The 75th Frankfurt Book Fair Comes to An End in Germany

Today marks the last day of the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair, which began on October 18th. The forum has featured over 4,200 participants from 95 countries around the world, with the main theme being war.

This information is reported on the official page of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

"The Frankfurt Book Fair is a place where you can obtain valuable information about the publishing industry from top-notch experts in the field as part of our professional program in the Frankfurt Studio and at many other venues," the announcement states.

Slovenia and its publishing sphere were chosen as the main guest of the fair this year. The theme of the Slovenian pavilion is "Honeycomb of Words," symbolizing the diversity of Slovenia as a country that combines not only its tourist potential and numerous European influences but also a rich and diverse literary culture.

"This year's honorary guest, Slovenia, will present itself not only as an attractive travel destination but also as a country with ancient literary traditions," emphasizes the Fair's page.

Despite previously planned concepts, the actual main theme of the world's most significant book exhibition became war.

The popular Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek caused a scandal during the opening ceremony. Žižek condemned the terrorist attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement HAMAS on Israel and emphasized the need to "listen to the Palestinians and consider their past."

Another sensitive point was the decision by the organizers to cancel the awarding of the LiBeraturpreis during the fair. Previously, it was expected that the Palestinian writer Adania Shibli would receive the award.

In the pavilion for foreign publishers of the Frankfurt Book Fair, there is also a Ukrainian national stand. It covers 200 square meters, twice the size of last year. The central design concept of the yellow-blue stand is a large blue flower in 3D graphics and the inscription "Fragility of Existence."

This is the motto of the Ukrainian national stand this year. The organization of it was carried out by the Ukrainian Book Institute, the Goethe-Institut branch in Ukraine, the "Mystetskyi Arsenal," and the Ukrainian Institute.

"Fragility of Existence" focuses on the challenges posed by the full-scale war of Russia in Ukraine - massive missile strikes, winter power and heating outages.

In total, Ukraine presented over 500 books from 43 publishers. Within the framework of the national stand and at the stands of the "Mystetskyi Arsenal" and the Ukrainian Institute, discussions and debates are held. In particular, you can hear and meet Ukrainian writers, translators, publishers, and public figures who have participated in international discussions and Ukrainian programs.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is one of the oldest book events in Europe and has its history dating back to the mid-15th century when printers from various parts of the continent came to Frankfurt. After a temporary pause at the end of the 19th century, the fair's work was fully restored in 1954.