The Frankfurt Book Fair draws people from around the world together to celebrate and sell books. This year, SCBWI Germany and Austria organized an AirBnB apartment for members to use as a home base and a workshop with literary agent Hannah Sheppard. Since the fair is too large for one person to dissect and analyze, I asked SCBWI members to write up their own experience of the fair. Enjoy!
Patti
Buff
Having
only been to the Bologna Book Fair last spring, a fair that focuses solely on
children’s books, I was looking forward to seeing how “The Big Kids” played.
And I wasn’t disappointed. First off, Frankfurt is the largest book fair in the
world. There were four buildings to explore, one completely dedicated to books
published in German. Sprinkled around the other buildings though, were
publishers from every corner of the world, serving diverse markets from
dictionaries to virtual reality apps. But foremost, Frankfurt is a rights fair.
Millions of Euros worth of deals were made for books from all around the world.
Which lends an exciting vibe to the fair, the thought that at one of the many
tables around the fair, numerous authors and illustrators dreams of being
published around the world were coming true.
What
was also different and perhaps more “adult” about Frankfurt from the Bologna
Fair is the number of talks given at every minute of the day. Not only by authors
or publishing experts, but also on political topics such as Thinking Alternatives: Visions on the
consequences of the refugee crisis on Europe. Or Populism in Europe – the Role of Art and Culture. Both of which I
found extremely interesting. Another talk I enjoyed was the presentation of The White Ravens list of the best international children's and youth literature. A list compiled by the International Children's Library in Munich.
But
without a doubt, the highlight of my visit was the chance to hear Nujeen
Mustafa, a young Syrian girl with cerebral palsy who has lived her entire life
in a wheelchair talk about how she and her sister fled the violence in Syria
and came to Germany. On foot! And I realized that I still have so much to
learn, not just about publishing and writing, but about life in general. And
isn’t that what good art is supposed to do? Make us question everything we
know? I think so.
Katja
Jammer
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| SCBWI members Katja, Laurel, Patti & Chazda |
It
was my first time ever to visit a book fair and a rather spontaneous
idea. I wasn't disappointed at all. If anything, I was overwhelmed by the
sheer size and number of displays at the fair. Having only one day to spend, I
could not possible see it all. Best thing though, was meeting up with fellow
writers, bloggers and book-lovers in RL. Many I knew only via Facebook or SCBWI
Pages, but now we met in person.
I
will definitely consider going again next year.
Laurel
Decher
In
my German village—as charming as it is—there aren’t many people writing
children’s books in English. Recently, I’ve collected so much information,
but opportunities to process with other writers are rare. So I really
enjoyed connecting with other SCBWI writers in real life. I hadn’t met most of
them in person and they were delightful!
 |
| Photo by Marcy Pusey |
Some
of us met twice in two weeks because we were at Dan Wells’ free workshop in
Stuttgart and met up again at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Speaking
of opportunities, I admired the way our Regional Advisor Patti Buff stepped up
and engaged with people to find speakers for SCBWI events. Go Patti! One person
she engaged with was Jude Evans from Little Tiger Press who gave us a sneak
peek of picture books coming out in 2017. These beautiful works of art reminded
me again of the value of physical books.
A
bookmaking workshop reminded me how important play is when you make things.
Hall 4.0 is full of companies that provide the raw materials for physical
books. At the bookmaking workshop, you got to choose a piece of leather from an
amazing selection. Second-year students from the Gutenbergschule in Frankfurt
taught the double figure eight binding stitch. I never knew you
held the awl at a 45-degree angle to punch the holes through the paper and the
leather. It’s much easier than hammering a push pin through a bunch of pages.
Not that I ever tried that.
The
Fair is overwhelmingly big and there’s so much information coming at you that
it helps to have a fun and concrete goal. Mine was to get a Langenscheidt’s bag
from the heart of the busy German-language Hall 3.0. When I studied in
Germany, my Langenscheidt dictionary was my trusty companion. I scored one of
these screaming yellow bags with the giant aqua L after three years of trying.
The triumphs of life.
At
a panel about translators, an English-German translator who does children’s
books said you get to know the author by translating and that you become
friends because you have to understand before you can translate.
I
realized again how practical fiction is. Children’s books have a number of
purposes aside from telling a good story. For example, middle grade books are
for new readers. Kids read and enjoy and hopefully they go on to read more
books. Fun is critical. Years ago, I heard YA author Joan Bauer say: “It’s okay
to go deep but then lighten up and have a little fun.”
