This October, we had the pleasure of attending the 75th annual Frankfurt International Book Fair! We are the owners of 44th & 3rd Bookseller in Atlanta, GA, where we have been in business since 2017.  We specialize in curating books by African American authors and authors from the African diaspora. We were able to attend thanks to the generous support of a  2023 Books Across Borders Scholarship, co-sponsored by SIBA and Independent Publishing Caucus (IPC). 

The City of Frankfurt is a combination of the modern and traditional.  We stayed at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Frankfurt.  Many of the Fair’s ambassadors, speakers and attendees also stayed here.

On Tuesday, October 17 we attended the opening ceremony at the Buchmesse Hall and Fairground.  The Hall was part of the Messe conference center where the exhibits and sessions were held.  We were happy to have arrived early and got acquainted with the Center.  The five exhibit hall buildings were recently built, beautifully designed and presented the publishers and exhibitors brilliantly.

The opening ceremony consisted of several speakers from around the world. Each year a host country is selected to highlight their culture and contribution to literary tradition.  As the host country this year Slovenia was prominently represented as part of the opening ceremony.  Slovenia President Nataša Pirc Musar shared the literary history of the country. Philosopher Slavoj Žiže spoke on his longstanding role as a peace maker in the Israel and Palestine conflict, and shared history on the subject which was received with mixed responses from a small group of audience attendees.

On Wednesday morning we met fellow bookseller Kate Layte, owner of Papercuts Bookshop in Boston, MA.  We hit it off right away and quickly became friends.  We headed over to the Messe Conference Center where the visual impact of the Fair was on full display.  We had a healthy lunch at one of the many restaurants inside the Buchmesse Hall.  But we were shocked that you could not get a mocha at any of the stations.  Apparently, Germany is really into the classic coffee with milk only. 

After lunch we were able to visit vendors and booths set up all over the Fairgrounds.  It was amazing to see so many publishers from around the world!  The Fair was basically divided in three sections; the guest of honor Slovenia had their own section, American publishers, and all other publishers from around the globe.  We saw books from American publishers that were showcasing American authors but in different languages.  We discovered at the Fair that each country requires independent publishing rights from the author.  Much of the activity at the Fair was the business of securing these rights to publish.  It was quite impressive. 

On Thursday, Kate and I were on the panel to discuss banned books in the United States as part of a morning session sponsored by the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF).  It was a great experience to talk about what is going on in our country regarding book banning.  We both spoke about our own  experiences as well as the condition and causes relating to book banning in the States.  Europe is not currently experiencing book banning, but they are afraid of what is happening here, and how it could ultimately impact them. 

I would have to say that what we found most meaningful about attending the Frankfurt International Book Fair would be the coming together of so many like-minded individuals, and seeing just how impactful literature is around the world.  We sometimes forget that there is a whole world of people who support all that we do as booksellers.  This makes us even more resolved and committed to continue what we do everyday in ensuring that books get into the hands of our communities. 

We want to thank SIBA for everything it does in making these types of events available to its member booksellers Overall, the entire experience for us was one that we will cherish for a lifetime. We look forward to attending the Frankfurt International Book Fair again in the future.