Every year, the Global Book Fair Report published by the International Publishers Association (IPA) provides a comprehensive and authoritative compendium of world book fairs.
A key finding of the 2017 edition is that – despite the e-commerce growth in all kinds of business – book fairs remain a pivotal component of the publishing industry, as a strategic market place for publishing professionals to trade rights and build networks, and an essential cultural platform for promotion of literature and reading.
This year’s edition is organized into geographical regions: the Americas, Africa, Asia / Oceania, Europe, and the Middle East / Central Asia. Each area features a special focus on an event, giving its national context and other useful information for book professionals for planning their business trips.
Broadly speaking, European book fairs are now focusing on innovation in the services and activities available, while a number of new book fairs are emerging in other regions, such as in Asia and the Caucasus. Everywhere, book fair formats vary depending on scope, target audience, and who is organizing them – be they private sector, trade union, governmental or joint initiative.
In this context, special mention in the report is reserved for the Aldus Book Fairs network, as a dynamic European initiative aimed at building book fairs’ capacity in terms of internationalization, digital shift and audience development.
The report also includes an extensive calendar of international book fairs. Data provided by book fair organizers, such as the number of exhibitors and visitors, based on 2016 results, give a useful indicator of the character and scale of the events.
The full report is available for download on the IPA website
