as a cultural asset. The German which has made it all the more evident how much Publishers Prize – another example – is awarded to we need the unifying, border-crossing and barrier-­ smaller independent publishers who, by daring to breaking power of literature. This gives me confi- take risks, help create a varied, rich and enriching dence that the book and publishing industry, even literary landscape. in light of the challenges we are now facing, will The Frankfurter Buchmesse is vital to the book endure in all its diversity. Let yourself be inspired and publishing industry as a venue for networking by every­thing it has to offer! and trade, which is why the Book Fair’s foreign rights platform and its digital presence were allo- Warmest regards, cated funding from the NEUSTART KULTUR programme last year. This government support will Professor Monika Grütters, make it possible to lower participation fees for Minister of State for Culture and the Media

5 JUERGEN BOOS IN CONVERSATION WITH Andreas Rötzer 3 4

Publishing is a form of sincerity, says Andreas Rötzer, head of the publisher Matthes & Seitz Berlin since 2004, and an independent publishing house will only succeed if it is able to build trust in the quality of its books. In conversation with Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Andreas Rötzer tells us how he has managed to do this time and time again. © Marcel Gregory Stock Gregory © Marcel

6 JB: You once said in an interview that as an inde- my career … [laughs]. My philosophy degree didn’t In 2013 the series pendent publisher,­ you are at the mercy of the help me land a job in publishing, but accounting Naturkunden was market. What did you mean by that? certainly did. When Axel Matthes was looking established: books AR: What I meant was that we’re not a subsidy for an accountant in 1999, I applied for the post bringing nature publisher: we have to hold our ground in the mar- because I really wanted to work at the company. writing, movement, ketplace and finance ourselves through sales. Incredibly, I managed to persuade the head of space, ecology, Whenever we have a success, the proceeds are the accounts department of my (non-existent) and humanity into invested in new books. I’ve always given myself the accounting skills, and she took me on. Then she focus. freedom to publish books that aren’t profitable, retired and I took over from her. too, though – books that are very important in JB: What made you want to go into publishing? terms of our programme. But if you adjust your AR: It all started with my passion for literature expectations a little, it’s perfectly possible to oper- and philosophy as a student. After that I worked in ate in a commercial way. the antiquarian book trade for many years, which JB: Can you shape the market yourself – or create really helped me develop an understanding of what your own market? makes a quality text, and what makes a book valu- AR: That’s what we managed to do with our ‘Natur­ able. When only five or ten out of 100 books in kunden’ (‘Natural Histories’). If you’re lucky, you an estate pass the antiquarian’s test, it makes you can capture the zeitgeist without becoming a slave realise how much rubbish gets produced. Informed to it. Ideally you want to come up with an innova- by this experience, my goal is to publish books tion that’s capable of succeeding on the market. that will still have a value, an antiquarian value, in We also managed to do this with our ‘Fröhliche 30, 40 years’ time. That’s my guiding principle. Wissenschaft’ (‘Joyful Wisdom’) series; once again, I’m probably more of an antiquarian in disguise we created a market for ourselves. than a publisher. JB: You do see some publishers that are financed JB: So the important thing is that the book partially by donations from patrons – but that’s should last? Werner © Christian precisely what you don’t want, is that right? AR: Yes – the idea is not to produce a consumer good, i.e. an item that people consume and then Andreas Rötzer replace, but something long-lasting. That sounds studied Creative We want to publish very grand, but to me a book isn’t something that Industries and Philos­ gets ‘used up’: it can be fed back into the market ophy in Passau and books with genuine again and again because it’s very durable, both in Paris, obtaining his social relevance physical terms and in terms of its content. And Ph.D. in Philosophy, that’s what I want Matthes & Seitz books to be. and did several JB: We’ve already talked about two of the thematic scholarships, trainee- AR: For our ‘Natural Histories’, which have huge areas where you’ve been very successful – is there ships and internships production costs, we were kindly awarded gener- another major theme in the pipeline? at Librérie Marissal ous start-up funding to mitigate some of the risk, AR: Over the next few years we’re going to be pub- in Paris, Farrar, and to make the series possible at all. But I think lishing books relating to China. That’s a new theme Straus & Giroux in the quality of a book is actually improved when it we’re engaging very closely with at the moment. New York and has to prove itself on the market. Of course, JB: Social policy with regard to China, or …? Armando Editore in there’s a high level of risk involved, and tremen- AR: Literature from China and also titles about Rome et al. In 2004 dous effort required – on an ongoing basis. But the China and about the whole of the Asian region, he founded Matthes & danger or the temptation of allowing publishing which of course is a vast area that I myself have yet Seitz Berlin and to become ‘art for art’s sake’ would otherwise to explore. has been Executive be too great. I always see publishing as a political JB: Isn’t it hard to find people with expertise in Director ever since. act as well, because it’s an act of public expression. that field? We want and need our texts to reach an audience, AR: In 2012 I went to Taiwan for the first time, and and we want to publish books with genuine social that’s when it really hit me what an important relevance. continent Asia is – not only economically but also JB: Your degree was in philosophy, and yet you culturally and socially – and how inadequately rep- started out at Matthes & Seitz as an accountant … resented it is in this part of the world. But it also AR: The fact that I also trained as a psychiatric interests me a great deal personally, and that’s nurse is actually the thing that’s helped me most in reflected in our list. The expertise is extremely

7 difficult to come by, because you have to have an authors because you’re already publishing books international network of people who know their on certain themes, or do the people come first stuff and can give you advice. and the themes follow? Is the publisher the initia- JB: How do you choose your themes and your tor, or the book? Matthes & Seitz Berlin authors? AR: There’s a reciprocal effect. Through our list and is a German indepen­ ­ AR: For the past eight years I’ve tried to travel to the books we publish, we’re sending out a mes- dent publishing house. Asia myself every year to meet with authors, pub- sage – sometimes not even consciously – and then It is known for lishers and agents. Until 2020 I managed it every the themes come, and the authors too. I’ve often German literature, year, partly thanks (as ever) to the Frankfurter found myself wondering why I’m suddenly getting but also for trans­ Buchmesse. What you really need are translators so many pitches for books I’m so keenly interested lations of contem­po­ who are passionate and can give you tips about in. And our publishing programme reflects that. rary and classic what’s out there. You can’t always rely on the JB: So the publishing house functions almost like a French literature and sinologists, because they have a different perspec- lighthouse, or a beacon. of Russian literature. tive and don’t know exactly what our needs are. AR: Yes, lots of books arise out of conversations JB: I’d like to talk a little bit more about your with authors or translators, or you discover new relationship­ with your authors. Do you discover authors through them. © Christian Werner © Christian

8 JB: But you don’t only publish young authors – complexity. Something could easily get lost in A central place has I’m thinking of Joshua Groß and Jakob Nolte – but translation. So it will be a big challenge for the non-fiction, especially also authors who’ve been published before, like translators. But things are still going well, and philosophy, political Anne Weber, who has now gone on to win the we’re set to sell the rights in even more languages. theory, and art and German Book Prize. It’s clear that your publishing JB: Just to come back to what makes Matthes & cultural studies. house has the power to get people talking about Seitz Berlin so special: as a publishing house you’re The series ‘Fröhliche an author again, to make an author topical again. very active in the public sphere, and you orga­­­­- Wissenschaft’, with its The same sort of thing happened with Joshua n­ise a summer party every year. This community short essays, is a Groß. His work had been published before, but spirit has become part of the company’s culture, prominent stage for then he came to you and suddenly things really hasn’t it? presenting audacious took off. AR: Yes. After I’d taken over at Matthes & Seitz, a new philosophers. AR: It would be nice if that was always how it talented Austrian publisher, woodcutter and pen- went, but it’s basically just a gamble every time. and-ink artist called Christian Thanhäuser came When it does work out, though, perhaps that does to Berlin with a loaf of home-baked bread, a huge have something to do with the credibility we’ve side of bacon and a case of wine and said, now acquired, and the context provided by our other let’s invite everyone we know in Berlin. And that’s authors. The diverse range of authors on our list how our summer party was born. is important. We’ve got canonical authors, new JB: How do you, as an independent publishing authors, established authors – one illuminates the house, manage to hold your own against the big others, so to speak, and draws attention to them. publishing conglomerates, both in terms of acquir- This also helps people rediscover previously lesser-­ ing titles and in terms of selling books? Has that known authors. changed over time? JB: Does your list feature many translations? AR: I have esteemed colleagues at the big publish- AR: I’d say about half our titles are translations – ing houses – Regina Kammerer, for example, and perhaps a little less than half now. We publish 100, Jonathan Beck – who really are wonderful col- 120 books a year, and around 40 to 50 of those leagues, and I often exchange ideas with them. are translations. So quite a large number, yes. This proves that the publishing industry is not

dominated by the fierce competitiveness found in Werner © Christian other sectors. There’s a very pleasant kind of coop- Books are long- eration between different publishers. We’ve also Matthes & Seitz developed our business a great deal over the past publishes outstanding lasting, they can’t ten or fifteen years. There are more and more German authors like get ‘used up’ small bookshops championing good books, and Anne Weber (German they sell our titles. We’ve never worked with Book Prize 2020), chains – the big chains have never accepted us. Frank Witzel (German JB: In English-speaking countries, translations are Our bedrock is the independent booksellers with Book Prize 2015) often shunned – they cost a lot, and they don’t their characterful selections. We know we can rely and Jürgen Goldstein tend to sell well. It’s very different in Germany, on them. (Leipzig Book Fair where around 30 percent of all fiction titles are JB: How important is the review section to you? Prize 2016 for non-­ translations. AR: Very important, because it attracts authors. fiction) as well as AR: Although it’s not a one-way street – we do And it helps get more people talking about our renowned international also sell quite a lot of our titles abroad. Particularly themes. authors like Emmanuel philosophy, but also literature. And we’re doing JB: And how do you reach your readers directly, Carrère, Éric Vuillard very well in that regard these days. Partly thanks what sets you apart in that regard? and Chris Kraus. to international networking, and not least the AR: One guiding principle I think we as a publisher Frankfurter Buchmesse. must never lose sight of is the fact that we re­ JB: I’ll tell the team at the Buchmesse that – they’ll present a kind of sincerity. A small publishing be very pleased to hear it. How did Anne Weber house only stands a chance if it can build trust – sell in other countries? trust in the quality of its titles – and that’s what AR: By the end of 2020, we’d sold ten foreign we’ve managed to do in recent years. rights licences. JB: Mr Rötzer, thank you very much for the JB: It won’t be an easy book to translate. conversation. ◊ AR: It’s really quite difficult to capture the book’s

9 PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT

Authors, Books, Awards Two awards are making an important contribution to the future of the book industry: Frankfurt Young Stories and the Digital Publishing Award.

