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LEIPZIG BOOK FAIR

(13 – 16 March 2008)

Leipzig, March 2008

“Leipzig Reads”: Europe’s biggest literary festival

  • around 1,900 events
  • 1,500 authors
  • 300 venues

“Leipzig Reads”, Europe’s biggest literary festival, is held this year for the 17th time as an established part of the Leipzig Book Fair. The focus is on young German literature and literature from central and eastern Europe. For the 2008 Book Fair, 1,900 events featuring 1,500 authors will bring an enthusiastic reading public into the city and to the Exhibition Centre.

Alongside the Exhibition Centre, the variety of unusual and particularly attractive reading venues transforms the entire city into one big reading platform. The literary festival is organised by the Leipziger Messe in cooperation with its partners Leipzig City, the German Publishers & Booksellers Association – Börsenverein, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Club Bertelsmann, the Leipzig Haus des Buches e.V., and the publishing companies exhibiting at the fair.

“We have enhanced the profile of the literary Book Fair in recent years with events such as the ‘Leipzig Long Night of Literature’, ‘Prose Prognoses’ and presentation of the ‘Leipzig Book Fair Prize’”, says Oliver Zille, director of the Leipzig Book Fair. “This year’s programme boosts our claim to be the most important fair for authors in the German-speaking area.”

The launch of around 150 books will be celebrated in Leipzig.

Numerous leading lights are expected

The authors make the “Leipzig Reads” festival what it is. Numerous well-known writers, politicians and actors have presented their works to a delighted public in the past. The list of famous names at “Leipzig Reads” continues in 2008: Martin Walser, Elke Heidenreich, Thomas Brussig, Götz Aly, Katja Lange-Müller, Clemens Meyer, Ken Follett, Jan Philipp Reemtsma, Josef Haslinger and Andrea Maria Schenkel.

Visitors can also look forward to celebrity guests such as Jürgen Trittin, Ulrich Noethen, Mathieu Carriere, Bruce Darnell, Michel Friedman, Eva Hermann, Hellmuth Karasek, Alice Schwarzer, Charlotte Roche, Helge Schneider, Heiner Brand and Claudia Roth.

The internationally known names include Rafael Chirbes (Spain), Slavenka Drakulić (Croatia), Roman Simić (Croatia), László Végel (Hungary), Feridun Zaimoğlu, Igor Šticks (Croatia) and Attila Bartis (Hungary).

“Leipzig reads” at over 300 venutes

The distinctive feature of “Leipzig Reads” are the many – often very unusual – reading venues. Leipzig reads everywhere: in bars, bookshops, museums, churches, galleries, hairdressing salons, in the county court and even at the cemetery. There are altogether 300 venues giving the literary festival its special character over these four days in March.

“Leipzig Listens”: 120 exhibitors and around 100 events

Nine years ago, the Leipzig Book Fair added the focus on “Audiobooks”. “With more than 120 exhibitors, around 100 events and a presentation from all ARD radio broadcasters, the Leipzig Book Fair continues to be the most important get-together for national audiobook publishers”, explains Book Fair director, Oliver Zille. “Leipzig Listens” not just at the fair, but in the town centre too. Fans of exciting readings can continue to enjoy themselves in the evening, thanks to the “Audiobook Nights at the Alte Handelsbörse”. The readers they can hear include Rufus Beck, Peter Sodann, Thomas Brussig, Felicitas Hoppe and Anna Thalbach. This series is backed and co-organised by MDR Figaro and the news magazine Focus.

At the MDR orchestra’s home on Augustusplatz, the “ARD Radio Night of Audiobooks” is now a traditional feature on the Friday of the fair. Carl Otto Conrady and Sophie Rois are among those appearing at what is now the eighth Radio Night.

“Leipzig Reads” Croatian

Sustained networking between the literatures of central and eastern Europe and the German-language book market, and thus with the world’s biggest translation market, is one of the Leipzig Book Fair’s main concerns. Particular attention is paid here to introducing and establishing young foreign authors on the German-language market.

This spring, Croatia will introduce itself at the Book Fair with a key focus presentation. “Our most important aim is to draw much more attention to the Croatian literary scene”, explains Oliver Zille, director of the Leipzig Book Fair. “In an ongoing three-year project, activities will serve to make Croatian literature and its most interesting authors better known on the German book market and secure their lasting distribution.” Public debate is to be stimulated on the role of Croatia as part of the European cultural landscape and the country’s special role as a mediator in the region. Existing stereotypes are to be dismantled and narrow political perspectives broken down. “With the help of literature, it will be possible to draw a sophisticated and real-life picture of contemporary Croatia”, adds Zille.

