The 59th Frankfurt Book Fair will open on Tuesday, October 9 at the Congress Center of the Messe Frankfurt. Festival director Jürgen Boos, Frankfurt Mayor Dr. Petra Roth, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbück, President of the Government of Catalonia Montilla Aguilera, the Catalan writer Quim Monzó and President of the German Booksellers Association Dr. Gottfried Honnefelder will participate at the opening ceremony.
Catalan Culture to be Guest of Honour
The Guest of Honour at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair will be Catalan Culture, which combines the cosmopolitan and the dynamic with the unique features of a language area made up not only of three regions in Spain (Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands), but also including Roussillon in France and the Italian town of Alghero (Sardinia).
The creation of World Book Day, Barcelona as the most important publishing centre for the Spanish-speaking world, world-famous architecture and innovative design and, of course, the Catalan language with its centuries of literary history, will all be in the spotlight in Frankfurt.
In cooperation with the governments of Andorra and the Balearic Islands as well as the city of Perpignan, the region of Catalonia is organising a programme that brings to life the culture of the entire Catalan-speaking area in Frankfurt and all over Germany. Exhibitions at numerous museums as well as music, dance and drama complement the central presentation of Catalan literature and the book industry at the exhibition site.
Festival Marks Close of Ungarischer Akzent
The fair will mark the close to Ungarischer Akzent, the year-and-a-half-long Hungarian Cultural Season in Germany.
The Hungarian Association of Book Publishers and Booksellers (MKKE) will set up in their usual space, on the ground floor of the 5.0 hall. Hungary's 120-square-metre National Stand will be set up opposite one of the hall's entrances. Last year's stand has been rebuilt to allow the atrium in the middle to serve as a showcase area for the newest Hungarian authors as well as a space for special events. The programme at the stand has been organised jointly by MKKE and the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart.
The Hungarian publishers and writers participating at the fair will be presented at a special reception at 17:00 on Thursday, October 11. Katalin Bogyay, who is in charge of international relations at the Ministry of Education and Culture, will be present at the event.
Last year, the stand was decorated with old photographs to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. This year it has been decorated with images of Hungarian writers taken by the photographer Barna Burger.
Programme for the Hungarian National Stand (H 5.0 C902)
2007 Frankfurt Book Fair
Participating writers: László Krasznahorkai, Attila Bartis, László Darvasi, Krisztián Grecsó, Gyula Böszörményi, István Elmer, Attila Győrffy, Tamás Kipke, Gábor Szappanos, Péter Szirmai, Tibor Gyurkovics and Péter Turcsány.
1. Thursday, October 11, 15:00-16:30
International Centre, H 5.0 D901
Revisiting Memory - reading and talk by Arno Geiger (Vienna), Bartis Attila (Budapest) and Wilhelm Droste (Budapest).
A examination of the occurrences of "memory". Two artists - a photographer and a writer, one from Hungary and the other from Germany - revisit scenes of their childhood and youth. (Organiser: The Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart. The programme is part of the Bipolar German-Hungarian Culture Project, which is supported by Germany's Culture Foundation of the Republic.)
2. Thursday, October 11, 17:00-18:00
Hungarian National Stand, H 5.0 C902
Reception for Hungarian Writers
The Hungarian Association of Book Publishers and Booksellers, the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart and Katalin Bogyay, in charge of international relations at the Ministry of Education and Culture, host a reception for Hungarian writers. The guest of honour at the festival will be László Krasznahorkai. (Organiser: Hungarian Association of Book Publishers and Booksellers)
3. Thursday, October 11, 20:00
Hessian Literature Forum in the Mouson Tower
Reading and talk with László Krasznahorkai and his publishers: Egon Ammann (Ammann, Switzerland), Jaume Vallcorba (Acantilado, Spain) and Jean Mattern (Gallimard, France). Readings from Krasznahorkai's works published in German, with simultaneous interpretation by the translator Christina Viragh. Readings from Krasznahorkai's works published in Spanish and French by the publishers, followed by a toast. (Organiser: Amman Verlag and the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart.)
4. Friday, October 12, 11:00-12:00
Hungarian National Stand, H 5.0 C902
The Lázár Apocryphas (12 novella, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2007). Reading and talk with Attila Bartis. Moderator: Wilhelm Droste (Budapest) (Organiser: the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart)
5. Friday, October 12, 14:00-15:00
Hungarian National Stand, H 5.0 C902
The Hungarian National Stand's guest of honour László Krasznahorkai will read from his novel Hill From The North, Lake From The South, Roads From The West, River From The East. Introductory remarks by Tibor Keresztury, director of the Hungarian Culture Institute in Stuttgart. (Organiser: Hungarian Culture Institute in Stuttgart.)
6. Friday, October 12, 15:30-16:30
Hungarian National Stand, H 5.0 C902
Reading and talk with Gyula Böszörményi. Julius Bessermann speaks with the writer of the fairy tale novel Gergő and the Dreamcatcher (Schenk Verlag, 2007). (Organiser: Schenk Verlag and the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart.)
7. Saturday, October 13, 12:00-13:00
Hungarian National Stand, H 5.0 C902
Reading and talk with Krisztián Grecsó, author of Welcome (Claassen Verlag, 2007). Moderator: György Dalos (Berlin). (Organiser: the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart.)
8. Saturday, October 13, 13:30-14:30
Hungarian National Stand, H 5.0 C902
Crater for Living Literature - reading and talk by the writers of the Crater Workshop Association. Participants: István Elmer, Attila Győrffy, Tamás Kipke, Gábor Szappanos, Péter Szirmai, Tibor Gyurkovics and Péter Turcsány. (Organiser: the Crater Workshop Association.)
9. Saturday, October 13, 15:00-16:00
Hungarian National Stand, H 5.0 C902
Reading and talk with László Darvasi on his volume When a Forward Dreams (Suhrkamp Verlag, 2006). Moderator György Dalos. (Organiser: the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart.)