The anthology Frankfurt Young Stories 2020 features all the short stories, poems and slam poetry that made the shortlist of the

Frankfurt Young Garde © FBM/Nina Stories writing After the award ceremony: winners, jury and organisers (f.l.t.r.): Hendrik Hellige, Maja Bruder competition in 2020. (poetry 13–18 years), Askin Bel, Lea Schillaci (poetry 19–25 years), Luna Vojacek, Mila Vojacek (special prize digital), Fatima Moehr, Melina Zahren, Nina Garde, Morgane Levier It is available from Books on Demand bod.de he earliest writing attempts of authors who by their peers. Frankfurt Young Stories also pro- later become famous mostly haven’t been motes digital formats and collaboration between passed down to us: their owners often de- different art forms, and – last but not least – pro- Tstroyed them because they no longer made the vides insights into the world of adolescents. What’s grade. Whether the winners of the Frankfurt Young on their mind these days? Light-hearted summer Stories writing competition will make a name for poems and breezy love stories certainly didn’t themselves one day remains to be seen. But in dominate entries in 2020, the second year of the any case, their early stories and poems aren’t just competition. Instead, many of the stories and lying around in a drawer or on a hard drive any poems depicted a sombre world featuring suicide more – they’re out in the world. The competition and abuse – and of course the pandemic left its jury selected five prize winners from a field of literary mark. 460 applicants aged between 13 and 25. Girls and Each of the prize winners received 500 euros and women dominated with a total of 400 entries, was given the choice of participating in a men­ and triumphed in the final selection as well. toring programme or writing workshop. A network Holger Heimann The primary goal of Frankfurt Young Stories, for young creatives was also established in con- is a literary critic and whose patron is Young Adult author Cornelia junction with the competition, whose members works for various Funke, is not to advance writers’ careers, even regularly exchange ideas about books and their newspapers and broad- though this may be one benefit of the competi- own writing. Many of this year’s applicants are casters. He lives in tion. Instead, its main aim is to promote reading, keen to compete again next year – perhaps with Berlin. by encouraging young people to engage with texts even more impressive texts? ◊

10 ighlighting outstanding projects that help entire industry. This category highlights particu- different media to manage the process larly innovative, bold business ideas, even those of digital transformation – this is the which may not yet be market-ready. Haim of the Digital Publishing Award. The prize is The Special Prize (which focuses on digital sus­ awarded every year as part of the Frankfurter tainability and ecology) is awarded to concepts Buchmesse. A distinguished jury made up of indi- or initiatives that aim to promote sustainability, viduals from the worlds of business and culture, all ecology and/or a better work-life balance – goals of whom are helping to shape the process of digital which serve the common good and which go far transformation, selects the winning entries in five beyond plastic-free book covers. different categories: Product/Business model: this category rewards The five winners of the Digital Publishing Award par­ticularly innovative products or business models 2020 are: Universal Edition for UE Now, which

digital-publishing-­ award.de © Newzik/UE

Musical material is now available not only in PDF format, but also as a mobile app – lots of helpful features make it particularly user-friendly, even for work in the rehearsal room.

created by publishing houses or similar organisa- prepares digital sheet music in real time, enabling From 2021, the tions. Areas of innovation range from B2B to collaborative music-making and work on notation prize will be renamed B2C, from websites/web services to new payment for the first time. the ‘dpr award’. models, and from media archives, apps, e-books The Deutsche Archäologische Institut for the It will be organised, and podcasts to online events. DAI Journal Viewer, a digital journal which links as before, by the Process/Technology recognises new processes or articles with research data from various informa- trade magazine Digital technologies which are changing the way the pub- tion resources. Publishing Report. lishing industry works, whether in editing, proof­ Tobias Ott of Pagina, who, as one of the first reading, sales, marketing or production: these experts in XML, is making this key technology technologies include AI solutions, text-to-speech, available to the whole field of digital publishing, digital newsrooms in edito­ ­rial departments and and who has played an important role in promoting many more. the digitalisation of publishing. Personality/Digital Leader(ship) rewards individu- The start-up scoolio, whose digital app platform als who have done important work in the field of helps organise school pupils’ days in a fun way, digital publishing – through excellent change man- and also connects them to businesses and uni­ agement in the context of digital transformation, versities. for example, or by opening up the digital arena for Carlsen Verlag’s New Work Initiative, which has the entire publishing industry. helped make its collaborations much more open, Start-up/Founders recognises new players on the transparent and flexible, and enhanced its attrac- publishing market whose ideas are stimulating the tiveness as an employer. ◊

11 INNOVATIVE PUBLISHING VENTURES BOLD IDEAS FOR BOOKS How young entrepreneurs and start-ups drive progress in book publishing and support the industry

Laura Nerbel, Elena Straßl, Lydia Hilebrand, Jessica Taso and Sarah Zechel from &Töchter (f.l.t.r.)

The Tapster team (f.l.t.r.): Jasmin Wollesen, Frauke von Essen, Julia Meier, Valeska Meyer, Joachim Schneider, Nadja Krieger-­ Nissen, Ole Janssen © sigl-affairs © Tapster Media © Tapster © Jürgen Gocke © Jürgen Jonas and Géraldine Al-Nemri, founders of Scriptbakery

12 In our fast-moving, digitalised world, content that. Their management and analysis software is consumption has become a multi-faceted, plat­ designed to make the life of book editors easier, form-­crossing and very diverse affair. As a legacy taking away all that is tedious about handling a und-toechter.de industry, book publishing can sometimes be a never-ending stream of manuscripts and freeing slow-­moving beast and the odd ‘nudge’ from the up time for actually developing and producing agile start-up world is very welcome. Be it turning good books. The whole process from submission to literature into an experience or using AI to free up text analysis is digitalised and accessible in the creative potential in publishing houses, the follow- cloud. Their innovation: Alinea, an AI-powered tapster-media.com ing three ventures infuse the industry with innova- smart tool sitting at the heart of the system that tive approaches and bold ideas. can sort texts according how much proofreading is needed, for example, and can analyse the vocabu- lary by target group. What’s more, the software is WHEN LITERATURE trained to recognise the basic emotions of texts in scriptbakery.de IS MORE THAN WORDS order to filter out the dominating mood in any given manuscript, classify it accordingly and assess ON PAPER which ‘reading mood’ it is suitable for. Scriptbakery­ are very clear about their intentions: it’s not about Exploring new publishing structuring, promoting using AI to rationalise away the need for human sustainable book production and letting people input but about providing assistance software to experience literature together. That is &Töchter’s give editors more time to focus on the right books. mission in a nutshell. Founded in January 2019 Not only can feedback be given faster but sub­ by five book studies students at the University of missions can also be passed on to other publishers Munich, the all-female crew is the proverbial who might be a better fit, instead of gathering breath of fresh air. For them, literature can, and dust on an ever-growing pile. Ultimately, this not indeed should, be fun – and should be presented in only helps publishers but also gives authors a ways that attract non-readers too. Not surprising- fairer chance. ly, their kick-off project was not a book but ‘rau­ schen&Töchter’, curated readings held at unusual venues and transmitted via Instagram. They also WHEN BOOKS produce a literature podcast called ‘plauschen& BECOME Töchter’. Their first book, ‘Great Green Thinking’, highlights their advocacy of sustainability which INTERACTIVE they themselves embody by applying the ‘cradle to cradle’ approach of a circular economy to book Technology is a great opportunity to provide added publishing. However, what is perhaps most innova- value – as long as it is accessible and easy to use. tive about &Töchter was expressed by one of the Cue Tapster Media, a German outfit specialising in founders at last year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse developing new formats for the publishing industry opening press conference, when she spoke about that are based on exactly this type of easy-to-use not just taking a piece of the cake but baking a tech. The idea: enhance stories with pictures, London-based bigger and more colourful cake with everyone to- audio, video or special effects and make books Barbara Geier is a gether. Clearly, this venture has truly understood come to life. The tool: ‘The Creator’, which does writer, editor and that diversity and collaboration are key in the new not require any programming knowledge. But the translator providing age of book publishing. company’s platform, called ‘Lively Story’, allows bilingual German and publishers to do more than just enhance content English content for enriched storytelling; crucially, it also opens up and communication WHEN AI CAN additional income streams, since any book that is services. She is a lover READ converted into a ‘Lively Story’ becomes a stand- of books and words, alone app for sale and content can be consumed has written a couple of EMOTIONS with a free reading app. The potential particularly London travel guides for children’s and YA fiction but also other genres and likes to explore Who’s afraid of artificial intelligence? Let’s be is considerable and, as illustrated by a collaboration the world of the digital honest, in book publishing, a fair few. The team at announced last December with the retailer and transformation, Freiburg-based Scriptbakery wants to change publisher Weltbild, the industry is taking note. ◊ innovation and tech.

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AFTER THE CORONA PANDEMIC The Dream of a New Beginning Once the dust has settled, what will the future look like? On the German book market, a lively literary debate is underway about what we can learn from the pandemic to help us create a better politics, a different kind of society and a more modern economy.

ie Stadt der Zukunft, or the city of The numbers are stark: around 1.7 million people german-stories.de/ the future, as envisaged by architect tested positive for coronavirus in Germany in covid-19 Friedrich von Borries and urban plan- 2020 alone. 30,000 died from or with Covid, and More information ner Benjamin Kasten in their book of around 6 million people were put on state-funded about the featured Dthe same name, will look very different from to- furlough. The situation in Germany is actually bet- book collection day’s hotchpotch of shopping streets and historical ter than in many other countries, but what makes can ​be found here. districts. Fairer, greener, and internationally net- the numbers all the more alarming is the fact that worked within a politicised ‘globalopolis’. Urbanisa- Germany seemed, during the first wave, to have tion is inevitable – but urban areas need to be bet- everything under control. As German Chancellor ter designed, say the authors. Angela Merkel said in March 2020, this is the When their book on cities first appeared, with its biggest challenge we have faced since the Second utopias and its real-world examples, corona was World War – including in financial terms. Germany unknown except as the name of a brand of beer. has amassed an additional 2.2 billion euros of debt, Now, as the third wave of the pandemic ravages and that mountain is still growing. On the German book market, the race has already Cookbooks were the begun to find answers to the question: ‘Where do big winners on the we go from here?’ Will Germany see this challenge German book market Where do we partly as an opportunity? Will the international during lockdown. crisis team that managed to weather the financial Trends included vegan go from here? crisis more successfully than many other countries cooking and quick use this as a turning point to set a new course on recipes. Germany, it is clear that the virus has changed life key social and economic issues? in cities, and cities themselves, at a speed and to Matthias Horx, one of the foremost futurologists an extent that we could never previously have and trend researchers in the German-speaking imagined, even if it was foretold in the Decameron world, is confident that our social experiences,

© Tomislav Jakupec, Pixabay Jakupec, © Tomislav and Albert Camus’ The Plague. more than anything else, will be a catalyst for But the solution cannot simply be to employ more staff, argue heart surgeon Umes Arunagirinathan and co-author Doris Mendlewitsch in their book Der verlorene Patient. The problem goes far deeper than that. For a long time, the (internationally renowned) German healthcare system has not

© Thomas Plassmann/Frankfurter Rundschau Plassmann/Frankfurter © Thomas been prioritising patients and their successful treatment. Instead, the focus has been on efficien- cy gains. ‘The main concern is money, not people,’ says the surgeon, and this needs to change. This sense of expectation, of hope that a new world may emerge from and as a result of the pandemic, is a theme that has been picked up by many authors. And that includes economic ana- lysts – despite the huge amounts of debt currently being accrued. Wie wir unsere Wirtschaft retten, or how to save our economy, is a question explored by one of Cartoonist Thomas Plass- change. ‘A crisis tends to teach us something Germany’s leading economists, Clemens Fuest, in mann responds to the virus about the systems that surround us, carry us and his book of the same name. Fuest does not fall into with humour: ‘But what if everyone starts being support us,’ says the author of Die Zukunft nach sensible … and wearing masks Corona. Wie eine Krise die Gesellschaft, unser Den- … and social distancing …?’ ken und unser Handeln verändert. He predicts that ‘I wouldn’t worry too much, The biggest mate!!’ people will start questioning their old behaviour patterns and developing new concepts. And we need those more than ever. Although the challenge since German healthcare system initially seemed well- equipped to handle the crisis, it is also struggling WWII with deep-seated problems. People have been aware of these problems for years, but little has the trap of offering conclusive answers or making been done about them. Michael Steidl, who has definitive claims while we are still in the grip of the worked as a nurse for over 20 years, and journalist pandemic. He acknowledges that there are many Fabian Marcher address this issue in their book unanswered questions. But there are also struc­ Weil es ohne uns nicht geht. They paint a vivid pic- tural advantages in our handling of the pandemic ture of the day-to-day running of an emergency that were lacking in our response to the financial department in a big hospital, and the impact of crisis – such as the fact that EU Member States staff shortages, stress and overtime. have managed, thus far, to work together rather

Friedrich von Borries, Michael Horx Michael Steidl, Benjamin Kasten Die Zukunft nach Fabian Marcher Stadt der Zukunft Corona Weil es ohne uns (S. Fischer) (Econ) nicht geht From vertical for- Matthias Horx ana­ (Eden) ests to underground lyses the implications The central emer- plantations, to an of the crisis: how is gency room of a overpass trans- society changing? hospital is a place formed into a park: What role is played that pushes people concepts for the by a fear of the to their limits. city of the future future? And how can Steidl gives a are already being we turn this fear into unique insight into tested. optimism? what goes on there.

