This year, the Leipzig Book Fair is hosting the spring meeting of the literary industry under the motto "Words move worlds". The fair, which runs from March 27 to 30, comes at a difficult time economically, especially for smaller publishers. Fewer books were sold in 2024 than in the previous year. The Börsenverein puts the decline at 1.7 percent. Because books became more expensive, sales increased by 0.8 percent. The aim of the book fair is to promote reading. This will be important at the fair this year:
New audio world
"Reading is also discovered through listening", said Book Fair Director Astrid Böhmisch. The fair has set up an "Audio World" for the first time. On a stage and in three listening islands, interested visitors can discover audiovisual content ranging from audio books to podcasts. Böhmisch believes that the fair is responding to an important development in the industry with the audio world.
Guest country Norway
After Austria, the Netherlands and Flanders, Norway is this year's Guest of Honor at the Leipzig Book Fair. The Scandinavians are presenting almost 50 authors in Leipzig, including stars such as Karl Ove Knausgård and Maja Lunde. However, Margit Walsø, Director of the "Norwegian Literature Abroad" association, said that the explicit aim of the Guest of Honour presentation was to showcase the full diversity of Norwegian literature. The Norwegians also have many children's books in their luggage.
Colorful manga world
The Manga-Comic-Con is a separate trade fair, but is inextricably linked to the book fair. The often imaginatively dressed visitors provide a splash of color worth seeing between the stands of the classic publishers. The fair management is banking on this mix and sees the mostly young people as the readers of the future. At the manga fair itself, the offer ranges from signing sessions and cosplay to Japanese workshops.
