Germany

In a year dominated by divisive, nationalist politics, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the 2017 Frankfurt Book FairWorld's largest trade fair for books; held annually mid-October at Frankfurt Trade Fair, Germany; First three days exclusively for trade visitors; general public can attend last two. by emphasizing the importance of books and culture. Speaking at the fair's opening ceremony, the two leaders spoke of forging a new Europe that is united-not divided-by culture and mulitlingualism.

When Sharon Dodua Otoo moved from Ilford to Hanover as an au pair in 1992, her family were concerned. Would a black girl from outer London cope with provincial Germany? "They were really panicked about it. ‘Don't stay too long,' they said."  Read more

Born-digital millennial readers are a slippery bunch. Reports indicate that this generation is equally engaged in content in both print and digital formats. But one thing is clear: more readers are going to discover and read books - as well as related content - on their phones and tablets.  Read more

Slowly, but surely the European market is opening up to self-publishing, and Kobo, with its partnerships with local retailers in each country, is intent on making the platform as user-friendly as possible.

This month we look at two European powerhouses in France and Germany. The French publishing scene which has a long history of being both of high-quality and highly creative is still largely concentrated in and around Paris. Yet, according to population growth forecasts, its worldwide language pool is set to hit 700 million by the middle of the century.  Read more