A little more than eight years ago, the traditional bookstore chain Hugendubel was on the verge of collapse. The business partner at the time, the Weltbild Group, had filed for bankruptcy. The Hugendubel management reacted and received advice from Porsche Consulting, among others. The goal should be that the employees have more time to deal with the customers. What sounds banal actually gave more weight to talking about books. This is how “Bookstock” came about, the festival format for reading, which celebrated suspense, romance and fiction this weekend online and in the Bavariastudios.
“We noticed the lively exchange in the branches and social networks and wanted to give it a modern, new format,” explains managing partner Maximilian Hugendubel on stage, an hour and a half before the start. Studio 6 has 180 seats, they are all fully booked, and groups of people are already bustling about in front of the door. The fact that the target group is a young audience does not have to be explained to the boss first, that can be figured out by looking at marketing. “Reading goes pop culture”, “casual comfort”, “retro flair” and “cool insights into the book industry”. It won’t be a literary quartet, that much is clear. There is a food truck, sodas, soft pop music on site, and if you miss the festival atmosphere at home, you can order the festival kit (EUR 29.95) including vegan porridge, dried strawberries and a recycled T-shirt. Everything the young, sustainable and hip bookworm needs. The festival kits are the only thing that isn’t sold out, but the strategists behind “Bookstock” have to give credit for realizing that even a reading festival cannot do without pseudo-sustainable consumption.
Most of the audience are women
The visitors, almost all women, seem to be less interested in the capitalist trappings than in books. Amelie has just gotten an autograph and, drunk with victory, holds her book up. She and her two friends found out about the festival via Instagram. “If you love books, you get that,” they say. Two meters away, four friends can’t stop grinning: “We want to see Ali.” Ali Hazelwood (“The Love Hypothesis”) is one of the authors who speaks on site and is not only connected virtually. The atmosphere is similar to the buzzing anticipation before a concert, you can’t help but be happy and you won’t be disappointed with the almost two-hour talk show.
Ben Aaronovitch (left) was one of the authors who were live in the studio, others were connected virtually.
(Photo: Krisztian Miklos)
The moderator duo does their job really well. Joker Tarkan Bagci talks his heart out – audiences love him – and Mona Ameziane joins the online community in asking the right questions. Amelie and Co. find out whether Tami Fischer likes one of her books best (“No, but yes, haha. The latest”), who Madeline Miller’s favorite character is (“Patroclus”) and what music Ben Aaronovitch writes for (“Movie Scores “). The evening is surprisingly refreshing, the authors are likeable and in a good mood, and the readership can finally get rid of their questions. The humble reverence for the people who write, whose autographs you ask for with bowed heads and murmured compliments, is a thing of the past. The authors write for young adults, they have often become known through Tiktok and maintain an almost intimate relationship with their readers. It seems as if they have known each other for a long time and could finally meet through “Bookstock”.
The idea has potential, especially if more authors are not only connected virtually. You can also work on the “casual cosiness” for the studio audience, the benches were hard, backrests were completely missing, but reading festivals away from book fairs and literature houses can still be “a thing”.