The Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest event for the book industry, opens its doors today – initially to trade visitors from around the world and, from Friday, to the general public as well. The 78th Frankfurt Book Fair is the most important marketplace for new releases from around the world, a hub for industry news and major trends, and the largest networking event for the international book industry. Numerous Bertelsmann publishers and companies are right at the heart of the action. They are looking forward to welcoming an estimated 235,000 visitors to the Frankfurt exhibition halls over the fair’s five-day run.
New logo and new wordmark
Penguin Random House publishers from around the world and their authors are once again out in force at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe is presenting all of its publishing houses at its large joint stand, E23 in Hall 3.0. In addition to a new, open stand concept, the publishing group is showcasing a new logo unveiled this week that is likely to attract particular attention from trade visitors. The new logo puts the penguin front and center, in line with the other PRH markets. Also making its debut is the new “Penguin Random House Verlage” wordmark, which highlights the group’s publishing houses and their diversity, while the penguin stands for books and publishing worldwide and signals that they are part of the international Penguin Random House family.
Not far from the redesigned Penguin Random House Verlage stand, colleagues from DK Germany can be found at their stand in Hall 3.0, D16. Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe’s audiobook publishers – der Hörverlag, der Audio Verlag, Cbj Audio, and Random House Audio – can be found at a new location this year, sharing stand E47 in Hall 3.0. The group’s children’s and young adult publishers are at stand D90 in Hall 3.0. And Cross Cult, the Ludwigsburg-based publisher specializing in manga, comics, and novels for adults and young adults, which has been part of Penguin Random House Verlage since 2025, can be found at stand B103 in Hall 4.0.
The Blue Sofa kicks off ‘Open Books’
Last night, several authors were guests on the Blue Sofa at the opening of Open Books. Open Books is the reading festival associated with the Frankfurt Book Fair and is traditionally opened with the Blue Sofa event. Saxony-Anhalt’s former Minister President Reiner Haseloff, author Ingo Schulze, and historian Andrea Wulf (“The Traveler,” C. Bertelsmann) spoke about their latest books. They were joined by Shida Bazyar, the newly crowned winner of the 2026 German Book Prize.
The long-running Bertelsmann literary format has been featured in Frankfurt exclusively at the opening of the “Open Books” reading festival in recent years. This year, it is returning to the heart of the book fair. On Thursday and Friday, a total of eight authors will appear on the “Discovery Stage” in Hall 5.0: Ruth-Maria Thomas, Luca Kieser, Andreas Kossert, Miriam Carbe, Leh-Wei Liao, Helga Schubert, Manik Sarkar, and Michaela Benthaus. The Blue Sofa is thus returning to the place where books, the industry, and readers come together. Journalist Anouk Schollähn will moderate the discussions.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is also a must-attend event for colleagues from Penguin Random House’s English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-language publishing houses, particularly those working in rights and licensing. The English-language Penguin Random House publishers – Penguin Random House U.S., Penguin Random House UK, and Penguin Random House Canada – can be found as usual at stand D19 in Hall 5.1. International publisher DK is right next door at stand D1. Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial can be found at D69 in Hall 3.1. Its Argentine publishing subsidiary is also represented at stand F86 in the same hall.
Well-known authors at the ‘30-Minuten-WG’
Numerous authors will be visiting the book fair from today through Sunday. More than 50 of them will also appear on the “30-Minuten-WG” stage at Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe’s joint stand (Hall 3.0, D21). For the sixth time, RTL Deutschland’s “Stern” magazine and the publishing group are jointly hosting the “30-Minuten-WG” book-talk series at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Guests include prominent authors such as Wolf Biermann, Dörte Hansen, Charlotte Link, Leh-Wei Liao, Richard David Precht, Stefanie Stahl, Andrea Wulf, Jaroslav Rudiš, Melanie Raabe, Volker Klüpfel, Hans-Jürgen Papier, Michaela Benthaus, and Jan Weiler. All “30-Minuten-WG” events will be livestreamed on the publishing group’s website and via the Litlounge online platform.
Literary speed dating
Publishers Blessing, Luchterhand, and Penguin are presenting three literary highlights from their fall programs at the book fair. RBB moderator Thomas Böhm will talk to authors Luca Kieser (“Simsalabim, Simon Brenner”), Leh-Wei Liao (“Glaszeit” (Glass Time)), and Gregor Sander (“Troja, später Nachmittag” (Troy, Late Afternoon)) about their new novels on the “Inspiration Stage” in Hall 3.0. The literary speed dating brings together three contemporary voices and offers focused insights into very different worlds. Their novels explore political radicalization and undercover investigations with a touch of true crime, the fragility of a young doctor’s life between Taipei and Cologne, and the adventurous life story of Heinrich Schliemann, the discoverer of Troy.
Comprehensive services for the media and publishing industry
Vereinigte Verlagsauslieferung (VVA) is also represented with its own stand this year (Hall 4.1, F27), near Frankfurt’s Messeturm. The Arvato subsidiary is presenting its full range of services as a “Publishing Partner,” ranging from traditional logistics services for publishers and digital distribution services for e-books and audiobooks to additional offerings such as accounts receivable management, invoicing, debt collection, and customized customer support and information services. Trade visitors are invited to meet and network at the VVA stand. Last year alone, Arvato shipped more than 120 million books and games through its subsidiaries Vereinigte Verlagsauslieferung (VVA) and Verlegerdienst München (VM) from its three locations in Gütersloh, Verl, and Gilching.
‘Deutschland im Demokratie-Check’ (‘Germany’s Democracy Check’)
Alongside Penguin Random House’s publishers, the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s publishing house also has its own stand, although in a new location this year: Hall 3.0, H22. Among other titles, the foundation is presenting the 20th volume in its popular “Leon und Jelena” series for very young bookworms, in which children at a daycare center help make decisions about many aspects of everyday life. In the new story, “Die Ballettgruppe” (The Ballet Group), Marta inspires other girls and boys to learn to dance. Together, they consider how they can start a ballet group at their daycare center. One highlight is the foundation’s “Deutschland im Demokratie-Check” (Germany’s Democracy Check) event on Sunday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the Inspiration Stage in Hall 3.0. Robert Vehrkamp, an expert in democracy research at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, will compare the views of book fair visitors with the representative survey results from the foundation’s “Demokratiemonitor 2026” (Democracy Monitor 2026) and discuss the findings.
