THE Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM) 2024, or the Frankfurt Book Fair, took place in Frankfurt, Germany from Oct. 16 to 20, 2024. Book rights are exposed and traded at this ancient fair, which has been around for more than 500 years. The Philippines was well-represented with over 70 delegates attending the fair.
Renowned novelist and editor Cecilia Manguerra Brainard first heard about FBM when her book “Selected Short Stories” took home the 40th National Book Awards in 2023. “I initially questioned a few people who had visited about it. Ambeth Ocampo told me that it’s for publishers; there’s nothing much for writers to do.”
Selection
“After winning the award, I asked one of the directors of the National Book Development Board (NBDB), Anthony Balisi, who encouraged me to apply.” She explained the process, which began with registering with the NBDB. “I had to register with the NBDB, and then they vet you. They processed the applications and at some point, they informed me that I got the travel grant,” she said.
Upon learning that she had been chosen as a delegate to the book fair, a German friend of Brainard’s advised her to book her hotel and plane tickets in advance to avoid paying heightened rates. “My friend informed me that the airfare and hotel rates will increase due to the Oktoberfest in Germany, which coincides with the Frankfurt Book Fair,” she shared.
Because of the advice, she was able to get the tickets for less money. However, she revealed that some of her co-delegates were unable to make early purchases, which resulted in them having to pay significantly more — a lesson Brainard hopes future travelers will remember.
She discussed the delegates’ prior preparation for FBM. “A significant number of Zoom meetings were held. However, those that had German rights and publication experts were the most valued. They were really experts; they discussed how to prepare your promotional materials and how to make a pitch to a publisher in person. Since you just have 10 to 15 minutes to meet with those people, you absolutely cannot squander time.
Brainard noted a speaker most useful to them, a German named Petra Hardt. “She talked about the realities of publishing in Germany, how to prepare contracts and all that. I got a lot from her talk, and the next day I followed her on how to prepare her work. So I sent her an email to thank her and asked her ‘what I could do’ about my work,” she said.
Brainard added that they easily became friends, and started discussing how to market her novels. She shared, “Nothing really happened at first, but then she connected me to this literary agent Senja Požar. It was amazing, she quicksold Greek rights and Serbian rights… she sold four [book] rights very quickly,” Brainard said.
According to her, the Frankfurt Book Fair, which lasted five days, is divided into two phases. “The three days is what they call ‘trade.’ That is when the publishers and literary agents negotiate. It’s like a marketplace where they buy and sell translation rights. Over the weekend, they open it up to the public,” Brainard said.
Friendly Faces
For Brainard, the FBM was also like a get-together of writers who already knew each other. She had interacted with fellow acclaimed writers such as Karina Bolasco, Ambeth Ocampo and Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, Jerrold Madridano, Susanne Rexrodt-Madridiano, Hope Sabanpan-Yu and Julius Relampagos, among others. But it was also an opportunity to meet new people. “When you’re with writers, even if you’re meeting them for the first time, it’s kind of a breeze. So as far as those delegates and writers were concerned, we were just really kind of bonding,” she said.
Brainard mentioned a Filipina reader who came all the way from Switzerland to visit her. “It was quite interesting because after a press conference, she went up to me and brought a copy of ‘Growing Up Filipino 1.’ She brought it for me to sign, and it was touching for me since she visited and looked for me,” she said.
She also talked about how an Indian-German poet made the effort to meet her. She told her about her book release plan and asked Brainard whether she would suggest that she employ “the ones that you pay to get your book out.” Brainard told her that she should “just do it if you’re going to do it. You don’t have to hire someone else to do it for you.” (To be continued)