The Frankfurt Book Fair 2022 is set to take part in the German city from October 18 – 23, 2022. Here are some events featuring Africans and Afro-Germans for you to check out.
The Frankfurter Buchmesse known in English as the Frankfurt Book Fair has been hosted in the European city for many years. It is considered the oldest book fair of them all first from the 1400s until it was interrupted by a series of European wars that ended in 1945. The new version of the fair started off again in 1948 and has gone on to become the biggest trade fair for books on the planet.
The 2022 edition is set for Germany for five days this week mainly in-person with a few virtual events as well. It starts during the week as a trade fair before the weekend where the general public is welcomed to participate. With thousands of exhibitors and hundreds of events, it’s only fair those who want to see African/Afro-German participation this year get to know what they can attend.
Here are selected highlights to look out for;
October 19
20:00 – 22:00
- Najat El Hachmi: On Monday they will love us.
A young woman of Moroccan descent grows up on the outskirts of Barcelona. Amidst the religious and cultural constraints of her Muslim environment, she longs for freedom.
Click here to get more details.
Thursday, October 20
Event: Spotlight on Africa
Venue: African Publishing Innovation Fund stand Hall 4.1 H 102
Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
The African Publishing Innovation Fund will showcase African publishing through a collective stand and short seminar to enhance market awareness, build trade ties, and highlight African publishing challenges. Some of the panels, populated by many of the Usual Suspects that you find in European, are “Promoting Inclusive Publishing in Africa,” “Keeping Students in School and Books in the Hands of Readers in a Pandemic,” and “Transforming African Libraries.”
Those who attend can expect opinions from among others Lawrence Njagi, Gautier Chomel, Akoss Ofori-Mensah, Kumuriwor Alira Bushiratu, Amos Kipeen, Elinor Sisulu, Amina Hachimi Alaoui, Will Clurman, Chirikure Chirikure, Alison Tweed, Alissa Everett, and Patrick Musafiri. Doing moderation duties will be Brian Wafawarowa as well as Book Bunk’s Angela Wachuka and Wanjiru Koinange. Remarks are also expected from Frankfurt Book Fair President and CEO Juergen Boos, International Publishers Association President Bodour Al Qasimi, African Publishing Innovation Fund Program Manager Ben Steward, and an unnamed representative of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Saturday, October 22
Event: Abdelrazak Gurnah – Afterlives
Venue: Frankfurt Podium
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm
Nobel Prize laureate 2021 Abdelrazak will speak about his last novel and the challenge to translate. He will be joined by Eva Bonné and Claudia Kramatschek.
Click here for more information.
Event: Florence Brokowski-Shekete – Out of the box! My conversations with Black Germans.
Time: 18:00 – 19:00
For her new book, Florence Brokowski-Shekete talked to 12 Black Germans from various professions about their lives – from the master butcher in Speyer to the East Frisian car mechanic to the gynaecologist in Saarbrücken.
Click here to get more details.
Sunday, October 23
Event: Translating Feminisms in “The First Woman” by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Venue: Interkontinetal
Time: 14:30h
“The First Woman” is the first novel by Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. Alakati Neidhardt talks to the author about the translation process of the story, political writing, and the reinterpretations of traditional and modern feminisms negotiated in the book. What challenges and particularities do African literatures harbour in their translations? How much colonial continuity is there in Ugandan writing? Are there linguistic adaptations for the German market? What connects translations of Afro-diasporic literatures? In cooperation with Litprom e.V.
Speakers: Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Author), Alakati Neidhardt (Translator)
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