Frankfurt Book Fair Sees Strong Turnout

The 58th annual edition of the global publishing industry’s largest annual book fair wrapped up on Sunday, after a five-day run that fair organizers say attracted the largest number of exhibitors ever.

According to Frankfurt Book Fair representatives, more than 286,000 trade visitors journeyed to Frankfurt, Germany, last week to visit with nearly 7,300 exhibitors from 113 countries. Organizers said that the number of U.S. publishers exhibiting dropped just slightly from previous years. A total of 382,000 titles, including 112,000 new publications, were on display throughout the 13-hall exhibition site.

In addition to publishing companies from around the globe, also exhibiting were a number of international publishing technology and solutions providers. One thousand authors were on-hand, and more than 2,500 events were scheduled.

Several American publishers exhibiting their books commented that foot traffic at the show seemed lighter than usual, but that for them, the Frankfurt Book Fair is all about appointments, namely for licensing international rights.

Organizers say about 74,000 members of the general public were admitted when the doors were opened to the public on Saturday morning.

Check out the December issue of Book Business magazine for more coverage and images from the 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair.

The Frankfurt Book Fair will return on Oct. 10-14, 2007.