All about writing at Frankfurter Buchmesse

Frankfurt Authors is an extension of the previous Self-Publishing Area — with a new stage, signing area and lounge as well as a professional programme and networking events.

In addition to the presentation opportunities, genre theme days are another new feature: The programme on the Friday of the fair will be dedicated to crime fiction and thrillers, on Saturday the spotlight will be on romance and Sunday will be all about fantasy.

This means that not only writing as a technique but the content of literary creation as well will play a central role at Frankfurt Authors, an indication of how the new thematic area is responding to the increasingly fluid boundaries between self-publishing, traditional and hybrid authors.

In 2019, for example, over 76% of self-publishing authors surveyed indicated that they have already published with a traditional publishing house or plan to do so.

“Digital is not an end in itself. We want to shift the focus from technology to people and their creative achievements as a whole. Frankfurt Authors is aimed at all authors as well as those in publishing who represent or provide services to them. By ‘authors’, in this context, we really do mean anyone who writes. If you write, you belong here,” said Lars Birken-Bertsch, director, business development trade DACH at Frankfurter Buchmesse.

The New Frankfurt Authors Area Highlights

‘Copyright law reform – and what’s really behind it?’

17 October 2019, 2.00-3.00 pm

Regardless of how and where authors publish, questions of intellectual property and copyright remain divisive. These issues are the topic of this podium talk, organised by the Netzwerk Autorenrechte (Network Authors’ Rights).

Participants: Sascha Lobo (blogger and author), Zoë Beck (author and publisher), Matthias Hornschuh (film composer), Johannes Stricker (director of HörbucH Hamburg), Carola Christiansen (moderator, Netzwerk Autorenrechte, president of Mörderische Schwestern).

‘Seeking tomorrow’s bestsellers – QualiFiction competition for authors’

17 October 2019, 3.00-3.30 pm

On the Thursday of the fair, there will be an awards ceremony for a writing competition that uses the AI programme LiSa. A tool developed by the company QualiFiction, LiSa uses artificial intelligence to analyse the potential for success of literary texts.

‘Frankfurt Authors’ Conference’

18 October 2019, 10.00 am-4.00 pm, Dimension room, Hall 4.2

Here, you will have the chance to speak with other writers and experts: The Frankfurt Authors’ Conference is aimed at advanced writers who have already published books and wish to increase their degree of professionalism. The conference will be held in English.

Participants: Melanie Raabe (author), Olaf Bryan Wielk (inventor of the storytelling tool Beemgee), Sarah Baxter (Contracts Advisor & Literary Estates, Society of Authors), Lisa Dowdeswell (Head of Literary Estates, Society of Authors), Sabine Langohr (literary agency Keil & Keil).

‘Can I write this like this? Diversity in novels’

18 October 2019, 11.00 am-12.00 pm

How can you avoid stereotypes in your writing? Can excessive caution also lead to self-censorship? Is it no longer acceptable to write about certain things? A panel discussion about authentic character diversity and avoiding prejudices and self-censorship.

Participants: Annika von Redwitz (Consultant Diversity Management), Alexandra Schwarting (author), Victoria Linnea (sensitivityreading.de), Thorsten Simon (BoD, moderator)

‘How to bookstagram – Everything you need to know to get started on Instagram’

19 October 2019, 4.00-5.00 pm

Bookstagram is a constantly growing community of book addicts who devote themselves to their love of books on Instagram. The successful bookstagrammer Josephine Wismar (@neomiscrazyworld), together with Jessica Sieb (@witcherybooks), Nils Küchenmeister (@bunteschwarzweißwelt) and Sarah Natusch (@samenature), offer advice on how bookstagrammers can optimise this community’s own channels and expand their reach.

‘From Germany to Norway – a fantastic journey with Siri Pettersen’

20 October 2019, 1.00-2.00 pm

The Norwegian writer and comics creator Siri Pettersen (The Raven Rings) will participate in this event organised by the Phantastik-Autoren-Netzwerk (Fantasy Authors’ Network). With Bernhard Stäber alias Robin Gates (Runland Saga), she will talk about the various facets of German and Norwegian fantasy literature.