For the first time in its history, the Leipzig Book Fair has attracted more than 300,000 visitors. As the organizers announced on the last day of the fair, around 313,000 guests came to the book fair, the associated reading festival "Leipzig liest" and the Manga-Comic-Con. This means that the fair clearly exceeded the previous record set last year by 17,000 visitors. For four days, 2,044 exhibitors from 54 countries presented themselves in Leipzig.
Declining sales in the book trade
Despite the party atmosphere and all the colorful hustle and bustle of the trade fair, these are uncertain times for the literary industry. Last year, the book trade suffered a 2.9 percent drop in sales after years that had previously been largely stable. And according to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, the first months of 2026 were also weak and below the previous year's level. The consumer climate remains weak due to the wars and crises around the world.
