Frankfurt Book Fair 2020: ‘The Fair Is Wherever You Are’
The Frankfurt Book Fair opens, but this year without the public. Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe is offering a wide-ranging virtual program tying in to the Fair - and the digital events featuring many famous authors can be attended from anywhere, true to the motto “The Fair Is Wherever You Are.”
On site, via livestream, or on social media: In this remarkable year for the Book Fair, Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe once again offers booklovers plenty of opportunities to experience authors and discover new books and audiobooks. Under the heading “The Fair Is Wherever You Are,” the public can attend the digital event formats from anywhere, whether on the ground in Frankfurt, at home, or while on the move.
This week, the public can experience numerous top-class authors from the publishing group on the Open Books, Bookfest, and ARD stages in Frankfurt, on the Blue Sofa in Berlin, at the Literaturhaus Munich, or online via livestream. Verlagsgruppe authors, including Alex Beer, Carla Berling, and Thomas Winkler, invite you to a virtual Book Fair experience on social media with a short video: Followers of the Blanvalet, Goldmann, Heyne, Penguin, Prestel, Random House Audio, Sinnliche Seiten, Südwest, as well as inside.penguinrandomhouse and Buchentdecker channels can take a look behind the scenes under the hashtags #Buchmessenliebe and #behindbooks, and go on a voyage of discovery that tracks the creation of a book. This way, booklovers not only get to know the authors and their everyday work; they also learn more about things like the graphic design of a book or planning an online fair.
There is much to discover at www.penguinrandomhouse.de as well: Visitors are invited on a virtual scavenger hunt, where they can solve puzzles to win individual book packages. The “Author meets Bookstagram” initiative shows that it is possible to interact in a very personal way even online: Bloggers meet favorite authors on their Instagram channel and can ask what they’ve always wanted to know, share book recommendations, or simply have an informal chat. All Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe initiatives are also tagged with the hashtags #fbm20 #FrankfurterBuchmesse and #bookfestdigital.
“We are taking the Book Fair to where our readers are –event stages, living rooms, dining tables, and on the train,” says Claudia Limmer, General Manager Marketing & Communications at Penguin Random House Publishing Group. “We are supporting the Frankfurt Book Fair’s diverse offerings both virtually and in the physical realm. Our social media channels help to complement and extend the Fair feeling: We love the Book Fair and want to share that with the book community, especially this year. We very much look forward to talking to each other on all channels and interacting with the public on relevant topics, fascinating stories, and a wide array of opinions and ideas.”
