In the LitAg cafeteria, the area of the Frankfurt Fair where literary agents and scouts from all over the world meet to buy and sell rights to new titles, you hear more than just new stories. The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas has hit hard the world book event par excellence after its director, Jürgen Boos, positioned himself saying that the fair is “completely in solidarity with Israel.” Hours after the statement was made public, the program was reorganized to give a predominant place to Jewish voices.
“I think Malaysia is gone too,” an agent whispers to his teammate while finishing his sandwich at the speed of light, since free time is an added value these days. Her companion nods and answers: “And also publishing groups from Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. It is sobering to think that the book event par excellence cancels an author for the mere fact of being Palestinian.” She is referring to Adania Shibli, the writer who was due to receive the LiBeraturpreis today in a ceremony that has finally been cancelled, as announced by the Litprom association, in charge of presenting the award.
“We hoped that a step back would be taken, but in the end that was not the case. And it surprises me,” reflects Claudia Calva, from the Antonia Kerrigan literary agency, who explains that “we worked with another agent for the Arab world who canceled her participation at the last minute. She wrote to all of her contacts to say that she couldn't come to a place that won't let a Palestinian author collect her award. It's the first time he's been missing in twenty years. I think this should be a neutral event.”
You only need to take a look at the newspaper archives to see that this is not the case. In the 75 years of the fair's life - an anniversary that is talked about less than it should because of this whole issue - there have been several times in which politics has crept into its pavilions.
“Sometimes in a more generic way and at the level of awareness, like the Iraq war. Others, with more explicit tensions, "like when China was the guest of honor in 2009" and several publishers, and even the fair itself with some events, "brought exiles, emigrants and dissidents," recalls literary agent, producer and screenwriter Anna Soler-Pont, from Pontas Agency, who has been attending this literary event since 1992.
He also does not forget “the banners and yellow ribbons that arrived in these rooms in 2017”, due to the Catalan process and the reprisals of the referendum of October 1 of that year, or ten editions before, “when Catalan culture was the main protagonist” and Boos himself, already then director, criticized the absence of authors in Spanish in the program.
“Since it was founded it has always been more than just a business fair. It is a thermometer of what is happening in the world and a speaker of ideas. And that's fine, because literature also drinks from that. What happens is that there should not be positions, much less from senior officials,” laments Soler-Pont.
In addition to political ideas, the venue is also a thermometer of trends that are breaking out with force, such as Artificial Intelligence and audiobooks and sound dramatizations. Also about what is being read and what is going to be read. In fact, that is one of its main functions of the meeting. The posters, which until not so long ago almost exclusively illustrated covers of Nordic crime novels in the stands, now also show some covers of light-hearted romantic stories that “have lived apart for a long time and that have gained ground since last year. This year, with special force,” says Calva.
Elena Ramírez, editorial director of Seix Barral and international fiction of Grupo Planeta agrees with him. “We are seeing a lot of romance in the commercial part, with fantasy and dark academia. The high school stories are very popular, also historical, which has not been seen for a long time, as well as a spectacular display of the type of books for young adults, what we call young adults. And this is because they are potentially mobile on TikTok, either because they leave there in other countries or because they can end up there. “Every editor is looking for their Colleen Hoover and their Rebecca Yarros.”
Aware of this, the fair has many presentations dedicated to social networks and how to capture the attention of younger readers. Marketing expert Lisa Pankewitz recalled in a masterclass created by the organizers prior to the fair that “they are the future of the industry. We should be interested in your opinion.”
