Federal and state politicians have promised a continuation of the Leipzig Book Fair next year. “I am a merciless fan of the Leipzig Book Fair and will not let the book fair be taken away from me for anything in the world,” said Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) on Thursday after a conversation with Saxon state politicians, representatives of the Leipzig Fair and publishing house employees. “We have committed ourselves to doing everything we can to ensure that the book fair takes place again next spring,” Roth added.
The book fair was canceled three times in a row from 2020 to 2022 due to the corona pandemic. At the beginning of this year, the organization of the book fair was initially announced. After numerous publishers withdrew their participation, the fair scheduled for this March was canceled again. Fears arose that in future the book fair, which takes place every autumn in Frankfurt am Main, could be the only one of its kind in Germany.
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) emphasized: “The number of people who took part in the discussion today about the future of the book fair alone shows how important the Leipzig Book Fair is and how interested they are in this tradition being continued. And further: “It needs the discourse of the Leipzig Book Fair.” This is a forum for democracy.
Instead of the book fair, readings and a pop-up fair were organized in the city at short notice again this year. “This commitment will be rewarded,” said Kretschmer. Saxony’s Economics Minister Martin Dulig (SPD), who is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Leipzig Fair, announced that the form of the Leipzig Book Fair would change in the future. “We will talk in advance about how it can take place,” said Dulig. Martin Buhl-Wagner, Managing Director of the Leipzig Trade Fair, said that there should be a phased model for the 2023 Book Fair and that different scenarios would be developed so that the fair could take place. “It’s about planning options and scenarios today if the pandemic or the world situation doesn’t allow a big book fair,” said Alexander Lorbeer, Managing Director of Holtzbrinck Buchverlage.
2,547 exhibitors took part in the last book fair in March 2019, and around 286,000 visitors were counted.