The Freedom to Publish Open Meeting—Frankfurt Book Fair 2023
by Carina McNally
The 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair opened its doors on Wednesday 16th October to around 6,000 guests, with the Irish stand being managed and delivered by Literature Ireland.
The International Publishers Association (IPA) held a Freedom to Publish meeting as part of events, with president Karine Pansa saying that copyright and freedom to publish were pillars of the organisation.
Dee Collins, Head of Books at Mercier Press was guest speaker, and a wide range of topics were discussed, including libel laws used to silence authors and publishers (SLAPPS), nationalisation of educational publishing, and access, control, and manipulation of information.
Dee Collins gave a presentation on both current and backlist Mercier titles, explaining why Mercier was worthy of nomination for the 2023 Prix Voltaire which honours courageous commitment to freedom of speech through writing, publishing or activism. A Tailor and Ansty by Eric Cross, One Day in My Life (Bobby Sands), and David Burke’s Enemy of the Crown were highlighted.
Speakers included publishers from Norway, Slovenia and Mexico. The talks were presided over by IPA Director James Taylor and Kirsten Erickson of Wexxo, both of whom presented a special award posthumously to Ukrainian author Vododyna Vokunvenjo at the Voltaire awards in May. The award was accepted by fellow Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who was herself killed by war two weeks later.
Overshadowed by current developments in Israel and Gaza, the 75th year of the world’s largest publishing trade event has been challenging for the IPA. Book Fair director Juergen Boos officially stated that the event stood “with complete solidarity on the side of Israel.” In response a number of representatives withdrew from the fair, including organisations from Malaysia and Indonesia.
An Indonesian spokesperson said that the organisation’s decision to take sides undermined the idea of dialogue and was like “reading only one book to feel like you understand the whole world.” Further unease spread amongst attendees as a scheduled ceremony for Palestinian author Adania Shibli, who was to receive the prestigious LiBeraturpreis German literary award, was cancelled. United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah Book Authority, The Emirates Publishers Association and the Egyptian Arab Publishers’ Association also withdrew.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is an important opportunity for the Irish publishing industry to promote their titles and negotiate deals with foreign publishers, selling and buying rights to books in English and foreign language territories and securing key distribution deals.
