Visiting Frankfurt Book Fair
In the midst of everything else that has been happening, I haven’t forgotten my intention to visit the Frankfurt Book Fair, and finally decided to commit, and make a holiday of it, two weeks beforehand. Our daughter has been on half-term break until today, and Daddy welcomed the chance of a breather, so I booked the fare, the accommodation and the Bookfair ticket, and we set off last Tuesday, arriving at Frankfurt mid-afternoon. Here we are in Germany, I thought, at last. Unfulfilled ambition – sorted.
The Frankfurt Buchmesse is the world’s largest event of its type in the publishing industry, attracting two hundred and eighty thousand insiders and professionals from across the globe. I was set at liberty to get my bearings in the enormous complex of buildings that are the Messe Halle. Six halls were used for the Fair, plus a central area outside, though there are eleven halls in total, with a twelfth under construction. But though the space can get a bit noisy, the halls are so huge, there is never any sense of claustrophobia.
A typical conversation with anyone you randomly meet or bump into there – sharing a table, queuing for drinks – will start in German, quickly segue to English, and if that produces no reaction, into Italian or French. The locals are very patient, and enjoy practising an array of different languages. After listening to my faltering attempts to converse in German – introductory phrases are fine, but conversations are another matter – daughter offered the sage advice to start in English and keep to that, or others would become confused. She was correct. Here are some other pointers, for any aspiring authors hoping to make the trip to Frankfurt next year.
- Start saving. With the euro hovering at around parity with Sterling, travelling, dining out and having fun are more costly that we might imagine.
- If you really mean business, try to have a formal interview or two lined up before you go – with publishers or agents, perhaps – but not on the first day, which will probably be spent getting lost.
- Reconcile yourself to walking at least ten kilometers every day. Wear comfortable shoes and take a bottle of water.
Please share:
October 25, 2016 @ 3:53 pm
I am so glad you made it Fran. I hope there will be more posts about your experiences.
October 25, 2016 @ 3:59 pm
Lovely to hear from you, Diane. Thank you! We made it there and back in one piece, though OH got ill. Advice: never eat a club sandwich in an empty restaurant at lunch-time. Poor fella is back to work today….looking a bit peaky.
I’ll do another post soon about the FBF. Do you have any questions I might attempt to answer?
October 25, 2016 @ 5:44 pm
glad I didn’t go after reading this! it all sounds overwhelming
October 26, 2016 @ 10:16 am
Oh, it was okay, Jennie. Just a bigger version of London, which, the first day I went, was indeed a bit more than whelming. Frankfurt takes place in such big spaces, though, and is remarkably well organised, so it feels smooth, though I found the shortage of seats a bit trying. Mostly they were to be found in the English speaking sections in Hall 6, or hidden away in the upper reaches…. 🙂
October 25, 2016 @ 10:50 pm
I’d love to hear more of what you learned and did at the book fair, as well as any interesting episodes (besides the club sandwich fiasco!)–and whatever else was memorable!
Elouise
October 31, 2016 @ 11:13 pm
I think I would freak out a little at the sheer enormity of the Frankfurt venue. I do understand a little German because of my Yiddish grandmother and her habit of speaking privately to my mum in the old language. On the radio this morning I was amazed to hear that many German Jews and their families in the UK who escaped Nazi Germany have applied for German nationality so that they can still have EU passports after Brexit. Of course some of the die-hard survivors are disgusted by the idea but I can understand why German Jews value their cultural heritage. I have to admit that the Germans have handled their relatively recent unpleasant history in a very honest and straightforward way.
November 1, 2016 @ 1:57 pm
Hi Tam, thank you for popping in 🙂 Yes, I enjoyed Frankfurt, though it is very much a business centre. We had a lovely trip on the river. And yes, I agree with you, that the perspective of many – very cosmopolitan – locals, puts our own prejudices to shame. I felt very comfortable there. 🙂
November 1, 2016 @ 5:30 pm
I was 17 when I first hitchhiked solo through Germany and felt rather nervous about travelling through the fatherland, especially with my own tragic family history. The commando comics I read as a child also perpetuated the Nazi stereotype of our enemies. “Himmel ein Englander!” followed by a burst of machine gun fire, Arrggghhh, Mein Gott! then,”Take that Fritz!” from one of our fearless muscle bound hero paratroopers. I have to say that my journey through Germany on the way to Istanbul was positive and pleasant with plenty of help from people I met. The year was 1966.