If the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair proved anything, it’s that publishers love a good mystery. The hottest topic at the fair wasn’t a buzzy title or the impact of AI; it was discussion about why Charlie Redmayne abruptly departed as head of HarperCollins UK one week prior. Rumors and speculation ranged widely and wildly, but by the close of the fair, which ran October 15–19, the truth had not been uncovered.
Gossip, though, was a mere distraction from other headline-making news. German minister of state for culture Wolfram Weimer opened the event with a speech that charged that AI could “rip the world of literature to pieces” and accused AI companies of “digital colonization,” “organized robbery,” and reducing entire cultures to “suppliers of raw materials.” The speech prompted Richard Grennell, former U.S. ambassador to Germany and a Trump ally, to post on X that Weimer’s speech was “a massive attack on the entire U.S. digital industry with the goal of destroying it in Europe.”
The minister’s concern about the health of the literary world is not unwarranted. Early in the fair, Enrico Turrin of the Federation of European Publishers shared the results of a recent survey showing that 52.9% of Europeans ages 65 and over reported they had not read a book in the past year, compared to just 39.8% for those ages 16–29. Among those who don’t read, 51.3% said they had no interest in reading books, while 21% blamed lack of time.
Dire pronouncements about AI notwithstanding, the technology was all over Frankfurt. Rickard Lundberg, CEO of Aniara, a Stockholm-based AI company that offers automated translations, said he felt publishing was becoming more accustomed to the new tech. “Now companies are judging AI based on assessments of the quality of the product it produces,” he noted.
Peter Schiffer, CEO and publisher of Pennsylvania-based Schiffer Publishing, concurred. “This was the first fair where I had someone tell me to ‘go ahead and use AI to translate my book,’ ” he said. He observed that while this year’s fair felt more lightly trafficked than previous years, his schedule of meetings was just as packed. “It has been a tough year, but there’s creativity out there and people are finding new ways to sell books.”
This year, the fair started to admit the public at 10 a.m. on Friday rather than Saturday, meaning only two days were dedicated exclusively to the trade. The change prompted several European publishers to travel home late Thursday, with some Americans leaving Friday morning.
Next year, even bigger changes are coming, with the fair moving all exhibitors to higher floors of the exhibition center, leaving the ground floors dedicated to event stages and open spaces to serve the public. “This move will make it more convenient for publishers, because all the higher floors are connected by walkways,” said Christian Ebert, head of strategic marketing and sales at the fair. “Publishers won’t have to interact with the public at all if they don’t want.”
It wasn’t clear what Frankfurt’s organizers have in mind for how the public will interact—or not interact—with publishers next year, and publishers were extremely displeased with the plans. “This is the BEA-ification of Frankfurt,” one said. Others said they would have to reconsider whether exhibiting was worth the added logistical challenge of relocating. Furthermore, the LitAg, the rights center for agents, will move yet again, shifting from Hall 6 to Hall 4.
But Ebert rebuffed the suggestion that the fair was prioritizing the public over professionals. “International professionals are a key constituency for us, and we have always balanced our responsibility to them and our responsibility to the German publishers and the public,” he said. It is estimated that fees from overseas professionals and publishers account for two-thirds of the fair’s revenue.
Overall, literary agent Markus Hoffmann of Regal Hoffmann & Associates summarized the mood of this year’s fair best: “Despite what is happening in the world—the populist right-wing politics, the wars, and everything else—we’re all in this together,” he said. “We all love books, we all love publishing. And we’re all still here.”
The fair concluded with the annual handover of the country guest of honor. The Philippines was this year's guest of honor and the Czech Republic will serve in that role in 2026. It plans to present the country’s literature and culture under the motto “Czechia: a Country on the Coast”.
Attendance Up over 2024
According to figures released after the fair closed Oct. 19, the number of professional attendees as well as the general public both had slight gains over 2024 with more members of the public attending the fair than trade attendees. As of the last afternoon of the fair, 118,000 trade visitors made this year's trip, up about 3% over last year, while the number of public visitors increased 4%, to 120,000.
Overall, 4,350 exhibitors were present in the exhibition halls this year, up from 4,300 in 2024. The Literary Agents & Scouts Center (LitAg) and the Publishers Rights Centre (PRC) sold a combined 591 tables, two fewer than 2024..
“We can look back on five successful and intense days,” said Juergen Boos, director of Frankfurter Buchmesse in a statement. “Frankfurter Buchmesse remains on course for growth."
This story has been updated.
