Frankfurt Book Fair 2022 saw the iconic event in every publisher’s calendar return to Germany. The atmosphere was electric, the numerous halls packed full of publishers, distributors and service providers from all over the globe, and delegates in their thousands pounding the carpet to finally meet face to face with their industry peers.
The Zzish and Quizalize team had a fantastic time meeting so many old – and – new faces, while taking in the scale and caliber of this infamous Book Fair. So much so that we have put together our best bits from the fair – an #ICYMI, if you will.
Without further ado…
Volodymyr Zelensky’s address:
The Harmonie Hall was packed to the rafters for The President of the Republic of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to international publishers. Invited jointly by the Frankfurter Buchmesse and the Federation of European Publishers, President Zelensky spoke of how “culture, like life, is under fire” and stressed the importance of books, stating “words are weapons to dispel ignorance”.
President Zelensky received a standing ovation from all in Harmonie Hall. His time was greatly appreciated by all attendees, and his words echoed throughout the book fair long after his address finished.
Publishing Perspectives have written a full summary of Volodymyr Zelensky’s address here.
Their Majesties The King and Queen of Spain were in attendance:
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain opened the 23rd Frankfurt Book Fair and also attended the Spanish exhibition hall on Wednesday 19th October as part of their three-day state visit to Germany.
This year’s Guest of Honour was Spain and the excitement was palpable as Their Majesties toured the various exhibition booths and conversed with attendees and exhibitors alike.
The Zzish team found themselves in a front row position for the walkabout and captured the below footage of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the fair. As you can hear from the surrounding audience, their visit certainly caused a stir!
Awards, awards awards:
This year there were plenty of award ceremonies to attend, recognising everything from learning content creators to the best children’s literature.
We mentioned the BELMA (Best European Learning Materials Awards) in our ‘Top 9 Picks for The Frankfurt Book Fair‘ article and are so happy we attended – it was wonderful to see such a truly international spread of winners.
With drinks receptions popping up across the fair to celebrate the triumphs of all the recipients, there was serious networking and serious fun to be had at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year!
Last but not least…the community:
Reaffirming itself as the “most important international meeting point for the book and media industry” [The Bookseller], 2022 saw the publishing trade descend on Frankfurt en masse. While not at pre-pandemic levels (yet), 2022 saw the Frankfurt Book Fair make a bold statement: we’re back, and we mean business. Over 4,000 exhibitors from 95 countries, 93,000+ trade visitors and 87,000 private visitors, plus Royals, Premiers and everyone in between all contributed to a steller roster that set this book fair on proverbial fire.
Danke Frankfurt, and danke publishers. The global book fair circuit is back – in a big way.
