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Leipzig Book Fair

Every year in March, the publishing world flocks to Germany's eastern city of Leipzig for the renowned Leipzig Book Fair.

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people looking at books on a stand

Can literature rise up against Russia's war?

European writers talk about power and powerlessness in the face of war in Ukraine at the Leipzig Book Fair.
CultureMarch 21, 2022
A painting of Martin Luther wearing a floppy hat.

8 things to know about the Luther Bible

From ink stains to women lost in translation, here are a few facts about Luther's Bible, translated 500 years ago.
CultureJanuary 5, 2022
Author Jasmina Kuhnke looking toward a window.

Controversy over right-wing publishers at book fair

"No space for Nazis" urges Jasmina Kuhnke — a Black writer who has canceled participation in the fair.
CultureOctober 21, 2021
Frankfurt Book Fair banners waving in the wind

Frankfurt Book Fair: 25,000 visitors daily

Organizers of the world's largest book trade fair have obtained a special permission to welcome 25,000 people daily.
LiteratureSeptember 1, 2021
Leipziger Buchmesse 2019 | Vorbereitungen Logo

The impact of the cancelled Leipzig Book Fair on publishers

The cancellation of the major fair is a heavy blow for publishers, authors and the public.
LiteratureMarch 6, 2020
Deutschland Berlin Aufbau ITB trotz Coronavirus

Costs rising from canceled trade shows

As more and more trade fair events are being canceled, the ones incurring costs are asking who will compensate them.
BusinessMarch 5, 2020
Literaturfest München 2016

How do independent publishers in Germany survive?

After the bankruptcy of Germany's largest book wholesaler, small publishers are on red alert.
CultureApril 4, 2019
A protest against Putin in Russia where someone holds a sign with Putin lies on it

For Masha Gessen, Putin is a mafia godfather

Gessen has won the 2019 Leipzig Book Fair Award for European Understanding for her book "The Future Is History."
LiteratureMarch 20, 2019
A view of the Prague Old City center from above

4 contemporary Czech novels you don't want to miss

The Czech Republic is country of honor at the Leipzig Book Fair 2019. We dip into four exciting works by Czech writers.
LiteratureMarch 19, 2019
Buchmesse Leipzig 2018 Autorin Esther Kinsky

Esther Kinsky: 'Summer Resort'

Esther Kinsky takes us along on a journey through a Hungarian summer colony, a wasteland of dreams.
LiteratureOctober 8, 2018
Gretchen and Rudi Dutschke at a demonstration

Why Germany's 1968 movement hasn't failed

Activist Gretchen Dutschke tells DW why she feels positive about the social changes that emerged from the 1968 protests.
CultureApril 11, 2018
Deutschland - Protestaktion gegen rechte Verlage auf der Leipziger Buchmesse

Leipzig Book Fair: right-wing publishers debate

Despite the Leipzig Book Fair's varied program, right-wing publishers publishers at the trade fair remain controversial.
CultureMarch 16, 2018
The stage of the Athemeum in Bucharest

Romania's culture: 8 things you need to know

While corruption affects its developing economy, Romania's rich cultural scene offers reasons to hope.
CultureMarch 15, 2018
Carmen-Francesca Banciu, Autorin

Germany slow to accept multicultural creators

Carmen-Francesca Banciu
Carmen-Francesca Banciu, a German and Romanian writer, on integration and her sense of identity as an author.
CultureFebruary 25, 2018
Deutschland Leipziger Buchmesse

Lithuania – small country, lots to offer

A literary adventure through Lithuania, the Guest of Honor at the Leipzig Book Fair 2017.
CultureMarch 28, 2017
01.2012 DW Arts.21

A literature special

Literature from Lithuania, big debuts and heated debates. A special about the Leipzig Book Fair.
CultureMarch 27, 2017
DW euromaxx 24.03.17_Poppy J. Anderson

Bestselling writer Poppy J. Anderson

Poppy J. Anderson has sold over two million romance novels.
CultureMarch 27, 201704:15 min
DW euromaxx 24.03.17_Poppy J. Anderson

Bestselling writer Poppy J. Anderson

Poppy J. Anderson has sold over two million romance novels.
CultureMarch 25, 2017
01.2012 DW Euromaxx

Euromaxx - Lifestyle Europe | 25.03.2017

Elton John is turning 70, Poppy J. Anderson writes romance novels and a French chef turns to vegetables.
CultureMarch 25, 2017
Mathias Enard

Leipzig Book Fair opens with prize for European values

Mathias Énard's winning book is said to build bridges between Europe and the Middle East.
CultureMarch 22, 2017
Women at the Vilnius Book Fair

What Lithuanians read - and want you to read about them

Lithuania is full of bookworms and has a diverse history that's reflected in its books, writes DW's Inga Janiulytė.
CultureMarch 20, 2017
Books

Leipzig Book Prize announces shortlist

The Leipzig Book Prize has nominated 15 titles - including a book of poetry in the fiction category.
CultureFebruary 16, 2017
Daniela Schreiter signs books at the Leipzig Book Fair, Copyright: DW/ A. Steffes

German comic scene picks up the pace

Post-war Germany saw Batman and Asterix as child's play; Now the graphic novel is winning readers with serious topics.
March 21, 2016
DW Arts.21

Arts.21 | The Cultural Magazine | 19.03.2016

For literature lovers: a novel about refugees; pop and protest, and collaborative writing on the web.
March 21, 2016

