Turkey readies to sign its mark at book fair

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

A total of 21 Turkish publishing houses attends to the Franfurt Book Fair this year, including eight publishing houses geared toward children’s and youth literature. REUTERS photo

One of the world’s leading book fairs, the Frankfurt Book Fair, is back for a 64th edition featuring 7,300 exhibitors from 100 countries, including Turkey. Turkey will participate in the event with a rich program, including panels, discussions, a Turkish culinary presentation and exhibitions, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

A total of 21 Turkish publishing houses will attend the book fair, including eight publishing houses geared toward children’s and youth literature. Seven copyright agencies from Turkey will also be present at the fair.

The Frankfurt event is a leading international trade fair for books, media and digital content that reveals an industry that is redefining itself in the midst of the most comprehensive paradigm shift since the introduction of the printing press.

“New players are joining our industry every day and completely new relationships, product ideas and business models are emerging. We might very well refer to this development as the publishing industry’s ‘Big Bang’ moment,” Jürgen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said at the opening press conference on Oct. 9.

Publishing in crisis
“This year, we’ve analyzed where the change is most apparent. We’ve attempted to identify patterns and, in so doing, developed a ‘Roadmap to Publishing Trends’ that shows where new business models are starting to appear, what new cultural patterns are emerging, and what skills will be important in the future,” he said.“The changes are most apparent in the field of children’s and [young adult] media,” said Boos, adding that there would be a special focus on the topic at this year’s book fair.

According to Agence France Presse, Greece, in the midst of painful reforms and cuts to stave off bankruptcy, is in fighting mode and has boosted the number of publishers at the Frankfurt Book Fair by a fifth, its official said. Ofelia Grande, of Madrid-based Siruela publishers, said they had taken the initiative to publish story-driven “upmarket commercial fiction” in a departure from its usual more prestigious literary writers.