It
was so fun to have dinner with writers and speak English and talk about
everything from American elections to immigration and how Americans describe
their own national narrative.
Our
SCBWI visit to the Frankfurt Book Fair was fun and refreshing. I feel inspired
to write engaging books and try them in different channels, but I’ll also be
watching to see what my SCBWI writer friends are up to.
If
you missed the Fair, stay tuned; another NRW Scrawl Crawl is coming up Saturday
December 3th, 2016, 10-12 AM.
For
more about the Fair, see my post at The Winged Pen.
Catherine
Friess
It
was my first visit to Frankfurt Book Fair and as an accredited blogger I was
very excited to get a press pass. My main reason for going was to meet the
publishers who send me books to review on Story Snug and to browse through
their new titles. It was also useful for my own writing and interesting to see
where my picture books could fit into the market.
 |
| Photo by Marcy Pusey |
My
first impression of the Book Fair was Usborne Books’ beautiful green stand; at
that moment I felt like a kid in a sweetshop and didn’t know where to start
looking first. Thanks to the Frankfurt App I had a good idea of where the
people I wanted to see were located and I knew which talks and events I wanted
to attend. A tour of international children’s publishers at the beginning of my
visit helped me to get my bearings and then I just browsed and talked to
various publishers, it was also great to spot books by SCBWI members.
It
was fun sharing an apartment with SCBWI Germany/Austria members, seeing old
friends and meeting new ones. Hannah’s submissions workshop gave us a chance to
think about our own writing and although I was only away for a night it still
feels that I packed a lot into those two days. I hope that we can do it all
again next year!
Chazda
Albright
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| Photo by Marcy Pusey |
The
Frankfurt Fair this year was considerably more relaxed. What struck me
immediately is that people were dressed much more casually than in previous
years (I didn't see any $2,000 suits or outfits, which used to be the norm).
All in all, everyone was more approachable. There were only a couple of people
who were clearly too stressed-out to talk with me, and under those specific
circumstances it was understandable.
There
was only one publisher who has a closed-mouth policy, in that they don't allow
anyone - not even their hostesses - to make any kind of statement. The
publisher-reps only speak with those who have made a previous appointment.
Everyone else I approached was allowed to speak to other people - even others of
The Big-Five.
For
me personally, this was the most fun book fair. I've never before been greeted
so warmly and with such interest by other publishing professionals. It was
really great to meet other SCBWI members, people who I had either met in
Bologna or whose names I previously had only seen on my computer screen. That
makes it even more fun, and honestly, much more laid-back.
The
scale of Frankfurt never fails to impress me. What's changing is the number of
indie and self published people who are joining in the fair - and ultimately,
changing it for everyone. Even The Big Five.
Marcy
Pusey
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| Housemates Laurel, Patti, Catherine & Marcy |
Even
though I've lived in Germany for five years, I've never attended the Frankfurt
Book Fair until this year. I just couldn't wrap my brain around how spending
that money and time would benefit me as a writer, since much of the fair is
about selling foreign rights (or so I thought). I'm so glad I went! It's not
beneficial in the ways I normally look for... meeting agents and editors
(though we did meet a sweet agent at a workshop in our Airbnb) or attending
workshops that directly impact my writing. It was beneficial in the way of
connecting myself with the global industry of writing and publishing. It was
MASSIVE. I spent hours on the children's lit floor and could have spent many
more. There's also a whole section on self-publishing, which I've done with one
book for adults now and I loved connecting with that part of the industry as
well. My favorite, of course, was spending the time with other SCBWI writers
and illustrators, chatting over dinner, snatching Dan Wells for dinner, and the
moments in between where we share life, our work, and meet face to face. I
chose to only spend a few hours of one day at the fair... in the future, I
would definitely go for a few days and take my time soaking in everything
that's available there.
Linda
Hofke
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| Piper Author panel with Dan Wells |
I
attended only on Saturday. Since the Frankfurt Book Fair is gigantic, I didn't
get to see everything. I spent most of my time perusing the English children's
books to see what topics/books are new or popular at the moment. It is so
beneficial to know the market. I also had a pleasant conversation with the
representative at the Highlights for Children booth, watched an authors panel,
met some new SCBWI friends, and even bought a few books for the bus ride home. It
was a very long but enjoyable day.
Thank you everyone! As you can see, the Frankfurt Book Fair is a varied as the books being published every year. Below is the official video of the fair I thought you might enjoy. I hope to see more members and members' books there next year!