World’s Largest Book Fair opens in Frankfurt

The World’s Largest Trade Fair for the Publishing Industry, the Frankfurt Book Fair, launches on Tuesday with 7,000 Exhibitors from 105 countries.

Organisers say the event continues to grow, with 3 per cent more exhibitors in 2018 compared to 2017.

In 2017, more than a quarter of a million people visited the book fair.

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is due to speak at the opening press conference on Tuesday, and in the evening the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, is scheduled to address the opening ceremony.

This year’s guest country is Georgia, which is featured in its own pavilion. Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze is expected at the evening’s launch ceremony.

The 70th annual Frankfurt Book Fair is scheduled to run from Wednesday until Sunday, with the first few days open to professionals and the weekend open to the general public.

The programme lists some 3,700 events over the course of the fair, with 9,800 reporters accredited to cover the fair.

Ahead of the opening of the fair, Berlin author Inger-Maria Mahlke was awarded the German Book Prize for her novel “Archipel’’ (Archipelago) by the German Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Association.

The jury that awarded Mahlke the prize, which is worth 28,500 dollars, described her novel as an “impressive event’’ in German literature.

“This is where colonial history and the history of European dictatorships in the 20th century coalesce,’’ the jury said of the book, which tells the story of three families from different social classes in Franco-era Spain