This year, the new generation of publishing professionals along with secondary school graduates and career starters have their own venue at the fair: the stage shared by the Azubistro and “Studium rund ums Buch” (“Studying around Books”). A diverse professional programme will be presented for all interested parties, composed of discussions and expert talks around topics like the book and the publishing industry and supplemented by readings and conversations with well-known authors. mediacampus frankfurt trainees will serve coffee and snacks and Students will report first-hand about their respective fields of study.

Career education at the Börsenverein
At the stand of the Börsenverein (German Publishers & Booksellers Association), a range of professional education events will be offered for training providers, staff and junior employees.

Discounts and free tickets
Booksellers and media managers who are still in training, as well as students of related fields such as bibliography, production, publishing or library science, receive free tickets for the full duration of the fair. In addition, this year, the Frankfurter Buchmesse has an especially attractive offer for registered students in all fields of study for the trade visitor days (11-13 October). By presenting a valid student ID card, they can purchase a day ticket for just 18 euros at the ticket counter. At the weekend, admission costs just 14 euros.

International initiatives to support young talents
In cooperation with leading publishing industry trade magazines, the Frankfurter Buchmesse sponsors six initiatives to support young professionals in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, USA, China and Brazil. The Young Talent programme is aimed at publishing professionals from these countries. The winners will be invited to the Frankfurter Buchmesse, have access to the Business Club and participate in a comprehensive programme of events during the fair.

Media partners of the Young Talent initiative are: The Bookseller (UK),Publishers Weekly (USA), Börsenblatt – weekly magazine for the German book trade (Germany), Publish News (Brazil), China Publishers (China), Schweizer Buchhandel (Switzerland) and the Dutch Publishers Association (Netherlands).

The Frankfurt Fellowship Programme, held annually since 1998, is an international initiative of the Frankfurter Buchmesse to promote young talent in publishing. This year, 97 editors, rights managers and literary agents from 42 countries applied. Now, 16 publishing professionals from 16 different countries – including, for the first time, Iceland – have the chance to build their own international professional network. New this year is funding for one participant as the “Fred Kobrak Frankfurt Fellow”, in memory of Fred Kobrak, a dedicated and long-serving player in the international publishing industry who passed away in December 2016 at the age of 88 years.