16 ‘Corona is an indicator of the fragility of our ecological situation’

he corona pandemic is the total biomass of insects had ronmental regulations. On the taking place in the con- fallen by 75%. Corona is an indi- other hand, measures like those text of the Anthropocene cator of the fragility of our eco- in Germany that are supposedly

TEpoch. In this era of global eco- logical situation, but also of the designed to stimulate the econ- nomic relationships, worldwide fundamental precarity of our omy – like scrappage premiums, travel and international depen­ lives. It has highlighted the social or grants for electric cars – are Horn, © Eva Grünbichler Helmut Photo: dencies for certain products, the and economic inequality of our completely counterproductive. crisis is unfolding differently society. People who were pre- But this also means we need a Eva Horn has been from how it would have done in cariously employed before the more complex understanding Professor of Modern 1950. crisis have lost their jobs, while of the term ‘environment’: we German Literature at Above all, corona is making us certain companies such as Ama- need to think about environ- the University of aware of the fragility of the zon and other IT firms have mental policy in a global context. Vienna’s Institute for world we live in. We can see how made a lot of money out of the That’s why I think the concept of German Studies since quickly a crisis can shake the pandemic. the Anthropocene is so useful. 2009. In 2014 she foundations of our very exist- But there is also cause for hope. It’s time we started genuinely published Zukunft als ence. To give just one example: The lockdowns in Europe have treating environmental issues as Katastrophe (Future what will we do when there are shown that, politically, there is a a priority and really trying to as Catastrophe), no longer enough insects to pol- lot more room for manoeuvre shake things up, instead of ask- a major essay about linate crops, and massive fam- than we had thought. Now we ing how quickly we can get back apocalyptic depictions. ines break out all over the world? need to make environmental to the way things were before Since then she has A few years ago, a study found policy our top priority. State corona. written many texts that – in Germany at least – subsidies must be linked to envi- exploring doomsday scenarios and the Excerpt from an interview with Vanessa Franke in literaturkritik.de, first published in Issue 9, September 2020 ‘imaginative history of (https://literaturkritik.de/id/27152). Reprinted with the kind permission of the editors and the author. the climate crisis’.

Umes Clemens Fuest Michael Blume Arunagirinathan, Wie wir unsere Verschwörungs­ Doris Mendlewitsch Wirtschaft retten mythen Der verlorene (Aufbau) (Patmos) Patient How can we make Did Bill Gates cre- (Rowohlt) the most of the ate coronavirus? Is The corona pandemic opportunities this there a conspiracy has shown how crisis presents? to take over the extremely efficient This radical book is world? Blume shows we are on the one the first to engage where conspiracy hand but how badly in rigorous joined- theories come from, organised and under- up thinking about the damage they funded on the other. economic and do and how we can This has to change. health policy. combat them.

17 than against each other. Even if, as we saw from numerous historical examples. He also looks at the the lengthy debates about the 750-billion-euro way philosophers such as Hannah Arendt have ap- recovery package and the ordering of vaccines, it proached this subject. can take time. But simply educating and reining in the conspiracy At the same time, however, it’s clear that this crisis theorists is not enough. Democracy needs to be

© WARNER BROS © WARNER will not be the last, and that the frequency of such proactive in other ways too, as Austrian political crises is increasing – be they pandemics, financial scientist Tamara Ehs explains in her essay Krisen­ Hollywood’s heroes crashes or the impacts of climate change. This is demokratie. The digitalisation of democratic pro- were quicker than us putting democratic structures under pressure, cesses – from parliamentary procedures to em- at getting a pandemic particularly in Germany, where elections for the ployee participation in corporate decision-making under control: after national parliament and various regional parlia- – won’t simply disappear once the pandemic is 128 minutes and ments are due to take place this autumn. The over. What are the implications of this? As deci- a dramatic showdown, govern­ment’s handling of the pandemic will be a sions with far-reaching consequences are made the antidote was ever more quickly, how can we safeguard impor- administered. tant conditions such as adequate transparency and Outbreak (1995, citizen participation? Ehs also looks to neighbour- directed by Wolfgang Crisis? ing European countries in her search for a crisis­ Petersen) proof democracy. Why not create a ‘Committee What crisis? for the Future’ to serve as a think tank within par- liament, as Finland has done? touchstone in these election campaigns, as evi- But as the pandemic rages on, we will have to wait denced by the protests seen in the country in a little longer for such ideas and analyses to be 2020. It will be hard to forget the way supporters translated into action. Until then, we must keep of the ‘Querdenken’ movement, which opposes practising – at the personal as well as the political the German government’s coronavirus restric- level – a very old, very traditional and yet also tions, forced their way into the Reichstag – espe- incredibly modern skill: that of solidarity. It was cially after the storming of the Capitol by Trump the first thing to flourish in the pandemic. Sud- supporters in Washington this January. Where do denly we saw bags of supplies for homeless people the wild conspiracy theories espoused by the being hung on fences, complete strangers offering Querdenken movement originate from, and how to help their neighbours, taxi drivers giving free have they become so rife? How can democracy rides to nursing staff, and a wealth of ideas for maintain the ability to defend itself, and at the digital learning being shared online. Back in 2019, same time modernise itself in order to keep pace the sociologist Heinz Bude identified a new sense Maike Rademaker with the mounting crises of today’s world? of unity in German society, a sense that people is a freelance journalist Religious scholar and political scientist Michael really cared about the greater good, which he and presenter and lives Blume, who runs a prizewinning science blog, has describes in his book Solidarität. Die Zukunft einer in Berlin. Her articles been looking at the emergence of Ver­schwö­rungs­ großen Idee. His conclusion: ‘Solidarity is the and contributions have mythen (conspiracy theories). Nobody is immune only medicine’. ◊ appeared in various to such myths, he warns – as can be seen from online and print media and on the radio station Deutschland- funk. She writes about the labour market, Heinz Bude forest policy, eels and, Tamara Ehs Solidarität Krisendemokratie (Hanser) whenever she can, (Mandelbaum) Solidarity is more about spices and their Seven lessons that than just the history. show us what we alleviation of need to do better material hardship; next time. Because it is the decision the next crisis will to help our fellow come – be it another human beings. pandemic, a terrorist Solidarity is how a attack or a climate society comes emergency. together again.

18 GLOBAL PUBLISHING PERSPECTIVES

THE FOREIGN RIGHTS BUSINESS IN CORONA TIMES Bärbel Becker, who was director of the International Projects department of the Frankfurter Buchmesse until 2020, has been interviewing foreign rights professionals from well-known German publishing houses.

he German foreign rights business did bet- Here are some of the titles 2020 Frankfurt ter than expected in ‘the year of corona’ – foreign rights managers are hoping for Conference and although rights managers did feel the international success with in 2021 cu­rated event record- Tabsence of the book fairs, according to various ings can be found industry experts. Inka Ihmels, foreign rights man- at buchmesse.de/en/ ager at Aufbau, had positive news at the end of digital-fair/ 2020: ‘Aufbau timed it just right with its upmarket­ live-programme commercial fiction. The series ‘Mutige Frauen zwischen Kunst und Liebe’ is a success in Germany and has proved to be a godsend in terms of foreign Several 2020 digital rights. Just in the last few weeks I’ve signed three- events can be accessed book deals in France, Romania and Poland for at facebook.com/ these historical novels about famous women.’ Inka Ihmels, Aufbau: frankfurterbuchmesse/ Friederike Barakat of Hanser is managing to sell Olga Grjasnowa, Der verlorene Sohn videos German authors like Monika Helfer (Die Bagage), (Caucasian) Robert Seethaler (Der letzte Satz) and Pascal In eloquent and urgent language, Mercier (Das Gewicht der Worte), as well as an in- award-winning author Olga Grjasnowa tells creasing amount of non-fiction. There is growing of a holy war and a child caught between interest in themes like diversity and #blacklives- two cultures, who must find his own way. matter. Key frontlist sales markets are Italy, Turkey and Spain. Other foreign rights managers also mentioned the high demand for non-fiction books, particularly those about nature, popular science and history. When it comes to nature writing, expectations for 2021 are high. Piper’s Elisabeth Wiedemann couldn’t top the number of licence deals she negotiated in 2019 – Friederike Barakat, Hanser: many of which were for Rolf Dobelli’s works – but Mithu Sanyal, Identitti she has managed to sell the rights to a historical From race, sex and gender to colonialism: novel about Maria Montessori in seven countries. a fun and entertaining novel about current Sales of Nobel prizewinner Peter Handke, and a political debates! The author is a cultural steady demand for the classics, ensured a stable scientist and journalist.

19 year for Suhrkamp. But rights manager Nora platform to domestic authors and illustrators first. Mercurio reported that sales of new titles were ‘in Any foreign titles they buy on top of that have to steep decline’. Ihmels, too, has found it ‘hard work’ be really strong. But then a title or series like that selling the literary titles on Aufbau’s autumn list. can also become a bestseller here, as we saw with But even so, Mercurio doesn’t think that inter­ Anna Ruhe’s Duftapotheke. The contract for books national editors, despite their pared-down fiction 4 to 6 was signed during the corona crisis.’ lists, are looking solely for ease and optimism. What concerns her far more is the fact that many

© private editors are not commissioning translations of new BOOK FAIRS Create your own authors or début works, but are reaching instead German Story. for the nth book by an established author. ARE ‘ECHO The children’s and YA publisher Carlsen is also re- lying on tried-and-tested formulas like established CHAMBERS’ All 2021 events – series and bestsellers in its foreign rights market- including Germany’s ing. Non-fiction books and short stories about Corona has had a positive impact on working prac- guest of honour coronavirus go down well abroad. Linda Kohn, a tices. Doing deals is a time-consuming and labori- ap­pear­ances in Jakarta freelance agent in the Netherlands, says: ‘We’re ous process, but according to the interviewees, and Thessaloniki – seeing a sort of national solidarity on the part of video conversations often feel more focused, and can be found at many Dutch publishers, who are tending to offer a lately people have been more spontaneous about german-stories.de picking up the phone or organising a video call – even outside of trade show times. This makes com- munication quicker, more direct and also friend­ ‘Virtual meetings are lier, because there’s always a bit of time left over here to stay, and hybrid for non-work-related chat. physical and virtual The medium of choice is one-to-one conversa- fairs will to some extent tions in video conferences, or sometimes digital be the new normal. formats for larger groups: Elisabeth Wiedemann This will allow rights told us about a webinar at which she presented a professionals to have a selection of titles to around ten editors. There broader reach but will Elisabeth Wiedemann, Piper: were also reports of webinars at which authors also have implications Florian Wacker, Weiße Finsternis pitched their books themselves, or where short for their workloads. (White Darkness) video clips were shown. And the fact that readings, How to manage more 100 years on from the Amundsen polar award ceremonies and festivals can now also be meetings over a longer expedition, this novel weaves together the true shared online has been found to be very helpful in duration, in addition story of two missing seamen with the story promoting literary authors. to important physical of a love triangle and a woman who was far Daniela Steiner, foreign rights manager at Carlsen, attendance at key fairs ahead of her time. says: ‘We’ve had the chance to work on these is a problem that will systems, and that’s a positive thing. We’ve ques- need to be addressed.’ tioned many existing practices and reformed (Frankfurt De-Brief, them.’ Large-scale digitalisation has ushered in RightsZone January systems for video calls and conferences, digital 2021) contract systems, the renovation or reconfigura- tion of contract databases, and a new website. All the interviewees spoke of the rapid and highly beneficial introduction of tools to enable digital Gesche Wendebourg, Penguin Random House: signatures, with Hanser’s quickest contract, ac- Dana Grigorcea, Die nicht sterben cording to Friederike Barakat, being signed in just (Those Who Never Die) 20 minutes. After finishing her art degree in Paris, a young Even though experiences with digital formats have painter returns to the place in Transylvania where in the main been positive, everyone who was inter- she used to spend her childhood holidays – viewed spoke of their growing wanderlust and the the place where Dracula is buried, and which is fact that they miss the book fairs terribly! In a still haunted by its past. report in RightsZone entitled ‘Do Rights Profes­

