The Leipzig Book Fair (Leipziger Buchmesse) was cancelled in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic again. Program here: www.ahojleipzig2019.de
Tiché roky (Stille Jahre, Wieser, translated by Raija Hauck)
14. 3. 2022, 19:30
Literaturhaus Leipzig, Gerichtsweg 28, 04103 Leipzig
Snídaně s Leviathanem (Frühstück mit Leviathan, Neofelis, translated by Barbora Schnelle)
16. 3. 2022, 19:00
Schaubühne Lindenfels, Karl-Heine-Str. 50, 04229 Leipzig
- an evening full of poetry
17. 3. 2022, 20:20
online
Rekonstrukce (Die Rekonstruktion, Wieser, transated by Raija Hauck)
18. 3. 2022, 19:30
Schaubühne Lindenfels, Karl-Heine-Str. 50, 04229 Leipzig
Můj Golem (Der Prager Golem, bahoe books, translated by Julia Miesenböck)
18. 3. 2022, 20:45
Schaubühne Lindenfels, Karl-Heine-Str. 50, 04229 Leipzig
Hodiny z olova (Stunden aus Blei, Hoffmann und Campe, translated by Eva Profousová)
18. 3. 2022, 21:45
Schaubühne Lindenfels, Karl-Heine-Str. 50, 04229 Leipzig
Trieste Centrale (Kreuzer books)
19. 3. 2022, 20:00
Schaubühne Lindenfels, Karl-Heine-Str. 50, 04229 Leipzig
Unfortunately, the Leipzig Book Fair will also not be taking place in 2021 , though literary events such as Leipzig Liest ("Lepizig reads") are planned all over the city.
The Leipzig Book Fair (Leipziger Buchmesse) was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, the Czech Republic is the main guest country at the book fair in Leipzig. More information can be found at: http://ahojleipzig2019.de/
The international Leipzig Book Fair is undoubtedly one of the most important book festivals and has one of the most significant literary cultures in the world. During the four-day festival, more than two hundred and fifty thousand visitors pass through the gates into the fair. In comparison, this is about six times the number of visitors who annually come to Book World Prague. A series of meetings with authors, discussion forums, book presentations and exhibitions are organized for them. A substantial part of the fair takes place during the first day, when the “Leipzig Reads” (Leipzig liest) festival starts.
Visiting the fair in Leipzig is a must, not only for serious and respectable European publishers, but also for national states which want to gain more visibility at the fair. In fact, Leipzig is a key player in the book market in Germany and it was with this in mind that talks regarding the main guest at the fair were started by the Czech Republic three years ago, which turned out successfully. The Czech Republic will be the main guest country at the fair in March 2019.
The Moravian Library in Brno is responsible for organizing the Czech authors and the Czech literary cultural presentations. The two-year-long preparations were coordinated by a dramaturgy council consisting of leading experts on Czech literature, culture and its presentation abroad, who discuss the programme and its form.
This year’s book fair in Leipzig will run from Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 March. On the first day, the fair’s long-serving director, Oliver Zille, will announce the Czech Republic as the main guest for 2019. The programme for the Czech Year will be announced at a press conference attended by the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, Ilja Šmíd, Mr Zille, and prominent representatives of the city of Leipzig, the state of Saxony and the Czech Republic. The programme will include the presentation at the fair week in 2019, and will also feature contemporary Czech culture in the German-speaking region throughout the whole year from October 2018 to November 2019. Dozens of cultural institutions from the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and Austria are involved in the Czech Year project, not only in Saxon Leipzig, but also across the whole German-speaking region. Czech writers, literary culture, ideas, art, comics, music, design and photography will be introduced during these fourteen months. Similarly, audiences in Prague, Brno and other cities in the Czech Republic will have the opportunity to enjoy contemporary German literary forms and topics.
The aim of the Czech Year project is to increase Czech and German cultural contact and awareness in general between the two countries with such a close history, language and geography. That is why many of the programmes from the Czech Year have been designed to become permanent parts of the Czech and German cultural exchange.
Some samples and illustrations will be offered to German audiences at this year’s fair. There will be authors’ readings and discussions with prominent figures from contemporary Czech prose, poetry and drama. Michal Ajvaz, Bianca Bellová, Petr Borkovec, David Drábek, Sylva Fischerová, Arnošt Goldflam, Jiří Hájíček and Petr Hruška will introduce their most recent works and discuss the current state of Czech literature and literary life.
The increased promotion of Czech literature in connection with the Czech Year has already had positive effects in the German-speaking region. This can be seen in the number of applications for the support of Czech translations to German this year. While there used to be three or four applications on a regular basis, this year there were more than thirty in the first round.
From the middle of March, literature enthusiasts and specialists again have the opportunity to visit this international book fair, where in one area they can discover what different nations and publishers have to offer in contemporary book culture. After Frankfurt, the Leipzig Book Festival, focusing specifically on the readers and cultural discussions, is the second most important event of this type in the German-speaking world.
A traditional part of the festival is Leipzig liest (Leipzig Reads) and the Manga Comic-con.
And if you have already visited the Czech national exhibit in the past, finding the same place in Hall 4 will be easy. Organized by the Czech Ministry of Culture in conjunction with the Moravian Library, the stand has a new design referencing Czech functionalist architecture. There will be a selection from our publishers’ current output – in particular award-winning works from last year, as well as works from some Czech publishers which have significantly influenced Czech culture. Publishing houses such as Baobab, Academia and Host will be among the exhibitors.
However, the focus of the presentation is on books which have attracted the interest of both critics and readers alike – therefore, there will be special emphasis on a collection presenting the taste of Czech readers today and how this is shaped by Czech literary prizes. Visitors to the exhibit can learn more about the books written by winners of major awards such as the State Award, the Jaroslav Seifert Prize, Magnesia Litera, the Jiří Orten Award and the Josef Škvorecký Award. These will be accompanied by award-winning publications from the Zlatá stuha (Gold Ribbon) and Nejkrásnější české knihy (Most Beautiful Czech Books) competitions. There will certainly be no shortage in terms of the latest Czech books or translations from Czech literature at the exhibit. The showcase of translations will also highlight the interests of international audiences when they “read” our country.
The Czech national stand was formally opened on 23 March by Daniel Herman, the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, Oliver Zille, the Director of the Leipzig fair, Burkhard Jung, the Lord Mayor of Leipzig, and Tomáš Podivínský, the Czech Ambassador to Germany.
The ceremonial opening was followed by the signing of a memorandum recognizing the Czech Republic as the main guest country for the 2019 Leipzig Book Fair.
On the same day, the cultural agenda also involved readings from Gruša’s newly published essays and a presentation of the German translation of Durych’s Creeping through Germany (Czech: Plížení Německem), in addition to the events mentioned above. Authors’ readings and discussions mostly took place at the weekend, with the introduction of four Czech authors representing the divergent directions in contemporary literature: Tomáš Šebek, Viktoria Hanišová, Iva Pekárková and Jan Novák all spoke at the national exhibit and other cultural platforms.
While Tomáš Šebek presented his experiences from Doctors Without Borders, featuring himself more as a reportage writer than a novelist, Jan Novák focused on the Mašín brothers and Miloš Forman, Iva Pekárková brought her many years spent in New York and London under the spotlight, and Viktoria Hanišová presented her first novel, Agnes (CZ: Anežka), describing the relationship between a mother and her adopted daughter.
