Tour of the book fair: everyone has more time for one another

The new clarity is marked by wide strips of screed on the left and right of the gray-red carpets.

Suddenly wide boulevards instead of the usual narrow streets and gorges between the stands - the fair must have run out of carpets, a passerby teases.

That could even be true.

After all, with so much space in front of and behind, to the left and right of the stands, you've never had to deal with anything.

Florian Balke

Culture editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Eva-Maria Magel

Head of culture editor Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The bare concrete floor that visitors now have to walk over, because the whole book fair in its Corona edition lies in the exhibition halls as if constricted, has never been seen before.

Meanwhile, book fair director Juergen Boos explains at the in-house podcast stand N99 at

that this year's innovations are being evaluated to see what will be retained for the next time.

For example, he thinks the wide corridors are very beautiful.

The many blind spots are less.

The sparse video art of the B3 Biennale, for example, flickers all alone on the screed and the partition walls of the “Arts +” department in the Forum hall.

"A happy reunion"

It has never been so quiet before.

There are significantly fewer readings and literary discussions at the stands, the cacophony of which is normally part of the basic noise of the fair.

On the public days, there will be significantly more encounters with authors - in front of some unoccupied rows of stools, only videos of conversations are currently running into the void.

In return, it seems, there is more time for dialogue.

Groups of two can be seen everywhere, most of the publishing house representatives have fewer appointments than usual, so there is time for a chat in between.

Booksellers would come to the stand spontaneously and would be delighted to be in contact with the publisher again after a year and a half of digital meetings, says Sabine Bischoff, managing director of S. Fischer Verlag: "It's a happy reunion."

As a Frankfurt publisher in particular, it was always an opportunity for many employees to show their presence at the book fair.

But Fischer also had to reduce that this year.

It had to be weighed up who was needed at the stand and who was not, after all, clearances had to be maintained and the number of people was limited.

The booth is now smaller, less angled, but there are benches to read into the books - and two large tables for conversations.

“Sitting at the table and talking is something completely different, it has a different dynamic,” says Bischoff.

This book fair also has a great impact on the visibility of the book and the attention for novelties and authors.

Having a voice again, showing presence and signaling that things are going on, has persuaded more publishers to come to the book fair than initially feared.

Thanks to the funding from the federal program “Neustart Kultur”, the book fair was able to reduce the stand fees significantly, smaller publishers present themselves more lavishly than ever before - because of the distance rules and accommodating solutions.

Barrier tapes, arrows on the floor and on signs are intended to guide visitors, especially on public days - at the children's book publisher Carlsen they have 80 wooden clothespins ready for staff and the audience, if the basket is empty, you have to wait for admission.

On the first day of the fair, there is still no shortage of brackets in sight.

The little ones have gotten bigger

The big ones are a little smaller and clearer, the little ones got bigger in the pandemic edition of the book fair.

Many are breaking new ground, the Frankfurt Moritz Verlag, this time also on significantly more square meters, has teamed up with six other children's and youth book publishers for a whole day at the fair to bundle the new products of the next six months for the press and the industry present.