Defying the scaremongers, German book fair draws record visitors

A record number of visitors have attended Germany's popular Leipzig Book Fair this year, according to figures revealed on the final day of the four-day event on Sunday.

The book industry has been under economic pressure for years, amid recurring warnings that books are a dying breed, but the crowds of bookworms flocking to the eastern German city for one of Europe's largest book fairs suggest otherwise.

Some 269,000 visitors attended the Leipzig Book Fair, the Leipzig Reads festival and the Manga-Comic-Con convention this year, up from 13,000 in 2024 - the highest attendance number seen in the event's history.

"The great interest in the book fair shows how important the analogue experience still is," said Director Astrid Böhmisch.

At the same time, the number of exhibitors this year decreased slightly to 2,040 compared to 2,085 last year.

According to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, small, independent publishers in particular are facing economic pressure.

In Germany, federal and state-level support for publishers is mainly available in the form of prizes awarded for literary programmes.

But the association argued that this type of funding isn't predictable enough, calling for better structural support.

Book sales declined by 1.7% Germany last year, according to the association. While total turnover still increased by 0.8%, this was merely due to the fact that books have become more expensive, it said.

The guest of honour at this year's Leipzig Book Fair was Norway, with some 50 authors, including Karl Ove Knausgård and Trude Teige, representing the Scandinavian country under the motto "Traum im Frühling" (Dream in spring).

Next year's book fair is due to take place from March 19-22.

Lit.COLOGNE literature festival also breaks records

The Cologne literature festival lit.COLOGNE also reported a record turnout this year, with over 118,000 visitors attending more than 200 events.

Celebrating its 25th edition, the festival wrapped up on Sunday evening.

Organizers said it was "the most successful festival edition of all time."

With a capacity utilisation of 96%, the festival's halls were sold out over 150 times.

Lit.kid.COLOGNE, the children's and youth programme, attracted 30,000 attendees, setting a new record, according to the organizers.

The next lit.COLOGNE is due to take place from March 10-22.