Business Club 2016: Inspiration! Networking! Business!

A look at the programme: Literary prizes, CEO Talks, the French book market

With 80 speakers at around 40 events over five days, the Business Club of the 2016 Frankfurter Buchmesse is set to be the central meeting place once again for pioneers and key players in the international content and media business. “By combining meetings, events and networking activities, the Club offers our trade visitors extensive business and contact opportunities,” says Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse. “So our guests benefit from a unique, all-round package of added-value.”

CEO Talks

The CEO Talks are a long-standing tradition at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, and since 2014 have been a fixed item in the programme of the Business Club. In the context of the “2016 Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry”, journalists from the trade journals The Bookseller, Bookdao, buchreport Livres Hebdo, PublishNews Brazil, Publishers Weekly, and will conduct 60-minute interviews with CEOs of some of the world’s largest publishing and media houses. Answering their questions this year will be Jacob Dalborg, CEO of Bonnier Books (Wednesday, 19 October, 2.00 – 3.00 pm, Hall 4.2, room Dimension), as well as Massimo Turchetta, CEO Rizzoli Libri Trade, and Claude de Saint Vincent, CEO Média-Participations (Thursday, 20 October, 2.00 – 3.00 pm, Hall 4.0, Stage). Chaired by: Rüdiger Wischenbart

In Germany alone, there are supposed to be around 1,000 literary prizes, and it’s hard to say how many such awards there are worldwide. Accompanied by extensive marketing campaigns, reporting about the major literary prizes can dominate the arts pages of the newspapers for weeks on end. Receiving awards such as the Man Booker Prize or the German Book Prize raises the reputation of authors and publishers alike. The panel discussion “The Winner Takes it All – How literature prizes influence the market” will provide us with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at these two important book prizes. (Wednesday, 19 October, 12.00-12.45 pm, Hall 4.0, Stage) With, among others, Nicola Lagioia, winner of the Premio Strega, Gaby Wood, Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, and literary agent Elisabeth Ruge. Chaired by: Michael Roesler-Graichen, Börsenblatt.

Social reading is the name of the trend which platforms such as Lovelybooks, Wattpad, Goodreads and Flipintu by using to bring together millions of readers and authors. How do an you inspire young target groups for fictional content and real books, while still taking into consideration their media consumption patterns? How do readers become active fans and followers? The Dutch social media and self-publishing pioneers, Peter Paul van Bekkum and Toine Donk, will discuss these questions under the heading “Social Reading – Together is better.” (Friday, 21 October, 8.30-9.30 am, Hall 4.0, Stage)

French is the native tongue of more than 200 million people. France – the country that has produced the largest number of Nobel laureates in literature (15) – will be the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2017. To give international publishers, literary editors and scouts a chance to discover the trends in the French market, the Business Breakfast on the Thursday of the Fair will focus on France and its literature. (Thursday, 20 October, 8.30-9.30 am, Hall 4.0, Stage). This event is supported by EU’s ALDUS, the network of European book fairs. It is being held as part of the ALDUS project and receives support from the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is delighted to announce its continued support of the publishing industry’s movers and shakers by sponsoring six initiatives for Young Talent and cooperating with leading international trade magazines. The winners of these initiatives will present their industry vision in the Business Club (Monday-Friday, 4.30-5 pm, Stage).

The Business Breakfast on the Wednesday of the Fair is dedicated to Eastern Europe. In recent years Eastern Europe has undergone a huge transition, be it politically, culturally or in the economic sphere. We will hear from representatives of some of the regions most important publishing houses, based in Georgia, Slovenia and Ukraine, about effect these upheavals have had on literature. (Wednesday, 19 October, 8.30-9.30 pm, Hall 4.0, Stage)

Business Club Ambassadors

They come from all parts of the world and they work in different segments of international publishing. 12 enthusiasts from the book and media world will act Business Club Ambassadors this year. They’ll keep their business partners informed, in good time and in a personal manner, about the Business Club programme. In return, they each receive a trade visitor ticket BUSINESS (valid for the whole week of the Book Fair), which includes free access to all the events of the Business Club.

The Business Club Ambassadors 2016:

John Bond, Whitefox, UK // @wearewhitefox

Catherine Fragou, Iris Literacy Agent, Greece // @CatherineFragou

Erhardt Heinold, Heinold, Spiller & Partner, Germany // @ehrhardtheinold

Jaime Ivan Hurtado, HiperTexto, Colombia // @jaimeivan

Michele Hutchison, Netherlands // @M_Hutchison

Alison Jones, Practical Inspiration Publishing, UK // @bookstothesky

Nashwan Al Maghafi, Yemen Bookshop, Yemen // @Nashwan_Ali

Hariza Mohd Yusof, USIM, Malaysia // @PenerbitUSIM

Richard Nash, United States // @R_Nash

Prashant Pathak, Consultant, India // @pnarayanpathak

Christine Seiler, Aufbau Verlag, Germany // @FrauSchnuerchen

Jose Fernando Tavares, Booknando Livros, Brazil // @JFTavares

For an overview of the programme and for further information: www.book-fair.com/businessclub.

Business Club: the first stop for trade visitors

Since 2014, the Frankfurt Book Fair Business Club has been the central meeting place for pioneers and key players in the international content and media business. With its combination of meetings, events and networking activities, the Club offers trade visitors and exhibitors at the Book Fair a wide range of options for nurturing their own networks and for doing new business. The 6-day trade visitor BUSINESS ticket also includes access to the Book Fair’s successful B2B conferences, THE MARKETS – Global Publishing Summit and the Frankfurt Rights Meeting. In 2015, 3,200 guests from about 50 countries benefited from the professional programme and services offered on the business platform.

About the Frankfurt Book FairThe Frankfurt Book Fair is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with 7,100 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, around 270,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and around 9,300 accredited journalists in attendance. It also gathers key players from other media, including the film and games industries. Since 1976, the Book Fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. The Frankfurt Book Fair organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. With its Business Club, the Frankfurt Book Fair offers essential services and an ideal setting for the activities of publishers, entrepreneurs, pioneers, experts and visionaries. The Frankfurt Book Fair is a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association. www.book-fair.com