20 sionals Need Book Fairs?’, based on a survey of slots have to be very well organised. There have around 120 mainly British rights managers, we already been sessions bringing German rights find the following statement: ‘Almost 70% of managers together with Frankfurt Fellows and respon­dents felt that the cancellation of book fairs Turkish editors, and meetings with Taiwanese pub- had had either a slight or a significant impact on lishers are on the cards. Watch this space … the level of interest/business opportunities they Translators, too, are playing an important role in would have expected, although it was hard to the foreign rights business by getting involved in establish how much business had been impacted curated book presentations. Under the heading by Covid­-19 more generally, as opposed to specifi­ ‘Buchmetropolen’, a format like this was tested in cally from the loss of fairs themselves.’ Poland and got an astonishing number of views. Foreign rights professionals are seeing the benefits­ It is now being continued for the Russian market. of having done lots of travelling before the pan- And another success story is the translator forums demic: it means they can build on the contacts created as part of the Jakarta Content Week they have already made. According to Friederike Jaktent. Barakat, book fairs also act as a kind of ‘echo It is possible to reach a very wide audience for Bärbel Becker chamber’. It’s harder to drum up enthusiasm on authors via the right social media exposure: the worked at Frankfurter your own, says Barakat. And many other col- Centroamerica Cuenta literary festival is the best Buchmesse for leagues agree. It can be difficult to make new con- example of this. ◊ 38 years. Her re­spon­ tacts, too. Book fairs and sales tours are vital. ‘It is sibilities included very important for a rights seller to see and feel German guest of the market they are working with. And at book honour presentations fairs you live off the energy and excitement. It is at international book our time to breathe’, says Diane Spivey, a rights fairs, and running the expert in the UK. International Rights Since March 2020, the Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Directors Meeting for international team, whose activities support the over 10 years. Recent- work of German foreign rights professionals, has ly retired, she still has been forced to reorient itself away from German a strong interest in collectives at book fairs and towards digital Nora Mercurio, Suhrkamp: international publish- formats. Here too, the strategy is to build upon Deniz Ohde, Streulicht ing relations past and good contacts abroad and forge alliances with (Sky Glow) present. existing partners such as trade fair organisers, A text about a (post-)migrant working-class publishers’ associations and cultural institutes to milieu, about a small family and their get digital programmes up and running. And let’s hopeful desire to belong. Shortlisted for the not forget about sponsors. The Culture Depart- German Book Prize 2020. ment of the German Foreign Office is very willing to provide funding in these difficult times, and its grants are generous. The online events are often designed as bilateral exchanges – the ‘Let’s Talk’ series features live expert discussions between German and Greek industry players, for example, and a children’s book webinar with Turkish publishers – but thanks to social media they have the potential to become Daniela Steiner, Carlsen: internationally recognised events. This is illus­ Silke Schellhammer, trated by the high attendance figures for the Simona M. Ceccarelli (ill.), Frankfurt Conference. School of Talents 1 & 2 Foreign rights experts highlight ‘online match- At this boarding school, all the pupils have a making’ as something that is particularly valuable special talent – such as shapeshifting, controlling for their work. It enables them to make new con- water, or understanding the language of animals … tacts among publishers and editors – but in order Normal lessons? Not a chance! Chaos? to be successful, it has to be carefully curated by Guaranteed! Secrets revealed and adventures the organisation partners, and the short meeting embarked on? All sorts!

21

MODERN GERMAN POETRY I’d Rather Be a Poem Some people see poetry as somehow inferior to ‘larger-scale’ literary formats like the novel or the short story. But this belief is unfounded. On the contrary, the German poetry scene is diverse, vibrant and popular.

oems are perfect for impatient readers. In Friedrich Ani, Marcel Beyer, Nora Bossong, german-stories.de/ Their often short form means they slot Esther Kinsky and Marion Poschmann, Suhrkamp poetry easily into everyday life: you can pick just Verlag publishes a whole range of authors who More information one or a few poems out of a volume to write both novels and poetry – some of them very about the featured Pread at a time. But poems are also perfect for the successfully indeed. Two of the most prominent book collection patient reader: a carefully composed poetry col- examples are Marcel Beyer, who was awarded curated by Nora lection takes a long time to truly ‘finish’. It takes the Peter Huchel Prize for poetry in the German Gomringer can ​be concentration and contemplation to fully appreci- language for his collection Dämonenräumdienst found here. ate the poems and the composition of a collection, in January 2021, and Marion Poschmann, who and perhaps also to understand them in the con- won the Huchel Prize in 2011 for her collection text of the author’s other work. Geistersehen. Poschmann’s fifth collection,Nim - The German-language poetry scene is impres­ bus, also enjoyed extraordinary success. It won sively vibrant and diverse. Not only in Germany, three prizes in one year: the Orphil Poetry Prize the ‘land of poets and thinkers’, but also in neigh- awarded by the city of Wiesbaden, the prestigious bouring Austria and Switzerland, a great many Hölty prize and the time-honoured Bremen Liter- authors contribute to this vibrant scene through ature Prize. their writing and their appearances at readings and festivals. Many of them translate poetry from other languages. They take part in festivals such as German

the Poesiefestival Berlin, the Poetry on the Road Reeg © Andreas festival in Bremen, the Lyrikertreffen Münster, Poetry, Award- and Poetica in Cologne, as well as symposiums, A major award for workshops, and readings in schools. As poetry Winning poetry: Elke Erb lecturers at universities and colleges, they reflect received the renowned on their role as authors and on the writing process. Carl Hanser Verlag is another great champion and lucrative Georg Publishing houses also contribute to this vibrant of poetry. It even has a German Nobel prizewinner Büchner prize 2020 literary landscape by making space in their lists for on its list, in the form of novelist and poet Herta (worth 50,000 euros). poetry, despite sometimes low sales figures. In Müller, and its sister publisher Hanser Berlin pub- many cases, a great deal of thought goes into the lishes the Georg Büchner prizewinner Jan Wagner,

© Tommy Reinhardt © Tommy design of these poetry volumes. whose 2015 collection Regentonnenvariationen Jan Kuhlbrodt Die Rückkehr der Nancy Hünger Tiere 4 Uhr kommt der (Verlagshaus Hund Berlin) (Edition Azur) Kulhbrodt’s prose Nancy Hünger poems tell us of the writes about grief new fields, new like no other young cities and new pat- poet in Germany, terns of a reunified hovering somewhere country, as well as between prose the gaps and empty miniature and spaces emerging

© Tommy Reinhardt © Tommy poetic monologue. within it.

A poetic little volume with poetic illus­ trations by Tommy Reinhardt: Nancy Nora Gomringer Esther Kinsky Hünger’s 4 Uhr kommt Gottesanbieterin Schiefern der Hund. (Voland & Quist) (Suhrkamp) Gomringer’s latest Kinsky, devoted to collection, a play on observations of words between nature, focuses on ‘praying mantis’ and geology and ‘God’s service pro- chooses a material vider,’ sheds new with cultural and light on her relation- historical relevance: ship to religion. slate.

© Zara Teller/Voland© Zara & Quist was awarded the Leipzig Book Fair prize and went The many places where poems are shared and on to become a bestseller with sales running into discussed include newspapers, radio (and some- Nora Gomringer’s six figures. In the ‘Edition Lyrik Kabinett’ series, times television) programmes, a diverse range of Gottesanbieterin produced in collaboration with the Munich-based magazines, various online poetry portals (including features expressive Lyrik Kabinett foundation, Hanser publishes par- Signaturen and Lyrikkritik), and private blogs. An illustrations by ticularly beautifully designed volumes both in Ger- extensive network of literature houses, cultural Zara Teller. The book man and in translation. centres, prizes and stipends also have an important comes with a special The broad spectrum of contemporary German-­ audio CD of Nora language poetry is enriched by other large and Gomringer reading medium-sized publishing houses too, such as Poetry Meets her own poems. C.H.Beck (whose list also features an annual poetry calendar), DuMont, Matthes & Seitz, Design Schöffling, Wunderhorn and Wallstein, imprints such as Luchterhand and Piper, and small presses like Elif, Edition Azur, Hochroth, Kookbooks, role to play in promoting poetry and good working Limbus Verlag, Parasitenpresse, Poetenladen, conditions for writers. For several years now there Secession, Verlagshaus Berlin and Voland & Quist, has even been an Academy of Poetry Criticism some of which are run by just one person or a (the Akademie für Lyrikkritik) attached to handful of people. Berlin’s Haus für Poesie, to help budding critics Many of these publishing houses also place par- hone their craft. ticularly strong emphasis on the design of their To come back to ‘good working conditions’: not titles: Kookbooks works exclusively with the graph- many poets write poetry full-time, since it’s so rare ic designer Andreas Töpfer, and the collections to be able to make a living out of it. But the poet published by Verlagshaus Berlin and Edition Azur Elke Erb, born in 1938, is one of the few who have often feature graphic illustrations produced espe- managed it. Like Friederike Mayröcker – born in cially for the volume. Vienna in 1924, and probably the ‘longest-serving’ female poet in the German-­speaking world – Erb

24 Holger Pils, Michael Krüger (ed.) Herta Müller Im Grunde wäre Im Heimweh ist ich lieber Gedicht ein blauer Saal (Hanser) (Hanser) This anthology of Herta Müller, winner work by poets of the 2009 Nobel who appeared at Prize in Literature, Munich’s Lyrik has ventured into Kabinett between new territory, creat- 1989 and 2019 ing visual poetry is a cloth-bound that is sensuous and

treasure trove. at times hilarious. München KG, & Co. GmbH Verlag Hanser © 2019 Carl

