The 53rd Frankfurt Book Fair goes on as planned in spite of the present situation.

"The weather in Frankfurt was fantastic--clear, bright, warm, and beautiful, the best in my 11 years there. A lot of people seemed to favor lingering on the outside with a beer in favor of working on the inside on a deal. On October 11th, the Fair declared two minutes of silence in honor of the victims at the exact moment of the attack. It was very moving in terms of the number of different nationalities caught in the aisles and standing stock still at 2:48 pm that day." - Godfrey Harris

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Report from Frankfurt: 53rd Book Fair Succeeds Under Trying Circumstances

International publishing community draws closer together in the shadow of current political events.
A LOOK FROM ABROAD: Thoughts On Frankfurt Book Fair 2001

I left the US for Frankfurt on the day after retaliation began for the September 11th attack. While I did not think that I was in any particular danger, I was concerned what might occur at home in my absence. The security at the airports, compared to the previous to and fro out of Boston, was considerably enhanced. The National Guard was in evidence, even if no one was sure what his or her role was. The one major lesson I learned was no matter how recently you have traveled, the rules will change as new threat assessments are made.

Example: At United's terminal at LAX, all men are now required to remove their belts for x-raying; seems the FBI thinks non-metallic weapons could be successfully hidden in belts passing through the metal detectors alone. I do not know whether other terminals are doing it the same way. I do know that it was not required in San Francisco when I passed through security there.

The only untoward event was a triple check of tickets against IDs...first the security folk, then the boarding officials of United, and finally the cops. I was surprised, but they were apparently looking for people on their watch list. More than 600 have been taken into custody so far for questioning. Add one more from our flight. The cops grabbed a guy on the jetway, handcuffed him, and hauled him away just minutes before he was to leave with us. That gets you thinking in overtime during the entire length of a 9-hour flight.

Scenes from Frankfurt.
To my confusion at first, but then to my great delight, the U-bahn (subway line) that I take has now been extended from its former termination point at the Frankfurt Haufbahnhof (main railroad station) to the front entrance of the Messe (fair grounds)...cutting my daily journey in half! I delighted every time I road the U-Bahn door to door. On my first evening in Frankfurt, I had a glass of tea at one of the ice cream cafes in the Bornheim neighborhood where I stay. As I rose to pay the bill, my leather coat swept across the table, knocked the glass to the marble floor, and smashed it to bits, much to the horror of the dog owners who had their pets by their sides. The owner said nothing. The next night I returned. I wanted to give him business to make amends. I asked for the same thing, but to my obvious chagrin he served the tea meaningfully in a heavy pottery cup that would bounce off the floor if I were to drop it.

Cell phones can become problems anywhere you go. But nothing was more disconcerting than standing at the urinal in the men's room at the American pavilion when the cell phone of a guy on a toilet went off. With no other conversation or sounds to distract the people doing their business, everyone got tuned into how the guy would handle the call. Rather than cut if off or wait for a reasonable amount of privacy, he did his business as if he were at his desk and with all of us listening to every word.

At the house where I stay, the lady had the knob in the 1m x 1m shower changed since last year. I could barely turn in that space before, but last week every time I moved or turned, I hit the knob, experiencing either a scalding or freezing trickle or deluge depending on how I hit it.

Finally, years ago some of you will remember how advertising space was sold on the faces of parking meters in some cities in the U.S. and Canada. The Germans have now gone that idea one better. They sell the back of the headrests in taxi cabs for advertising. A slipcover over the headrest advises riders the best way to connect to the internet is now through "dot biz." It was a message that hit you right between the eyes--literally. Notes from the Fair
The events of September 11th, the subsequent US retaliation, and the details of the anthrax episodes in the US were on everyone's mind. They seemed to overshadow every conversation. The Fair said that some 60 of 6000 exhibitors formally cancelled, most from North America. My guess is that a lot of additional companies simply didn't show up, given the number of stands that were empty. In addition, a lot of attendees stayed home, including a number with whom I had appointments. One of our South African colleagues reported that 26 American buyers had cancelled meetings; another Indian said he lost 24 appointments. The Oktoberfest in Munich concluded as the Fair opened, reporting that the sale of beer was 20% less than last year! Clearly, the effects of the attack are being felt worldwide.

While two American flags flanked the flags of all the other nationalities represented on our stand, some were concerned that it would make us a target. On the other hand, security at Hall 8 was obvious at every entrance with all bags and packages inspected-an unbelievable chore given the amount of samples, posters, cards, catalogs, and other material people accumulate and carry with them in bags at a book show. It discouraged a lot of repeat visits from people who did not want to put up with the delays.

