Stone Bridge Press editor and publisher Peter Goodman is having a great time at the Frankfurt Book Fair! We are excited to share his recent update:Spent my first day at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 26 years, and much has changed. Not the size of the fair, however. The only thing larger than the Frankfurt Book Fair is the size of the platter of potatoes, sauerkraut, and sausages you can buy for lunch. We had some nice meetings with the friendly Yohan staff and with a number of our distributors and customers. Sonja Merz, our Far East sales agent, reports that our books continue to receive great interest in Singapore and across southern Asia.
Our new Shikosha design titles are a big hit: people love the look, the feel, and especially the very reasonable $16.95 price.
I had a chance to sit in the booth and observe the passing scene. Frankfurt seems to be as much about renewing contacts as it is about buying and selling. Yes, people come with business objectives in mind, but I am told that even after people retire from the industry they are inexorably drawn to Frankfurter just to wander the halls and say hi to old friends. I certainly saw a lot of that on the floor: one person stopped dead in her tracks as she recognized another and then reached for a big hug. Now, if only they could practice not doing that sort of thing in the crowded aisles!
Oh, and note to self: Next year, be sure to order tables, chairs, and lights to avoid what happened this year: standing in line at the furniture counter and then dashing out to the ATM to grab hundreds of euros to pay the charges for last-minute rentals (no credit cards accepted).
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