‘I wanted to send word to my friends,’ writes Wolfgang Schiffer, Herta Müller. ‘But Dincer Gücyeter (ed.) the postcards were all Cinema (Elif) such hideous colours. Marion Poschmann Work by 64 poets, One day I bought Nimbus wholly dedicated to some white index (Suhrkamp) the cinematic A book of spells as archetype: darkened cards and a glue stick, well as a magical room, flickering and I sat there on the object, in which the screen, moving train cutting words author conjures up images, and the various odes, ghosts countless stories and a black-and-white and other creatures. they convey. picture out of the newspaper with a pair of nail scissors.’ From trained as a teacher but went on to forge a career From this perspective, it is easier to identify then on, she did her as a poet in East Germany. To this day, Elke Erb the issues and themes that crop up in contempo- writing with paper and publishes her poems and prose almost exclusively rary German-language poetry alongside love, scissors. with small presses. In 2020 she was awarded the death, nature and urbanity. It is hard to consider Georg Büchner Prize for her literary oeuvre. In the form and content of poetry in isolation from Das ist hier der Fall, an anthol­ogy of her poems each other. But one issue which is becoming compiled by Monika Rinck and Steffen Popp, we increasingly prominent in a globalised, digitalised find a cross-section of Erb’s work. world, and which is also reflected in contemporary Many interesting voices in contemporary German-­ poetry, is the identity of the narrative voice in language poetry are women. As well as the grandes a poem. Who is speaking? In which language, or dames Erb and Mayröcker, poets of the ‘middle languages? generation’ – like Ulrike Draesner, Esther Kinsky If this has sparked your curiosity about poetry, and the recently deceased Barbara Köhler – and you’ll find you’re spoilt for choice. Anthologies younger poets such as Nora Bossong, Nora Gom- are a good place to start – like the Jahrbuch ringer, Nancy Hünger, Nadja Küchenmeister, der Lyrik, published annually since 1979, or Kerstin Preiwuß, Monika Rinck, Silke Scheuer- Im Grunde wäre ich lieber Gedicht, published by mann and Uljana Wolf also deserve attention. Holger Pils and Michael Krüger in the ‘Edition We can see a trend emerging among these youn­ Lyrik Kabinett’ series in honour of Ursula Haeus- Beate Tröger ger authors: many of them, having immigrated gen, the founder of the Munich institution which is a freelance literary from another country either alone or with their has done so much for the poetry scene. Alter­ critic, presenter parents, do not write in their native language but natively there’s the anthology Cinema, featuring and jury member. have switched to German entirely, or experiment poems by 64 different poets published by Elif She studied German, with their multilingualism in their poetry. Among Verlag. These are just a few examples of the many English and theatre them are Dagmara Kraus, born in Wrocław, Poland anthologies – some designed as festschrifts, some and film studies in in 1981, Alexandru Bulucz, born in Alba Iulia, based around a particular theme – that testify to Erlangen and Berlin, Romania in 1987, and Yevgeniy Breyger, born in the glorious diver­sity of contemporary German-­ and lives and works in Kharkiv, Ukraine in 1989. language poetry. ◊ Frankfurt am Main.

25 © Stiftung Buchkunst/Uwe Dettmar; Collage: textgrafik MOST BEAUTIFUL GERMAN BOOKS 2020 OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES OF DESIGN For more than 60 years, the Stiftung Buchkunst has been promoting­ stiftung- outstandingly designed books. The collection of the ‘Most Beautiful buchkunst.de German Books’ can be seen in many bookshops, libraries and uni­ versities in Germany, as well as at book fairs in Germany and abroad. 217 books were submitted to the ‘Second Jury’ of the 2020 competition for its final decision. These 25 were selected to receive awards. ◊

Sanyutei Encho Axel Simon, André Bideau, Jan Wenzel, Martin Gross, Die Pfingstrosenlaterne Adrian Streich Alexander Kluge et al. (Die Andere Bibliothek) Adrian Streich Das Jahr 1990 freilegen Architekten (Spector Books) Kurt Pinthus (Park Books) Menschheitsdämmerung Giacomo Santiago Rogado (Rowohlt) Rainer Eisenschmidt, G.S.Rogado, Insight Christian Koch, (School of Observation) Athena Farrokhzad Philip Laubach-Kiani et al. Bleiweiß Baedeker’s Handbuch Danièle Cohn, Eddy (Kookbooks) für Schnellreisende Devolder, Ulf Jensen et al. (DuMont Reiseverlag/ A.R. Penck. How It Works Karen Köhler Karl Baedecker) (Walther König) Miroloi (Hanser) Silke Bettermann, Otto Biba, Nam Tchun-Mo, Ingrid Bodsch et al. Olivier Delavallade, Thomas Böhm, Carsten Beethoven. Welt. Bürger. Beate Reifenscheid Pfeiffer (ed.) Musik Nam-Tchun Mo Die Wunderkammer der (Wienand) (Hartmann Books) Deutschen Sprache (Das Kulturelle Gedächtnis) Christian Sauer Oliver Jeffers Draußen gehen Die Fabel von Fausto Sebastian Knoll-Jung (Hermann Schmidt) (NordSüd) pflegen helfen (Württembergische Christina Schmid, Dita Zipfel Schwesternschaft vom Sabine Fessler Wie der Wahnsinn mir die Roten Kreuz e. V.) Treppauf – Treppab Welt erklärte (Prima.Publikationen) (Hanser) Maryan Abdulkarim, Rosalind Chou, Jochen Sandig, Christina Steinlein Carl Vadivella et al. Bettina Sluzalek, Raffaela von Ohne Wasser geht nichts! Yellow Book Salis et al. (Beltz & Gelberg) (Hatje Cantz) Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele 2020 Rae Mariz Jürg Düblin (Ludwigsburger Die wundersamen Zwölf In Stalins Reich Schlossfestspiele) (Reisedepeschen) (Scheidegger & Spiess) Isabelle Busch, Kathleen Antje Damm Hans Ibelings Reinhardt, Hilke Wagner Jeder Tag ist Ida-Tag Architecture and Argument Demonstrationsräume. (Moritz) (Hatje Cantz) (Spector Books) SELECTED TRANSLATIONS

Books That Travel 2021 These outstanding German books in translation will travel to book fairs all over the world.

german-stories.de/ travel-21 More information about the featured ood news! The Frankfurter Buchmesse sorcerer who looks back on a turbulent twentieth book collection has selected its ‘books that travel’ for cen­tury. There are brand-new bestsellers, fresh can ​be found here. 2021. The books transport English read- translations of classic works, and rediscovered Gers, wherever they are, to destinations as diverse gems by authors who are relatively unknown to as the Chinese and Russian empires of centuries English readers (but surely won’t be for long). past, present-day Silicon Valley, the pine islands Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children’s and young Riky Stock of Matushima Bay, and crowded refugee camps adult literature are all represented. has been in charge of on Europe’s borders. The books’ protagonists in- I’m thrilled to see the work of such talented cultural projects at clude a street-smart prosecutor investigating authors and translators on this list. At the start of the New York office Hamburg’s criminal underbelly, young lovers in a year when so many of us are keeping our distance of the Frankfurter the anti-Nazi resistance, an eccentric pianist who and staying close to home, we can nevertheless Buchmesse New York hates the sound of applause, and a 106-year-old travel with these books. ◊ (formerly the German Book Office) since 2002.

Fiction

Ulrich Alexander Simone Buchholz Paul Celan Boschwitz Mexikoring ‘Mikrolithen Der Reisende (Suhrkamp) sinds, Steinchen’: (Klett Cotta) Hamburg state Die Prosa aus Berlin, November prosecutor Chastity dem Nachlaß 1938. Jewish shops Riley investigates a (Suhrkamp) have been ran- series of arson at- This volume brings sacked and syna- tacks on cars across together the cele- gogues destroyed. the city, which brated poet Paul The Passenger is leads her to a Celan’s multifac­ an indelible portrait startling and life-­ eted but compara- of a man and a threatening tively unknown society careening dis­covery involving achievements as a out of control. criminal gangs. writer of prose.

28 Marc Elsberg Reinhard Jirgl Zero: Sie wissen, Nino Haratischwili Die Unvollendeten was du tust Das achte Leben (Hanser) (Blanvalet) (Frankfurter This tale of four Zero, an anony- Verlagsanstalt) generations plays mous activist, has An epic family saga out between the given the world beginning with ruins of Nazi a warning: stop the Russian Revolu- Germany and the the tech giants be- tion and swirling rise and fall of com- fore it’s too late. across a century, munist East Ger- An unputdownable encompassing war, many, the birth of technothriller by loss, love, ghosts, the Berlin Republic, an international joy, massacres and and the shadow of a author. tragedy. new millennium.

Reading contemporary German literature is like speaking with other passengers on the train, each coming at the world and language you share from a different place. Liz Lauffer

Esther Kinsky Franz Kafka Irmgard Keun Hain: Gelände­ Nachgelassene Ferdinand, der roman Schriften und Mann mit dem (Suhrkamp) Fragmente freundlichen ‘A Grove is a story (selection) Herzen of an existence (S. Fischer) (Ullstein) stilled by loss, but Selected by Kafka Keun captures a the promise of life, biographer and distinct moment in and with it renewal scholar Reiner Stach, Germany’s history, and hope, pulses these seventy-four when its people gently but steadily marvels by Franz were coming to at its heart.’ Kafka were long for- terms with World Winner of the 2018 gotten or overlooked. War II. Leipzig Book Prize.

Heinrich von Kleist Siegfried Lenz Michael Kohlhaas Karl Kraus Der Überläufer Knotty, darkly Die dritte (Hoffmann und comical, and Walpurgisnacht Campe) magnificent in its (Suhrkamp) Written in 1951, weirdness, this Austrian author The Turncoat is short novel by Karl Kraus was the the long-forgotten Heinrich von Kleist foremost German-­ second novel of is among the most language satirist of acclaimed author influential tales the early twentieth Siegfried Lenz. in German litera- century. This is Rediscovered after ture. First published the first complete Lenz’s death in in 1810. English translation. 2014.

29 Alexander Clemens Meyer Lernet-Holenia Die stillen Der Graf Luna Jonas Lüscher Trabanten At once a chase Kraft (S. Fischer) novel, black com­ (C.H.Beck) International edy, and softly Europe and Ameri- Booker-­longlisted keening death song, ca, classical learn- author Meyer Count Luna starts ing and Silicon Val- returns with a off at a gallop and ley come together striking collection accelerates into in a well-crafted of stories about warp speed. First novel about a man marginal characters published in 1955, facing the ruins of in contemporary this novel can now his life, and his Germany – as dark be rediscovered. world. as it is beautiful.

Sten Nadolny Klaus Modick Das Glück des Moos Zauberers Marion Poschmann (Kiepenheuer & (Piper) Die Kieferninseln Witsch) As a young boy in (Suhrkamp) In his final days, an Germany before Shortlisted for the aging botanist real- WWI, Pahroc Man Booker izes that his life’s discovers that he is International Prize work of scientific a sorcerer. Now, 2019 – a charming, classification has at 106, he is re­ playful, profound distracted him from counting his life for tale of lost souls the hidden secrets his infant grand­­ in search of of the natural daughter, who has transformation in world. talents like his own. modern Japan.

German-language literature is a translator’s dream: a cornucopia of Austrian, Swiss and German strands with their wealth of regional shadings and excellent works by non-native speakers. Tess Lewis

Judith Schalansky Christoph Joseph Roth Verzeichnis Ransmayr Erzählungen einiger Verluste Cox oder (selection) (Suhrkamp) Der Lauf der Zeit Best known for his A beautiful evoca- (S. Fischer) 1932 novel The tion of twelve lost The emperor of Radetzky March, treasures —a paint- China invites the Roth was also a ing, a species of famous 18th cen­ gifted author of tiger, a villa in tury clockmaker short stories and Rome, an island in Alister Cox to his novellas. This col- the Pacific – that court in Beijing. lection show­cases open new vistas of Storytelling can his astonishing how to think about truly conquer time. range and power. extinction and loss.

30 Lea Singer Der Klavierschüler Peter Stamm Timur Vermes (Kampa) Die sanfte Die Hungrigen The Piano Student Gleichgültigkeit und die Satten depicts an affair der Welt (Eichborn) between one of the (S. Fischer) A devastating, twentieth century’s Peter Stamm ex­ close-to-the- most celebrated poses a fundamental knuckle satire about pianists, Vladimir human yearning: to the haves and Horowitz, and beat life’s mysteries have-nots in our his young male by forcing answers divided world, by the student, Nico on questions that author of the inter- Kaufmann, in the have yet to be fully national bestseller late 1930s. asked. Look Who’s Back.