Moreover, the weather in Frankfurt was fantastic-clear, bright, warm, and beautiful, the best in my 11 years there. A lot of people seemed to favor lingering on the outside with a beer in favor of working on the inside on a deal. On October 11th, the Fair declared two minutes of silence in honor of the victims at the exact moment of the attack. It was very moving in terms of the number of different nationalities caught in the aisles and standing stock still at 2:48 pm that day.

In all, I characterize this year's Fair as subdued and clearly slower in our area than in year's past. The caution and hesitation to make commitments was palpable. One clear manifestation of this was the number of catalogs that were taken (virtually everyone we had printed), with the statement that they would be in direct touch when the path toward the future was clearer.

Finally, I am always asked how business was on a trip like this. I have to respond in terms of how I did for Harris/Ragan's interests as well as how I did for the publishers I represented. I think I did amazingly well for most of the publishers; some, though, unhappily had their books almost totally ignored. As for myself, I received 9 serious requests for proposals from companies needing help in entering or expanding in the US market. Some of them look promising and interesting. I think I have to say, then, that this trip was a pretty good experience, especially in light of the events of the last month.

* * * * *

Godfrey Harris
Executive Director of International Publishers Alliance
9200 Sunset Blvd.,Suite 404
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Tel: 310 278 8037; Fax: 310 271 3649; email: hrmg@aol.com

International Publishers Alliance is a cooperative of some 650 small and independent publishers who come together for the purpose of displaying their titles at the world's major international book shows. Harris has been executive director for nine years. Report from the Frankfurt Book Fair Press Center
The 53rd Frankfurt Book Fair was an occasion when the international publishing community drew closer together. In the face of current political developments, the Book Fair proved to be an important global trading center between cultures and a venue for dialogue. Books demonstrated their symbolic power as a medium for authentic exchange of views and ideas. German politicians such as Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and Minister of State Julian Nida-Ruemelin took the opportunity of the Book Fair to emphasize the importance of the printed word for freedom of speech and the values of democracy.

Despite the tense political background, the first three trade days at the Book Fair were dedicated to international trade in rights and licenses. Naturally enough, there was particular interest this year in themes providing the insights that could promote better understanding of current events, as well as in issues of religion. Publishing companies from the Arab region, as well as from Southern Asia, the Middle East and Africa, attracted a great deal of interest. Long-term activities of the Frankfurt Book Fair helped to establish a tightly knit network of professional contacts and relationships.

The international participation was very high as usual, and again made a profitable license trading fair possible. We had less cancellations in the last weeks before the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair as we expected due to the political situation. Only 56 out of 6,700 registered exhibitors from 105 countries cancelled, among them 34 coming from publishers and agents in the USA. The volume and quality of business deals was barely affected by the cancellations. Individual withdrawals from Eastern Asia, in particular from Japan, do indicate on the other hand that more needs to be done in the years ahead on developing professional dialogue in these regions as well.

Guest of Honor Greece was very successful with the public at the Frankfurt Book Fair. More than 40 translations of recent Greek literature were presented by German publishing houses. The presentation of a very diverse cultural exhibition with spectacular use of multimedia impressed in the newly constructed "Forum". All in all, 45,000 visitors attended the Greek presentation.

As had been expected, total attendance at the 53rd Frankfurt Book Fair until Sunday evening was 14 per cent lower than last year with 247,117 visitors, caused by a generally reserved attitude among the public towards big events. The extensive security arrangements in place for the Frankfurt Book Fair were generally accepted by both public and exhibitors. There were no incidents.

The presentation on Sunday of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to Juergen Habermas honored a political thinker "who is regarded by a worldwide readership as the leading German philosopher of the epoch" (in the words of the jury). In his acceptance speech, Juergen Habermas referred to the obligation of secular societies to enter into dialogue with religious believers. His words met with a wide international response as the philosophical justification for seeking to achieve cultural dialogue across all boundaries.

Virtual Book Fair
All information on the Frankfurt Book Fair can be found in readily accessible format on the Internet at www.frankfurt-book-fair.com. Items at the website include the complete Frankfurt Catalogue of exhibitors, a Who's Who of international publishing with 15,000 names, as well as the entire Calendar of Events

(* Note: Also see our Industry Update column for more late-breaking Frankfurt stories)