Leipziger Buchmesse in Zahlen Leipzig Book Fair in figures

International area
With its international programme sponsored by the Foreign Ministry since
2005, the Book Fair has been spinning a finely-meshed network that even
bears up excellently in times of crises. The idea of utilising Leipzig as a
window of display for the new literary production of entire countries and
regions to attract readers, trade visitors and the media with equal in-ten-
sity has not only been embraced with growing popularity by neighbours in
the East. Foreign cultural work, image cultivation and business – this
mixture has shown its success to an equal degree in the “Nordic Forum”
initiated by the embassies and cultural institutions of the Scandinavian
countries and numerous other national series which, in many cases, have
frequently been cultivated over many years. It is no coincidence to hear
the Book Fair resounding to the tempo of Balkan beats and Tango sounds:
the main countries at the Frankfurt Book Fair also enjoy using Leipzig to
publicise their major autumn presentations.
The network activities of the Book Fair aim to promote sustainability;
literature demands patience and time. The 15,000 Euros of the Leipzig
Book Award for European Understanding, which has been presented since
2005 in the Gewandhaus concert hall during the opening of the Book Fair,
is an effective booster to attract media attention to an idea that, of neces-
sity, is characterised by a quiet message – the idea of building literary
bridges. Understanding grows of comprehension. Both are experienced
and lived to the full in Leipzig.
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