Wolf Wondratschek Peter Weiss Selbstbild mit Die Ästhetik Maike Wetzel russischem Klavier des Widerstands Elly (Ullstein) (Suhrkamp) (Schöffling) A literary sonata One of the truly A missing child is a circling the eternal great works of nightmare for any question of whether postwar German family. But what beauty, music and literature and an happens when they passion are worth essential resource come back? Elly is the sacrifices some for understanding a literary novel with people are com- twentieth-­century all the best qualities pelled to make for German history. of a thriller. them.

Non-Fiction

Götz Aly Books That Travel Europa gegen die Juden 1880–1945 (S. Fischer) 2021 From the award-­ winning historian of the Holocaust: the first book to move beyond Germany’s singular crime to the collaboration of Europe as a whole.

Wolfram Norman Ohler Rüdiger Barth, Eilenberger Harro und Hauke Friederichs Zeit der Zauberer Libertas Die Totengräber (Klett Cotta) (Kiepenheuer & (S. Fischer) A grand narrative Witsch) A thrilling day-by- of the intertwining From the best-­ day account of the lives of Walter selling author of final months of the Benjamin, Martin Blitzed, the incred- Weimar Republic, Heidegger, Ludwig ible true story of documenting the Wittgenstein and two idealistic young collapse of democ- Ernst Cassirer, lovers who led the racy in Germany major philosophers anti-­Nazi resis­tance and Hitler’s fright- whose ideas shaped in the darkening ening rise to power. the 20th century. heart of Berlin.

31 Peter Walther Max Weber Stefanie Stahl Fieber. Universum Vorlesungen Das Kind in Berlin 1930–1933 (selection) dir muss Heimat (Aufbau) A new translation finden An enthralling of two celebrated (Kailash) narrative history of lectures on politics, The breakthrough Weimar Berlin in academia and the million-copy the years before the disenchantment international best- Nazi takeover and of the world. Ger- seller about how to a dramatic account man sociologist befriend your of Germany’s slide Weber was one of inner child to find from parliamentary the most influential happiness. A step- democracy into theorists of the by-step guide. dictatorship. modern condition.

Heiner Müller Esther Dischereit Warten auf der Gedichte Gegenschräge (selection) (Suhrkamp) Whether in poetry, Best known for his fiction, radio drama postmodern play or sound installa- Hamletmachine, tions, Dischereit’s the dramatist Heiner work represents a Müller was also a unique departure gifted and prolific in recent European poet. This book writing. This is collects over four Poetry a poetry selection hundred poems, in- spanning three cluding unpublished decades. drafts and fragments.

Learning a number of foreign languages has been like gaining a permit to travel and it also means that I feel as at home in large parts of Europe as I do in London. Jamie Bulloch

Children’s and YA Katja Frixe, Florentine Prechtel (ill.) Der zauberhafte Wunschbuchladen Stella Dreis (Dressler) Der Bären­ What do you do vogelschatz when your best (Nilpferd) friend moves away? A book to inspire Clara takes comfort children to look in her favourite for treasures in the place: Mrs Owl’s Illustrated by Stella Dreis © 2018, NILPFERD in G&G Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Wien great outdoors. bookshop.

32 Books That Travel 2021

No wonder Hans went on to write his own plays and stories – he’d learned to fly thanks to his father’s book of fairy tales! From: Heinz Janisch, Maja Kastelic (ill.) Hans Christian Andersen: © 2020 NordSüd Verlag AG, Zürich/Schweiz Die Reise seines Lebens, NordSüd

Kerstin Gier Wolkenschloss (S. Fischer) Heinz Janisch, Witty and charm- Maja Kastelic (ill.) ing, bestselling Hans Christian author Kerstin Andersen: Die Gier’s contempo- Reise seines rary young adult Svenja Herrmann, Lebens novel follows a girl Józef Wilkon (ill.) (NordSüd) as she navigates Wolfskinder A sensitive portrait secrets, romance (NordSüd) of Andersen and and danger in an A journey of dis- his literary work, aging grand hotel covery through the with beautiful illus- in Switzerland. nocturnal forest. trations.

Linda Schwalbe Ida und die Welt hinterm Kaiserzipf Eva Muszynski (NordSüd) Wo ist die Maus? With expressive col­ (Beltz & Gelberg) Marcus Pfister ours, dynamic shapes Where can Matilda Leos Monster and an evocative Mouse be? An (NordSüd) text, Schwalbe’s de- adorably illustrated A hilarious story of but is a joyful tribute story about a sweet mystery, suspense, to Ida Pfeiffer, one friendship with and just a hint of of the first female a surprise ending. scariness. explorers.

Peter Wohlleben, Uwe Timm, Cale Atkinson (ill.) Axel Scheffler (ill.) Weißt du, wo die Die Zugmaus Baumkinder sind? (dtv) (Oetinger) When Nibbles, an This picture book inquisitive young by acclaimed author mouse, scampers and forester onto a waiting train Wohl­leben brings at the local station, the majesty of little does he know The Hidden Life of he is about to be Trees to the youn­ swept along. gest of readers.

© Greystone Books

33 Bookselling Heroes Kitchen Heroes

High culinary and baking art and classic recipes from famous chefs

Bread and rolls

1 2 © Sarah Reul

3

© Buchhandlung Böhm © Buchhandlung Lutz Geißler Krume und Kruste – Brot backen in Perfektion During the lockdown, shops had to (Becker Joest Volk) shut their doors. But many book­sellers found creative ways to get their books into readers’ hands. | 1 Customers of the Böhm bookshop in Eggenfelden Schöll © Rasmus Quick recipes can buy bestsellers from a converted vending machine, a loan from the local butcher’s shop. During the summer of 2020, the same machine was used for dispensing barbecue meat! | 2 Dieter Dausien from Buchladen am Freiheitsplatz in Hanau has been delivering customer orders by bicycle for a while now. Over the last few months, he and his team have clocked up many miles making their deliveries. | 3 The team at the Aegis bookshop in Ulm installed a camper van named ‘Wanda’ outside their shop, to serve as a collection point so customers could still place orders for books. Steffen Henssler Hensslers schnelle Nummer. 100 neue Rezepte zum Erfolgsformat (Gräfe und Unzer)

Six International Locations in German Novels Cooking as a couple

3

4 Roland Trettl Kochen zu zweit. Rezepte NEW YORK MALÉ CASTILLO DE für genussvolle Momente Ulla Lenze Roman Ehrlich LA MOTA (Südwest) Der Empfänger Malé Alexa Hennig von Lange (Klett Cotta) (S. Fischer) Die Wahnsinnige (DuMont) From grandma’s kitchen

CALLEkocht PARIS WALES ODESSA Aus Omas Küche. Hilmar Klute Mirko Bonné Charlotte Roth Lieblingsgerichte aus der Oberkampf Seeland Schneeland Grandhotel Odessa guten alten Zeit

© Background image by FBM/Anett© Background Weirauch (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) (Schöffling) (Droemer) (Riva)

34 Book Heroes 2020 Imprint

Publisher: Frankfurter Buchmesse GmbH, Braubachstraße 16, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main

Director: Juergen Boos Project Lead: Pernille Starck (responsible according to German press law) [email protected]

Responsible Editor (text and pictures): Karin Herber-Schlapp 1 2 Art Director: © FBM/Marc Jacquemin © FBM/Marc Maike Truschkowski Translation: 3 Kat Hall (p. 3, 10, 37–42), Romy Fursland (p. 4–9, 11,

© vntr.media 15–25, 34–36) Copy Editor 1 The German Book Prize 2020 was awarded to (English translation): Anne Weber for Annette, ein Heldinnenepos. Romy Fursland The award ceremony was broadcast live from the Photographs: Frankfurt Römer. | 2 For 40 years Litprom has Marcel Gregory Stock (p. 6), been promoting literature and authors from Africa, Christian Werner (p. 7–9); Asia, Latin America and the Arab World. The 2020 for further information LiBeraturpreis – awarded to a particularly popular see copyrights on the book by a female writer from this region – went to Bohm © Tobias pictures Lina Atfah for her book of poems Das Buch von der Illustrations: fehlenden Ankunft. | 3 The Board of Trustees has chosen the Indian economist and philosopher Amartya Sen Sabine Timmann (p. 43); as the Peace Prize winner of 2020. The award ceremony took place on Sunday 18 October 2020 in for further information Frankfurt’s Paulskirche, and the prize was presented by Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, Head of the German see copyrights on the Publishers and Booksellers Association. Amartya Sen was connected live from his home in Boston. illustrations Lithography: Dirk Staudt Printing: Druck- und Verlagshaus Zarbock GmbH & Co. KG

© Frankfurter Buchmesse New Books in German PEN Heroe GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, March 2021 No reproduction without prior permission of the Good stories travel and Ijoma Man- publisher. translate well. New Books gold is one in German provides ex­ of the 2021 pert rec­om­men­dations PEN Trans- With financial support from of dynamic and diverse lates award winners for his the Federal Foreign Office German-language fiction and non-­ novel Das deutsche Kroko­dil fiction that is ripe for translation into (The German Crocodile), English. Editors can quickly hone in on trans­lated from the German books featuring fresh voices that will ap- by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp. peal to their readers. All recommended­ Books are selected for PEN books come with guaranteed financial Translates awards on the ba- support for translation into English if sis of outstanding literary an English-language publisher buys the quality, the strength of the We would like to thank rights. The project is a collaboration be- publishing project, and their all publishers and copyright holders who provided tween Austria, Germany, and Switzer- contribution to UK biblio­ us with illustrations and land. new-books-in-german.com diversity. photographs.

35 DO IT YOURSELF Which monster is the scariest and why? And where do feelings come from german-stories.de/ Discoveries to in the body? There are so many diy unanswered questions out there. More information Combat Boredom Just ask and talk! about the featured Ralph Caspers: 99 harmlose Fragen book collection Have you watched every film there is to watch, (Duden) can ​be found here. played every computer game there is to play? Then it’s time to unplug your devices and get back to the simple things in life. ‘Do It Yourself’ is a collection of books to help stave off boredom, featuring all sorts of brilliant ideas for young and old, big and small, indoors and outdoors. Great for your sanity and for the environment, it’s 100% fun – guaranteed!

