From 18th to 22nd October, Latvia will be attending the Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse) with its national exhibition. This year, the fair will be attended not only by publishers, but also writers Laura Vinogradova, Andris Kalnozols, Jānis Joņevs, Signe Viška and Madara Gruntmane. Latvia's participation in the fair is ensured by the literature export platform "Latvian Literature" and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA).
Latvia's stand in Frankfurt this year, much like in the previous year, has been designed to reflect the visual concept specially created for the promotional campaign #iamintrovert – the apartment of introverted writers I. and I. However, this year, the apartment, brought to life by the illustrator Reinis Pētersons, will host a celebration in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Frankfurt Book Fair. During the fair, visitors at the Latvian stand will also have the opportunity to explore the virtual tour on rigabooktour.lv created by the "Latvian Literature" platform.
“Although Latvia is recognized in Frankfurt for its translated literature, our goal this year is to become even more visible. During the fair, we have ensured extensive participation of authors in both the official program and events outside the Frankfurt city market. We take pride in the fact that exciting books are being published in Latvia, and together with us, foreign publishers are proud to release them to reach readers all over the world, as our authors deserve international attention," said Rita Dementjeva, a representative of the "Latvian Literature" platform.
Latvia will be represented in more than ten events at this year's fair. Several of them will feature the author Laura Vinogradova, whose novel "Upe" was recently published by the German publishing house "Paperento." The official event programme of the fair includes writers Andris Kalnozols and Jānis Joņevs, who will be sharing their thoughts on how the environment influences literature and vice versa. On 19th October at 17:00, the Latvian stand will hold a reception, to which foreign publishers of Latvian literature and other collaboration partners are invited. Several events related to Latvian literature will also be taking place in Frankfurt city this week. Among other events, there will be a screening of the film "Jelgava 94," followed by a meeting with the author of the novel (published in Germany by "Parasitenpresse"), Jānis Joņevs. Additionally, there will be a reading and creative workshop for children led by the author Signe Viška, whose book "Kate, Who Wanted to Become a Grandfather" (co-authored with illustrator Elīna Brasliņa) has been published by the German publisher "Atlantis." Authors Laura Vinogradova and poet Madara Gruntmane will participate in the festival's "Open Books" readings. a meeting with Andris Kalnozols and the Latvian diaspora in Germany will take place. This event is organized in collaboration with the Latvian Society in Frankfurt and LIAA.
The official participants of Latvia's stand (Hall 4.1, stand number D2) for this year are the publishing houses "Liels un mazs","Jāņa Rozes apgāds", "Aminori", "Madris", "Northmaps", "Baltais Valis", "Balts", "Pētergailis", the "Latvian Literature" platform, and the Latvian Publishers' Association. Individual stands at the fair will be hosted by Latvian printing companies "Livonija Print" (Hall 3.1, stand number H30), "Jelgavas tipogrāfija" (Hall 4.0, stand number H36), and "PNB Print" (Hall 3.1, stand number H84).