“Leipzig Reads” international:

Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding, Authorial Special Feature, European Borderlands

Numerous events also support exchange with various central and eastern European cultures: in the “Leipzig Reads International” Forum and in the Forum “Small Languages – Big Literatures” at the Exhibition Centre, as well as evening events all over town as part of “Leipzig Reads”.

The Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding has been presented since 1994 by Leipzig City, the State of Saxony and the German Publishers & Booksellers Association – Börsenverein. The award ceremony is held every year in March at the official opening evening for the Leipzig Book Fair. With 15,000 euros prize money, the award honours individuals who have rendered outstanding services in published form to the advancement of mutual understanding in Europe, but above all, with the countries of central and eastern Europe. This year’s winner is the Dutch non-fiction author Geert Mak.

The Authorial Special Feature is another long-established event, using literature to create a special link between east and west, focusing in the process on the problems of living together in a unified Europe. At this year’s Book Fair, authors from Romania, Spain, Poland, Serbia, Croatia and Germany present their essays on “Urban insights – acceptance and aggression in urban society”.

As part of the “European Borderlands” festival, 16 authors travelled together in June 2007 through Romania to the Republic of Moldavia. Some of them will be at this year’s Book Fair to report on their individual borderland experiences. They include Attila Bartis, György Dragoman, Nicolete Esinencu and Tanja Dückers.

2008 sees the sixth presentation at the Leipzig Book Fair of the forum for “Small Languages – Big Literatures”. 20 authors from 18 European countries who have made a name for themselves at home, but are still unknown in Germany, contribute to the European literary series with readings and discussions. In addition, the Berlin Literary Colloquium (LCB) Translation Workshop introduces its bursary participants.

In this way, the Leipzig Book Fair serves to promote dialogue and encounters in a Europe in which interesting authors from smaller countries often find it hard to access the book markets.

Young literature on show in Leipzig

For the third time now, the historic students club, the Moritzbastei, provides a major showcase for young literature during the “Leipzig Long Night of Literature” (L3 for short). Around 40 German-speaking authors are expected, with readings on the four platforms from Clemens Meyer, Thomas Pletzinger, Lucy Fricke, Thomas Podhostnik and Jenny Erpenbeck, among others. As always, the party in the Moritzbastei catacombs continues on into the small hours.

It is also the third time that a number of independent publishing companies have their own “Young Publishers Literary Corner”. Launched in 2006 with 11 participants, 20 publishing companies now present their lists and 46 events in Hall 5, seven of them from the east German region. Alongside blumenbar, Connewitzer Verlagsbuchhandlung and kookbooks, others in the joint project are Luftschacht Verlag from Vienna, mairisch, Peter Kirchheim Verlag, the Poetenladen, Reprodukt, Ventil, Verbrecher Verlag and Voland & Quist. Glück und Schiller, Lilienfeld, Primero, Schwarzer Freitag, and Salis from Zürich are first-timers this year, as well as a shared stand of young literary magazines. Alongside the non-stop programme throughout the fair, the public are invited to take part in a special quiz to test their know-how on publishers, their authors and new publications and can win prizes of signed books or unusual publishing and writer memorabilia.

This year for the first time, there will be a joint “Party of Young Publishing Companies” on the Friday. From 10.00 pm on, everyone is invited to celebrate with the publishers and authors at Leipzig’s Felsenkeller (Karl-Heine-Streasse 32, 04229 Leipzig).

Many young authors with great potential and surprising themes can be experienced at all these many different events. It is not just the public, but publishers too who come to the Book Fair city in search of tomorrow’s bestsellers. In cooperation with the Berlin Literary Colloquium, the Leipzig Book Fair’s series of “Prose Prognoses” gives hopeful newcomers a platform for their works.

The Leipzig Antiquarian Book Fair and “buch + art” – Art for Books – complete the spectrum at the Leipzig Book Fair in spring 2008.

Contacts for the press:

Gesine Neuhof

Press Officer

Phone: +49 (0) 341 678 8184

E-mail:

Heike Fischer

Director, Press Department

Phone: +49 (0) 341 678 8181

E-mail:

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