© DK Verlag/Nigel Wright Glue it yourself! Planing, sanding, sawing – working Not only is recycling kind to the with wood is fun and uplifting, environment and to your wallet – especially when you end up with it’s great fun, too! something beautiful to show for it. Heike von Schlebrügge: Pappkarton Just follow the instructions! (Hermann Schmidt) Praxisbuch Holz (Dorling Kindersley)

© Anita Ortega © Gräfe und Unzer Verlag/ Verlag/ und Unzer © Gräfe Julia Romeiß

© pixabay, congerdesign © pixabay, Who needs to go jetting off If you want to be happy all your Children bring colour to daily around the world all the time? life, plant a garden. life – so what could be more fun Holidays in ‘Balconia’ can be Luckily, it’s easy to get started. than making your own lovely too, if you create your own Baumjohann/Breckwoldt: non-toxic finger paints? little paradise at home. Ernteglück auch ohne Garten Morlock/Ortega: 77 tolle Sachen machen Romeiß/Faubel: Tiny Balcony (Gräfe und Unzer) (Oekom) (Gräfe und Unzer) © iStock/ferrantraite © Gabriele Chomrak © Gabriele

Come on, couch potatoes – So you want to eat better, One man’s rubbish is another there’s so much to discover live a healthier lifestyle and save man’s treasure – if you’re prepared outdoors! Wrap up warm, money? DIY is the idea of this to get creative! Upcycling is ‘in’, bring your parents and dive into series – and the volume ‘Küche’ and these extraordinary one- the adventure that is the will even help you learn how to of-a-kind interior design pieces will natural world. bake your own bread. delight even hardcore DIY fans. Martin Gebhardt: Bushcraft for Families Selber machen statt kaufen – Küche Gabriele Chomrak: CraftWerk (Migo) (Smarticular) (Becker Joest Volk)

36 READING TIPS FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

Weighty Subjects with a Light Touch

One feature of contemporary German-language children’s and young adult books is particularly striking: they’ve long since ceased to be tailored to the under-14s. The language, visuals and themes of these texts will delight readers from 0 to 99 years.

hildren’s and young adult books are no New non-fiction series german-stories.de/ longer afraid of weighty topics. Take the strengthen the STEM sector cbot C number of new incredibly well-produced Further information books on STEM and related science subjects, like Children’s non-fiction is currently experiencing about the Frankfurter robotics, brain research and micro-organisms. yet another boom. The internet may continue Buchmesse’s biannual These innovative non-fiction texts, which are also its triumphant advance in every area of our daily collections ‘Children’s visually impressive, show how complex ideas can be lives, but carefully researched, written and illus- Books on Tour’ can be effectively communicated to readers. And then trated non-fiction books still have a firm place on found here. there are the young female authors who refuse to our shelves – not least because they have an enor- shy away from really difficult topics like old age, mous (and ever-growing) advantage in terms of illness and death. They show how fast-paced dia- trust when it comes to reliable information. STEM logue, humour and unconventional plotlines can subjects – such as maths, computer science, the turn serious stories into great entertainment. natural sciences and technology – are thus con- sistently at the forefront, in line with social and educational trends.

Inga Marie Karsten Brensing, Ramcke, Folko Katrin Linke, Streese (ill.) Nikolai Renger (ill.) Eklige Die spannende Untermieter Welt der Viren (Kosmos) How is life created? und Bakterien Cockroaches, mites, What’s a pandemic? (Loewe) bugs and lice – How does our immune Everything you meet our top 20 system work? need to know most disgusting Nikolai Renger © 2020 Loewe This book explains. Verlag GmbH, Bindlach about hygiene. lodgers.

37 Karsten Brensing’s books often ignite lots of dis- Dolinger. Text and image go hand in hand and cussion. Since 2019, he has written key works not complement each other beautifully. The two books just for adults, but for children and young adults already out in the series – Die Eroberung des too. His non-fiction books for kids aged 9 and up, Weltalls (1) and Die wilden Tiere (2) – form a won- which together form a loose series, began with Wie derfully balanced offering that transcends media Tiere denken und fühlen (Loewe 2019), followed a boundaries. year later by the no less fabulous compendium Wie Tessloff Verlag is adding a non-fiction series called Tiere sprechen – und wie wir sie besser verstehen Space School to its well-established intermediate (Loewe 2020). And now there’s the highly topical reading series Der kleine Major Tom. The latter, Die spannende Welt der Viren und Bakterien, a now on its thirteenth book, delivers fast-paced

© Igor Dolinger Dolinger © Igor 2020 GmbH Verlag Carlsen non-fiction book on microbiology co-authored space adventures enriched with lots of factual in- with Katrin Linke. Recommended by the publisher formation. The new series is a logical and almost Eric erforscht is also for the ages of 9 and up, these books will illuminate inevitable step for a publishing house that has available as an and fascinate across the generations. Time and packaged non-fiction knowledge for children in educational podcast again, the author impresses not only with his exciting ways for 30 years. Among the subjects for children. knowl­edge, but with his exceptional eloquence. taught in Space School are the highly apt Aben- You can catch up on He challenges his readers, making us cleverer, but teuer Raumfahrt (Book 1) and Künstliche Intelli- the podcast here: also that little bit wiser and more attuned to our gence (Book 2). Subsequent books in the series, #kinderlandplus (animal) environment, which we will see with very according to the publisher, will cover technological #kinderlandnetz­ different eyes after reading his books. subjects that fit the futuristic space scenario of fundstück An absolute favourite that’s guaranteed to make Major Tom’s world. kids’ hearts beat faster and adults give a shudder or two – whether in a good way or not remains to be Pushing the boundaries – seen – is Eklige Untermieter. Author Inga Marie Ramcke and illustrator Folko Streese pull out all the female debut authors striking a the stops in a congenial collaboration that reveals new tone in young adult literature the smallest organisms in our immediate surround- ings. This can be quite unappetising at times, but is Death, old age, messy relationships, anarchy, and all the more amusing and enjoyable for it. The best being broke – not exactly the ideal themes for cre- kind of edutainment in pictures and words! ating entertaining young adult literature … Or are Carlsen’s brand-new STEM series is called Eric they? These debut authors set a high bar when it erforscht … It has a particularly nice add-on: a part- comes to their choice of subject-matter, language ner podcast in which eponymous author Eric and style. Using humour and linguistic finesse, Mayer, journalist and presenter of the ZDF series they effortlessly transform difficult topics into a PUR+ – Das Entdeckermagazin, delves into por- highly entertaining read. Sylvia Mucke has been tions of the books in interviews with experts. Facts, In Dita Zipfel’s Wie der Wahnsinn mir die Welt editor-in-chief at adventure and humour – it’s a winning combi­ erklärte, the gripping story of a girl trying to Eselsohr for more than nation, not least thanks to his successful collabo­ escape the madness of family relationships incor- ten years. ration with illustrator and graphic designer Igor porates the themes of aging, illness and death.

Dita Zipfel, Rán Flygenring (ill.) Eric Mayer, Igor Bernd Flessner, Wie der Dolinger (ill.) Stefan Lohr (ill.), Wahnsinn mir die Eric erforscht … Peter Schilling Welt erklärte (Carlsen) Künstliche (Hanser) Eric in Action! Intelligence Dita Zipfel has cre- In Book 1, he ex- (Tessloff) ated a wonderfully plores the conquest This non-fiction intrepid heroine of space, survives children’s book with the courage to a parabolic flight, contains numerous be different. tests the food photos, illustrations Awarded the 2020 of the future, and and ideas for Deutscher Jugend- much more. experiments. literaturpreis.

38 13-year-old Lucie just wants to get out, but to make that happen she needs a job. Instead of the dog-sitting gig she’s expecting, she’s asked to write a magical cookbook for an old man, and ends up becoming a carer and falling in love for the first time. Zipfel creates a confident and linguistically fast-paced plot that’s filled with lively chaos. No wonder the author was awarded a Kranichsteiner Jugendliteratur Stipendium (Kranichstein Young Adult Literature Scholarship), and the book won both the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Young Adult Literature Prize) and the Korbinian There it was, pinned to the Paul Maar Prize. noticeboard in the super­ Old age is also a leitmotif in Stepha Quitterer’s market: Lucie’s golden ticket book. Her central character Minna tries to high- to a better life. 20 euros for an hour of dog- light the precarious situation in an old people’s walking – this pooch was home through a school competition called Welt- going to change everything! verbessern für Anfänger – which is also the book’s From: Dita Zipfel, Rán Flygenring (ill.) title. Despite the harsh circumstances described, Wie der Wahnsinn mir die

Quitterer’s tone is never judgemental. The self-­ München KG, & Co. GmbH Verlag Hanser © 2019 Carl Welt erklärte (Hanser) ironic protagonists, the lovingly created characters and the fast-moving plot provide entertainment with depth. The novel was nominated for the 2019 and nominated for the Oldenburger Kinder- und Oldenburger Literaturpreis (Oldenburg Literature­ Jugendliteraturpreis (Olden­burg Children’s and Prize). Young Adult Literature Prize). Depictions of young people who end up in a hope- Hello, ich bin der kleine Tod!, the working title of less-seeming dead-end, symbolised by the back Anne Gröger’s debut, tries its hand at an old room of a supermarket where everyone works for theme: a personification of death is tasked with minimum wage, might sound problematic. But in collecting Samuel, a boy with an autoimmune dis- Christine Paxmann fact the opposite is true of Sarah Jäger’s Nach ease and a long history of hospital stays. But it is the author of vorn, nach Süden. Her motley crew of youngsters turns out that Death is still in training – and she numerous books for from seemingly uneducated backgrounds decide also happens to be a little girl. This would have adults and children to look for a friend who’s somewhere in Germany. been perfect – as Samuel is afraid of everything, and the publisher of With hardly any cash and a designated driver, especially germ-spreading children – if it weren’t Eselsohr, one of Lena, who has no driving experience, the group for his curiosity about life, a promise and a rather the most important skids into a road movie of encounters, new places imperfect little death. Once they realise they’re German-­language and surprises. Intelligently drawn characters and an unbeatable team, the two forge a wonderful journals for children’s sparkling dialogue make this book an aesthetic friendship. Filled with humour, this book makes and young adult delight. The book was awarded the Luchs Prize weighty topics feel light as air. The manuscript literature.

Lea-Lina Oppermann Sarah Jäger Was wir dachten, Stepha Quitterer Nach vorn, nach was wir taten Weltverbessern Süden (Beltz & Gelberg) für Anfänger (Rowohlt) Red alert! A (Gerstenberg) A crazy summer masked intruder in A thrilling story road trip one the classroom about making baking-hot July – forces everyone the world a better no plan, no air to carry out place, cross- conditioning, just tasks at gunpoint generational keep heading that drag their friendships and south. Fast-paced, secrets ruthlessly youthful bravado! funny and clever. into the open.

39 deservedly won the Oldenburger Kinder- und Jugend­­­literaturpreis (Oldenburg Children’s and Young Adult Literature Prize), and is due out with dtv in 2021. Was wir dachten, was wir taten explores a highly challenging set of themes: collaboration, betrayal, and a total loss of morality. Young author Lea- Lina Oppermann (born 1999) brilliantly reimag­ ines the theme of group dynamics while mastering an experimental format that features different omniscient perspectives. This ensemble piece, in which the boundaries between perpetrators and victims become blurred, is already on school read- ing lists. This small selection represents just a fraction of the new literary finds that are connecting with young people’s concerns right now, and that are worth reading no matter what your age.

Fresh Competition for the Giants: New Kids’ Comics Conquer the Market

‘Kids love comics’ – that’s the slogan helping to establish a children’s comic scene in the German-­ speaking world. We’re talking here about comics beyond the much-loved Franco-Belgian giants like Asterix and Spirou, or the American superhero © Esch/Kibitz Adventures await around every corner – you just have industry. ‘Yippie!’, the first German children’s to look closely. ‘I love riding with Dad on his scooter. comic festival, has been running in Frankfurt since The wind blows in our faces and the engine makes such 2017, and both the Erlangen Comic-Salon and the a wonderful roaring sound.’ From: Tanja Esch, Ulf und das Rätsel um die Neue (Kibitz) Hamburg Comic Festival have programmes dedi- cated to the genre. The German comic scene may be modest, but things are taking off. Ferdinand Lutz, one of its pioneers, is the creator of Q-R-T, a friendly alien on a mission to explore our strange world. The A school trip with an extraterrestrial promises to be a wild ride. From: Ferdinand Lutz, Q-R-T. Nächste short, beautifully judged episodes feature some Stunde: Außerirdisch (Reprodukt)

Ferdinand Lutz Q-R-T. Nächste Stunde: Tanja Esch Außerirdisch Ulf und das Rätsel © Ferdinand Lutz/Reprodukt © Ferdinand (Reprodukt) um die Neue An award-winning (Kibitz) alien: Q-R-T has A group of lovable already been voted junior detectives one of the best and a case that comic books of the takes increasingly year. bizarre turns.

