Peter Weidhaas speaks at Svět Knihy Praha (World of Books, Prague) in 2009. Image: CC 3.0
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Directed Buchmesse 1974 to 2000
News from Germany today (November 19) includes information on the November 6 death of Peter Weidhaas at age 86.
Perceptive readers will note that Weidhaas’ death came just a day before that of the American publishing consultant and commentator Mike Shatzkin—two key figures in the world industry lost earlier this month.
Weidhaas was for 26 years the director of Frankfurter Buchmesse (in 2025, October 15 to 19), and is credited with continuing to act as something of a mentor to subsequent directors of the world’s largest book-publishing trade show.
Juergen Boos
In a comment carried by our colleagues today at Börsenblatt, Juergen Boos, the current president and CEO of Buchmesse, says, “For me, Peter Weidhaas was one of my predecessors who pushed forward the internationalization and politicization of Frankfurter Buchmesse.
“In addition, I experienced Peter Weidhaas as a fatherly friend, advisor, and, in the best sense of the word, a critical spirit in our industry.
“I’d like to thank him for his life’s work on behalf of the entire Frankfurt Book Fair team.”
Indeed, one of the earliest alerts received in our Publishing Perspectives offices came from Taiwan’s Michelle Tu, well-known for her own frequent presentations at Frankfurt and for her work with the Taipei International Book Exhibition. Much of the writings of Weidhaas in his books has been translated for Taipei’s market.
He ‘Always Paid Attention to People’
Books by the late Peter Weidhaas
A native Berliner, born in 1938, Weidhaas, as it was said in his books, “could only find home by running away from the authoritarian culture into which he had been born.”
Having apprenticed as a bookseller in the early 1960s, becoming head of the international department at Ausstellungs-und Messe GmbH in 1968. In 1974, Weidhaas was made director of Frankfurter Buchmesse.
As the Börsenblatt editorial team has written today, Weidhaas “helped the fair to become ever more successful until 2000. In addition to more visitors and exhibitors, Weidhaas also ensured greater quality of content by inviting guest countries and turning the fair into a place for international exchange on literature and politics.
“The Society for the Promotion of Literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America, now operating under the name ‘Litprom eV, Literatures of the World.’ was founded in 1980 under his leadership and has since then contributed, also for many years under Weidhaas’ chairmanship, to translating and promoting works from regions lesser known in Germany.”
In a BuchMarkt report on Weidhaas’ death, a 65th-birthday homage from 2003 by columnist Holger Ehling is quoted, reading in part, “There was always a little bit of the Sun King in Peter Weidhaas’ presence when he walked through Frankfurt Book Fair.
“In 26 years as fair director, he had become a trademark in his own right with his imposing appearance—known and respected by publishers all over the world. This respect is based on an impressive record: between 1974, the year he took office, and 2000, the year he left office, the fair grew to almost immeasurable dimensions—there were twice as many visitors, three times as many exhibitors, and four times as much exhibition space when he left.”
As Ehling goes on to relate, Weidhaas’ internationalism was stressed during Buchmesse’s years under his direction, with the guest of honor country tradition being introduced, and the show developing “into a forum for literary and political debates unrivaled anywhere else in the world.” Ehling credits Weidhaas with a particular commitment to “the cultures of the Southern Hemisphere.
Reportedly, a funeral for Weidhaas takes place this week in Mainz.
Peter Weidhaas speaks with Tomás Granados in November 2011 at Guadalajara International Book Fair. Image: University of Guadalajara, FIL, Marte Merlos
More from Publishing Perspectives on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here; more on the German market is here, and more obituaries are here.
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