Cosplay - Fantasies come to life

Cosplay is the latest trend to take hold fantasy seekers.
CultureMarch 20, 201604:29 min
Two female cosplayers (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Role play: cosplayers

Cosplayers meet up at the Leipzig Book Fair.
March 18, 2016
Leipzig Book Fair 2016, Copyright: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas

Leipzig Book Fair Prize rewards three epic works

These three books in German can expect a boost in sales thanks to the prestigious award they have just received.
March 17, 2016
Book, Copyright: dpa - Bildfunk

Celebrating German literature at the Leipzig Book Fair

An award ceremony kicks off this major German book fair on March 16, before it opens its doors to the public.
March 16, 2016
lit.Cologne 2015, Anke Engelke and Bastian Pastewka. Copyright: Horst Galuschka

lit.Cologne sparkles

Cologne has pulled out all the stops for the lit.Cologne festival, with comedians and actors joining bestselling authors
March 18, 2015
Copyright: Leipziger Messe GmbH / Uli Koch

Leipzig Book Fair - Record Number of Visitors

The Leipzig book fair has come to an end, counting a new record of visitors.
March 16, 2015
Germany’s Culture Commissioner Monika Grütters at Leipzig Book Fair. Copyright: DW/K 21

Cultural bridges

Germany’s Culture Commissioner explains why ties with Israel are so strong and what’s tricky about TTIP.
March 13, 2015
The Leipzig Book Fair 2015. Copyright: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa

The serious business of selling books

The Leipzig Book Fair is sometimes bizarre but ultimately an effective stage for German books.
March 13, 2015
Jan Wagner

Leipzig awards German authors

The Leipzig Book Fair has kicked off, with 2,200 exhibitors set to attend the four-day event.
March 12, 2015
US author T.C. Boyle. Copyright: Tom Schulze/dpa

International books Germans are reading

Germans love to read. But what current international books are whetting their appetites.
March 12, 2015
Copyright: Leipziger Buchmesse

Start of lit.Cologne and Leipzig Book Fair

The month of March witnesses two of Germany's biggest literary events.
March 11, 2015
Leipzig Book Fair.

Tips for the Leipzig Book Fair

DW's Jefferson Chase profiles three authors to watch at the Leipzig Book Fair, which opens today.
March 11, 2015
Mircea Cartarescu, Copyright: EPA/ANGEL DIAZ

Leipzig Book Award

Mircea Cartarescu's surreal world of dreams and nightmares reveals the absurdity of Ceausescu's dictatorship in Romania.
March 11, 2015
St. Nicholas Church

Leipzig: City of peaceful revolution

The Gewandhaus concert hall, the annual book fair and Auerbachs Keller: Leipzig has no shortage of cultural and culinary attractions. The city also played an important role in recent German history.
HistorySeptember 6, 201405:02 min

Boring Books?

A debate in recent weeks has the German literary world in a tizzy. German-speaking writers have been accused of producing work that’s overly sedate, even boring. Authors from immigrant backgrounds who write here are similarly humdrum, it’s said. Arts.21 pays a visit to the Leipzig Book Fair in search of authors who flout conventions and take risks.
CultureMarch 15, 201405:57 min
Mountaintops peek through cloubds in the Graubünden region in Switzerland Photo: Andrea Badrutt

New life for old language

The Romansh language of Switzerland may be threatened, but its literary scene is buzzing.
March 14, 2014
Scene from the film "The Monuments Men" with actors Matt Damon and George Clooney, Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

A year of culture

George Clooney and Ai Weiwei present their work in Berlin this year. What else is on deck?
January 3, 2014
The first visitors flood into the Leipzig Book Fair 2013

Leipzig Book Fair

With 2,069 exhibitors from 43 countries, the Leipzig Book Fair is a literary voyage of discovery.
March 15, 2013
A couple with a child at a camp for Sinti and Roma in front of the gates of Paris: Photo c.1957/58

Inventing the 'other'

Europeans persecuted Roma and Sinti to assert their modernity, theorizes an award-winning author.
March 13, 2013
Leipzig Book Fair. Photo: Jan Woitas dpa/lsn

What's on in March

The Leipzig Book Fair, lit.Cologne and Easter are just some of cultural highlights in March.
February 26, 2013
Image of Leipzig Book Fair Hall in 2011

Leipzig Book Fair

Industry sales may be shrinking, but things are looking up for the Leipzig Book Fair.
March 16, 2012

Leipzig Book Fair

Graphic novels about hard-hitting topics are among the highlights at this year's Leipzig Book Fair.
March 16, 2012

Serbian Literature: A Look at the 2011 Leipzig Book Fair's Special Guest Country

War broke out in what was then Yugoslavia twenty years ago. Of all the republics that formed after the collapse of this once multinational state, Serbia's road to stability has been rockiest. This year, it was chosen by the Leipzig Book Fair as special guest country. We take a look at how Serbian writers are processing the country's past and indeed their own, and also find out what issues they're dealing with today. ARTS 21 catches up with authors Vladimir Pištalo and Milena Marković.
CultureMarch 20, 201107:02 min
Georg Klein

On childhood

The prestigious Leipzig Book Fair Prize goes unexpectedly to Georg Klein for his look at childhood.
March 19, 2010
A treble clef

Bach, Mendelssohn and co.

This year's Leipzig Book Fair highlights the city's many music publishers for the first time.
March 17, 2010

Culture calender

From music and art to film and dance - find out what's going on in Germany's cultural scene.
February 22, 2010