40 Anke Kuhl’s brilliant stories of childhood begin with a

© Anke Kuhl © Anke visit to the ophthalmol­ogist – but then things take an unexpected turn. ‘My sister Eva keeps screwing up her eyes in this funny way.’ ‘I bet she needs glasses.’ From: Anke Kuhl, Manno! Alles genau so in echt passiert (Klett)

hair-raising complications and ingenious solutions. One notable new trend: publishers and authors Jakob Hoffmann Lutz also publishes the children’s comic Polle – his already established in the field of children’s books organises events new publishing house Péridot acts as a platform for are now taking a keen interest in comics. The re- featuring comic artists, the comic scene, helping to forge links with inter- sults are wonderful. Along with Philip Waechter’s including the ‘Yippie!’ national authors. mini-series Toni (Beltz & Gelberg), Anke Kuhl’s festival and the In 2020, Kibitz, a new publisher focused entirely childhood memoir deserves a special mention ‘Stories and Strips’ on children’s comics, decided to take the plunge. here. Manno! Alles genau so in echt passiert (Klett-­ series. He is currently It’s published Tanja Esch’s Ulf und das Rätsel um die Kinderbuch) deservedly won the 2020 Max and preparing an exhibition Neue, a story that elegantly addresses the issue of Moritz Prize for best children’s comic book in on Axel Scheffler dealing with strangers. The adventures of Nika, Er­lan­gen. letter envelopes, and Lotte und Mangold (Rotopol) also explore chil- What all of these comics share is an original style lives in Frankfurt am dren’s everyday lives. They’re told by author and an approach that shows life in all its diversity Main. Thomas Wellmann in an entertaining and original and contradictions: witty, pointed, keenly observed, fashion, with plenty of wit and an idiosyncratic, and not the least bit cute. These comic books take colourful style. children seriously and are highly entertaining. ◊

Anke Kuhl Manno! Thomas Wellmann Philip Waechter Alles genau so in Nika, Lotte und Toni will ans Meer echt passiert Mangold (Beltz & Gelberg) (Klett) (Rotopol) Toni is stunned A moving book for Nothing beats when his mum tells children and adults having friends to him their holiday that has tremen- charge through is off. He decides to dous range – from life with. There’s take matters into laugh-out-loud always something his own hands and funny to deeply sad happening or they promptly wins a trip and everything in make stuff happen. in a competition … between.

41 Share of turnover Retail book trade by sales channel (excluding e-commerce) FOREST OF BOOKS Sales in euros 4.29 billion (+0.4%) WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED TO SAY ABOUT GERMANY Books and the book trade in figures 46.2%* 2019 data for Germany, change compared to previous year in brackets Direct from Total turnover Internet booksellers publishing houses 9.29 billion (+1.7%) 1.86 billion (+4.2%) 1.97 billion (+2.5%) Other sales outlets 20.0%* 21.2%* *share of the total market Book clubs Mail-order book trade Department stores 0.90 billion (+1.3%) 0.03 billion (-8.1%) 0.12 billion (+6.1%) 0.12 billion (+0.7%) 9.7%* Who’s Afraid 0.4%* 1.3%* 1.3%* Industries in comparison Translations into German: Sales in euros most important languages of an Number of translations (first release) 9,802 (±0.0%) Licences sold abroad: most important countries Film industry Ehefähigkeitszeugnis? English Number of agreements Music industry 3.30 billion (+12.6%) 6,013 7,747 (-1.2%) 1.62 billion (+8.2%) A Column by Olga Grjasnowa Japanese (share: 61.3%) Computer and 1,017 French video games (share: 10.4%) 1,047 3.88 billion (+10.5%) (share: 10.7%) Russia Italy 608 China Children’s and young 481 (share: 7.8%) 1,363 adults (hardcover) (share: 6.2%) (share: 17.6%) 12.47 euros (+0.7%) ermany is a strange country. From the outside, everything looks beautifully organised, as if the How much do system is flawless and everything has its order – a wonderful German expression. Anyone who’s new books cost? ever used the German railways will have a pretty good idea of what I mean, and anyone who’s Textbook (hardcover) Book market G Fiction (hardcover) 17.88 euros (+5.7%) 9.29 billion ever inadvertently shown the wrong ticket on an ICE train will be similarly familiar with the unyielding 16.92 euros (+0.5%) (+1.7%) © Joachim Gern nature of German regulations. Lots of our politicians look respectable, corruption and self-enrichment 600,000 children happen behind closed doors, Angela Merkel is the epitome of human reason, and interior ministers take part in the Börsenverein reading competition every decide not to sue columnists at the last minute after all. Every aspect of life seems to be well regulated: year with 2,000 different Olga Grjasnowa for example, you can drive a car while naked, without so much as a speed limit on the motorway, but favorite books. was born 1984 in you’re not allowed to get out of a car in the nude. Nor may you marry while unconscious, or somehow fail Baku, Azerbaijan and is to tell someone that you’re in the process of entering into matrimony with him or her. one of the most Of course, regulations aren’t a bad thing, and after twenty years in Germany I don’t really get along with E-book market admired young Ger- countries that interpret the law more flexibly. But every now and then it seems to me that this kind of man authors. Her order is actually chaos. When I wanted to get married, I discovered that I needed an ‘Ehefähigkeits­ E-book 3.9 million 3.8 million 3.5 million 3.6 million 3.6 million 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 celebrated debut novel zeugnis’ – a ‘certificate of marriageability’ – because I didn’t hold German citizenship at the time of my buyers* A pile of all the new Der Russe ist einer, birth. I’ve lived in Germany since 1996 and was naturalised while still at school. Thus, according to the books published in der Birken liebt was logic of the registry office in question, it was quite possible for me to have married someone in Azerbaijan 2019 would rise to Fiction 2,100 metres awarded the Klaus- during the first eleven years of my life, and to have concealed this fact from the German state until Share of turnover 30.9% (-0.8%) and would be Michael Kühne Prize I was 30. So much for thinking that the same rules would apply to me after my naturalisation as do to E-books 27.0 million 28.1 million 29.1 million 32.8 million 32.4 million by product groups thirty times 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 and the Anna Seghers ‘Germans’. Unfortunately, it proved impossible to obtain a ‘certificate of marriageability’ from the Soviet sold* higher Prize. Her most Union in 2014. Furthermore, my husband-to-be was a Syrian citizen. He needed the same ominous bit than the giant trees in the rainforest recent publication is of paper, and it had to be issued by his ‘home’ authorities. At the time, those authorities were under the which reach up to 70 meters in height. Der verlorene Sohn. rule of the Islamic State. When we asked the official at the Berlin registry office whether he would really Sales share 4.5% 4.6% 4.6% 5.0% 5.0% All her novels have accept a signature from the self-proclaimed caliph al-Baghdadi, he nodded and added that at some point e-books* 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 been adapted for the it would become a matter for the administrative court. We got married two weeks later on a bitterly cold * Private use, not Children’s and Non-fiction incl. textbooks and young adults Companions New releases stage and translated island in Denmark. The ceremony lasted exactly five minutes and was recognised in Germany without the reference books 11.0% (+4.9%) First edition 17.2% (+4.6%) 14.2% (+3.0%) into several languages. marriageability certificates. Total book production Olga Grjasnowa lives German taxes are even stranger. At least all of the forms and bureaucratic evidence I submit to my tax Book consumption: 70,395 (-1.6%) with her family in advisor as a self-employed person every year – and all those folders full of yellowing invoices that have to Who reads how often? Education & Science Travel Berlin. be hoarded on my shelves for ten years – give me the right to call myself a writer. study guides Daily / several About once a week / About once a month / 10.4% 5.6% Taken as a whole, the volume of German bureaucracy is impressive. Just don’t ever mention the subject times a week every 14 days less frequently 10.7% (-0.8%) (-1.1%) (-1.0%) when you’re at parties abroad. Taxes are the death of small talk. Just like the coronavirus and its accom- Textbooks Children’s and Fiction panying regulations, there are lots of rules and hardly anyone understands them. At long last, Germany’s Women 4,435 (-8.3%) young adults 14,460 Men on the same page as the rest of the world. ◊ 39% 23% 18% 15% 43% 62% 7,969 (-9.5%) (+4.1%)

© Börsenblatt | MVB GmbH. Translation: Frankfurter Buchmesse GmbH. This poster was included as a supplement in Börsenblatt, Issue 32, published 6 August 2020. The information is taken from Buch und Buchhandel in Zahlen 2020 (Books and book trade in 42 figures 2020) from the German Publishers and Booksellers Association and is available online at www.mvb-online.de/bubiz. Editors: Sabine Cronau, Jana Lippmann. Design and Illustration: Sabine Timmann, www.infografik-hamburg.de Share of turnover Retail book trade by sales channel (excluding e-commerce) FOREST OF BOOKS Sales in euros 4.29 billion (+0.4%) Books and the book trade in figures 46.2%* 2019 data for Germany, change compared to previous year in brackets Direct from Total turnover Internet booksellers publishing houses 9.29 billion (+1.7%) 1.86 billion (+4.2%) 1.97 billion (+2.5%) Other sales outlets 20.0%* 21.2%* *share of the total market Book clubs Mail-order book trade Department stores 0.90 billion (+1.3%) 0.03 billion (-8.1%) 0.12 billion (+6.1%) 0.12 billion (+0.7%) 9.7%* 0.4%* 1.3%* 1.3%* Industries in comparison Translations into German: Sales in euros most important languages Number of translations (first release) 9,802 (±0.0%) Licences sold abroad: most important countries Film industry English Music industry Number of agreements 3.30 billion (+12.6%) 6,013 7,747 (-1.2%) 1.62 billion (+8.2%) Japanese (share: 61.3%) Computer and 1,017 French video games (share: 10.4%) 1,047 3.88 billion (+10.5%) (share: 10.7%) Russia Italy 608 China Children’s and young 481 (share: 7.8%) 1,363 adults (hardcover) (share: 6.2%) (share: 17.6%) 12.47 euros (+0.7%) How much do new books cost? Textbook (hardcover) Book market Fiction (hardcover) 17.88 euros (+5.7%) 9.29 billion 16.92 euros (+0.5%) 600,000 children (+1.7%) take part in the Börsenverein reading competition every year with 2,000 different favorite books.

E-book market

E-book 3.9 million 3.8 million 3.5 million 3.6 million 3.6 million buyers* 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 A pile of all the new books published in 2019 would rise to Fiction 2,100 metres Share of turnover 30.9% (-0.8%) and would be E-books 27.0 million 28.1 million 29.1 million 32.8 million 32.4 million by product groups thirty times 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 sold* higher than the giant trees in the rainforest which reach up to 70 meters in height. Sales share 4.5% 4.6% 4.6% 5.0% 5.0% e-books* 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 * Private use, not Children’s and Non-fiction incl. textbooks and young adults Companions New releases reference books 11.0% (+4.9%) First edition 17.2% (+4.6%) 14.2% (+3.0%) Total book production Book consumption: 70,395 (-1.6%) Who reads how often? Education & Science Travel study guides Daily / several About once a week / About once a month / 10.4% 5.6% times a week every 14 days less frequently 10.7% (-0.8%) (-1.1%) (-1.0%) Textbooks Children’s and Fiction Women 4,435 (-8.3%) young adults 14,460 39% 23% 18% 15% 43% 62% Men 7,969 (-9.5%) (+4.1%)

© Börsenblatt | MVB GmbH. Translation: Frankfurter Buchmesse GmbH. This poster was included as a supplement in Börsenblatt, Issue 32, published 6 August 2020. The information is taken from Buch und Buchhandel in Zahlen 2020 (Books and book trade in figures 2020) from the German Publishers and Booksellers Association and is available online at www.mvb-online.de/bubiz. Editors: Sabine Cronau, Jana Lippmann. Design and Illustration: Sabine Timmann, www.infografik-hamburg.de Let’s get in touch!

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