Some of the world’s top authors will thrash out hot political issues at the world’s biggest international book fair, which opens in Germany on Wednesday.
The writers are to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair over three days to draw up what organizers dub a “present to politicians” under a new initiative called “Frankfurt Undercover.”
Fair director Juergen Boos said the move reflects a “sense of self-worth” among authors in a world contemplating issues such as the US National Security Agency spying scandal, the impact of a looming transatlantic free-trade deal and a dispute between publishers and online giant Amazon.
“I think we can expect a very political statement at the end of these three days,” Boos told a press conference.
“I don’t expect the message will be: ‘We authors are underpaid...’ I expect something really socially, politically relevant,” he said.
By holding the talks out of the public gaze and publishers’ earshot, Danish writer Janne Teller, one of those behind the initiative, said she hoped writers would speak freely and come up with ideas that are “not filtered.”
“Hopefully it will give new direction and possibility in a world, I feel, that is very stuck politically,” the author, whose works include the critically acclaimed and controversial 2000 novel Nothing, told reporters by video conference.
Topics and the lineup for the discussions are still under wraps, she said, but the aim is to compile a “compendium of ideas.”
Renowned names set to appear at the five-day book fair include Brazil’s Paulo Coelho, Nobel literature laureate Herta Mueller and Britain’s Ken Follett, whose new novel, Edge of Eternity, is topping international best-seller lists.
Publishers from global hotspots Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan are to feature among the stands from about 100 countries, with Finland’s literature and culture stepping into the spotlight as guest of honor. The number of Asian exhibitors will be up to 5 percent on last year, with publishers from others parts of the world eyeing markets that are large, young and education-hungry, such as in Indonesia, organizers said.
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