Foire du Livre, in Brussels. Image: FBM
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Guest Artists and Events in Brussels
The Foire du Livre de Bruxelles, somehow getting itself into some overlapping dates with London Book Fair (March 11 to 13), runs in Brussels this week, March 13 to 16.
Those in Belgium will find that this francophone book fair has the German language as its guest of honor, in recognition of a tongue spoken in Belgium, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, and Switzerland.
The “German Stories” collective stand, with its distinctive and easy-to-spot pink livery, is part of the program and you can see information about it here.
A book-to-screen program is organized by Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 15 to 19)—and that trade show is of course prominently standing at the heart of London Book Fair (March 11 to 13) this week.
The German-speaking literary sphere is to be presented at Brussels, under the motto Wanderlust: Voyager à travers la littérature de langue allemande. The presentation at the fair is being organized by Frankfurt with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, in cooperation with partner organizations from six countries.
The Theme: ‘Wanderlust’
A total of 17 German-speaking authors, illustrators, and spoken-word artists from Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria will travel to Brussels as part of the Wanderlust program, coming into contact there with Belgian literature fans.
Among those in attendance will be authors, illustrators, and creators of comics and graphic novels, including Bernhard Schlink; Nino Haratischwili; Daniel Kehlmann; Lukas Bärfuss; Antje Rávik Strubel; Ulli Lust;, Mikael Ross; and War and Peas. They’ll appear at over 20 events together with their French-speaking counterparts, among them Vanessa Springora, Antoine Wauters, Alex Garin, Josée Kamoun, and Marc Dubuisson.
The book-to-screen program on Friday (March 14) organized by Frankfurt with SACD, Bela, bureau Europe Créative de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and play.brussels, will invite players from the book and film industries to participate in an exchange of ideas and experiences.
The 100-square-meter German collective stand in the Gare Maritime (Stand No. 125) on the Brussels fairgrounds will feature German-language book collections, including comics and graphic novels, the longlist for the German Book Prize, and works by author Thomas Mann.
Some 50 German-language publishers of fiction, media for children and young adults, and comics and graphic novels, will be represented at the stand, which will be opened at 8 p.mm on Wednesday evening (March 12), with a performance by spoken-word artist Jessy James LaFleur.
Juergen Boos
In a comment on the plans, Juergen Boos, Frankfurt president and CEO, says, “Under the motto Wanderlust, the guest of honor program in the ‘Capital of Europe’ will invite visitors to discover German-language literature in all its facets.
“Numerous organizations from six countries will participate, making this a truly European project.
“I’m particularly pleased that so many renowned authors, illustrators, and artists will travel to Brussels to engage in a direct exchange during their events with their Belgian colleagues, culture fans, and international visitors.”
The multi-market German-language guest of honor appearance at the fair is being organized by Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, together with the Brussels Book Fair (Foire du Livre de Bruxelles); the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Brussels; the Austrian ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs; the Austrian Cultural Forum Brussels; Goethe-Institut Brussels and its Europanetzwerk Deutsch program; the Swiss arts council Pro Helvetia; the Brussels representative of Belgium’s German-speaking community; the Liechtensteiner Cultural Foundation; the Liechtensteiner ministry of Social Affairs and Culture; the embassy of Liechtenstein in Brussels; and Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg.
The Foire du Livre at Brussels has been running since 1969, and as a French-language fair is the key event for publishing in the Belgian market.
Attendance recently has reached between 75,000 and 80,000 people, including some 1,200 authors, 2,500 publishing professionals, and 6,000 school students.
More about Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, more on book fairs is here, more on the Belgian market is here, and more on book publishing in Germany is here.
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