Leipzig has a long tradition of publishing and the book trade. Its book fair brings publishers, booksellers, and readers together, reflecting books' roles as both commodities and carriers of knowledge. The fair's functions have changed across different historical periods. Modern events combine reading promotion and cultural exchange while sustaining the city's publishing heritage.
History
The Leipzig Fair has its origins in the 15th century. The Leipzig Book Fair became the largest book fair in Germany in 1632 when it topped the fair in Frankfurt am Main in the number of books presented; Frankfurt featured 100 books, compared to Leipzig's 700 that year. The success and importance of the fair is linked to the emergence of a vibrant publishing industry in the city. By the 16th century, Leipzig was home to the first daily newspaper, Einkommende Zeitungen, as well as the Reclam Universal Library. Catalogs of the books included in the sale were produced from 1594 to 1860. Throughout the 1700s and 1800s, the fair was an important event for European book sellers, and was hosted twice yearly, occurring around Easter (Ostermesse) and St. Micheals (Michaelismesse).
It remained on top until 1945 when Leipzig became part of socialist East Germany and Frankfurt, in West Germany surpassed it to regain the number one spot. During the East German era the fair remained an important meeting place for book lovers and sellers from both East and West Germany. It provided access to Western publications for East Germans, who were not legally allowed to purchase the material, but could read it at the Fair.
Profile
Today, the fair aims to be for the public, above all, and to emphasize the relationship between the authors and the fair's visitors. The new orientation is necessary to compete with Frankfurt Book Fair, which sees a much larger volume of industry trading. The Leipzig Fair was one of the first to recognize the growing market for audiobooks and incorporate this trend into its concept.
In parallel to the exhibitions, the Leipzig book fair is notable for its reading festival 'Leipzig liest'. During the four-day fair Leipzig hosts over 3,600 events (2018) both in various locations throughout the city and at the fairgrounds, making it the largest event of its kind in Europe.
History
The Frankfurt Book Fair has a tradition spanning more than 500 years. Before the advent of printed books, the general trade fair in Frankfurt was the place for selling handwritten books, as early as the 12th century. A printers' and publishers' fair became established sometime in the decades after Johannes Gutenberg developed printing in movable letters in Mainz near Frankfurt; although no official founding date of the Frankfurt Book Fair is documented, it had definitely been established by 1462, the year that the printers Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer, who had taken over Gutenberg's printing operations after a legal dispute, moved their operations to Frankfurt.
The fair became the primary point for book marketing, but also a hub for the diffusion of written texts. In 1520, Martin Luther's pamphlets were widely distributed at the fair, creating widespread support for the Reformation in the region. In the following decades, the fair was attended by merchants testing the market for new books and by scholars looking for newly available scholarship.
Until the end of the 17th century, the Frankfurt Book Fair was the most important book fair in Europe. It was eclipsed in 1632 by the Leipzig Book Fair during the Enlightenment as a consequence of political and cultural developments. After World War II, the first book fair was held again in 1949 at the St. Paul's Church. Since then, it has regained its preeminent position.
Significance
The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for international deals and trading. It is a critical marketing event for launching books and to facilitate the negotiation of the international sale of rights and licences. Book publishing-, multimedia- and technology companies, as well as content providers from all over the world gather. Publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians, academics, illustrators, service providers, film producers, translators, professional and trade associations, institutions, artists, authors, antiquarians, software and multimedia suppliers all participate in the events. Visitors take the opportunity to obtain information about the publishing market, to network, and to do business.