A range of second hand booksellers set up outside one of the entrances. |
The 2010 Frankfurt Book Fair spills beyond the 8 halls and many
pavilions onto the streets outside. |
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On the opening day there was an orchestra to greet the early arrivals
from the U-Bahn. They worked their way through some of the Beethoven
symphonies. |
| There are sections for every skill, trade and specialism associated with
the publishing business. The photo below was taken just before the show closed which is
the only time the place is not packed with people.
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The artists had interesting stands that were made of cardboard. Indeed
all of the seats at the many talks, readings or debates were also made from
cardboard - and they survived the show! |
There was a hall devoted to the media and film, a live broadcast studio set
up outside in the central area plus several open studios where TV interviews
and discussions were recorded with a live audience. |
There was a 200 page booklet listing hundreds of events, talks, launches
and readings plus five
supplementary listings. So there are plenty of activities to slot around your
appointments and touring the stands. |
A high-powered panel debate who is going to be control of
the E-publishing business. A full report on the debate will follow. |
If you plan carefully, or are lucky, you get to hear some excellent and
well informed debate. |
A working production line was set up, demonstrating how
book printing has been downsized. Will distributed printing and POD be the
printers answer to the ebook? |
There is plenty of hardware on display. Although there was much
discussion about epublishing, the business is still dominated by printed
paper.
See the production lne |
You could specify the ebook-reader design you wanted and they could have a
prototype to you in a week! There is no agreement on what functions the user
wants from the hardware yet and there are still a few technical challenges
based around battery life and the type of screen. |
The ebook featured prominently at the show and 2011/2012 were seen at
the years when this format would really take off.
Making your ebooks |
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For the first 3 days the fair is trade only.
But at the weekend it is
open to the public.
And the younger generation join in with an informal parade of youngsters who dress up as their favourite character. |
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....and there goes Avatar. |
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And if it all gets too much there was plenty of opportunity to relax.
Ice cream and massage were easy to find and alcohol was impossible to
escape after about 5pm every evening. |
| Frankfurt 2010 was an exciting place to be. Ebooks are
coming -The number of discussions made that clear - but it was hard to find
any ebooks being promoted on the publishers' stands. Things will be
different in 2011. |
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| Another memory of the fair will be the wonderful
smells. In the morning it was the visceral sense of fresh bread that greeted
your nostrils. This gave way to the aroma of coffee from the many vendors
and food-shops in each hall. It too a strong character to avoid the panini
and pizza which fill the foyers as lunchtime approached.
None of this should imply that the halls are badly ventilated
- each aroma was efficiently wafted away which is what allowed the next to
replace it. |
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