With the theme “German Stories”, Germany will present itself at the Taipei International Book Exhibition from 12 to 17 February 2019. “German Stories” designates the variety of stories that can be told out of Germany: The rich cultural programme at the German collective stand will emphasise literary as well as professional and socio-political themes.

Together with Taiwanese authors, 13 German writers will present their works at the fair: Theresia Enzensberger, Sebastian Fitzek, Arne Jysch, Marc-Uwe Kling, Miriam Meckel, Axel Scheffler, Wilhelm Schmid, Ronen Steinke, Stephan Thome, Holger Volland and Alexander von Schönburg. In addition to literary voices, the focus will also be on current social topics, including artificial intelligence and technology and its impact on society, as well as on issues that are of particular relevance in Taiwan, including coming to terms with the past and justice.

In Berlin, Dr Andreas Görgen, Head of the Directorate-General for Culture and Communication at the Federal Foreign Office, said: “I am delighted that Germany will be Guest of Honour at the Taipei International Book Exhibition for the first time, since fostering and promoting German-Taiwanese relations, particularly in the fields of culture and the economy, is especially important to us. That is why we will not only be presenting Germany’s literary diversity, but also other aspects of our culture, including the ‘Made in Germany’ design.”

“The Frankfurter Buchmesse has had a close relationship with the Taipei International Book Exhibition for many years – whether as an exhibitor, consultant or manager of the professional programme. This year, the Guest of Honour presentation offers an excellent opportunity to deepen the strong ties between the German and Taiwanese publishing industries”, says Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

“We are connecting German and Taiwanese players and helping to boost the licensing business in the long term. Through the supporting programme in particular, which will feature many authors travelling to the event from abroad, we would like to present the audience with a picture of current German literary and non-fiction production”, continues Juergen Boos.

“The Goethe-Institut Taipei organises and supports a broad spectrum of cultural events to showcase German culture in Taiwan and to promote German-Taiwanese and intercultural exchange”, explains Jens Rösler, Director of the Goethe-Institut Taipei.

“Taiwan has a strong reading culture, and Taiwanese readers have tremendous intellectual curiosity about and interest in articles and publications from Germany. This is an ideal basis for our partnership and the reason why we have been working with the Taipei International Book Exhibition for years. We are delighted that, thanks to Germany’s participation as Guest of Honour at the Taipei International Book Exhibition, in close cooperation with the Frankfurter Buchmesse, we can take our collaboration and cultural partnership of values with our Taiwanese partner institutions and friends to a new level.”

The Guest of Honour programme is conceived, planned and organised in a close collaborative effort between the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Goethe-Institut Taipei and German Institute Taipei. In addition, these partners also coordinate closely with the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, the organiser of the fair, as well as with publishers and agencies locally. The Guest of Honour appearance is funded by the Federal Foreign Office. (Read: An International Show-Going Experience to Explore in A Book Exhibition)

Bauhaus, Burnout, “Blue Pause” – Programme Highlights at the Stand

The German collective stand will present not only contemporary Germany literature, but also culture and design from Germany. On the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the Bauhaus in 2019, the German Guest of Honour appearance will devote particular attention to this legendary school of thought. The simple design of the 414-sqm German collective stand draws on elements of the Bauhaus.

In addition, visitors will have the chance to slip into costumes from Oskar Schlemmer’s “Triadisches Ballett” (Triadic Ballet) and to capture the moment in snapshots. The costumes are loosely based on Oskar Schlemmer’s drawings and designs and were conceived and produced for this participatory activity in collaboration with the award-winning Frankfurt-based refugee initiative “Stitch by Stitch.”

The programme at the stand brings German authors and journalists together with their Taiwanese colleagues: Bestselling author Marc-Uwe Kling will talk to the journalist and author Yu Li Lin about his futuristic satire “Qualityland”, in which he predicts that algorithms will determine our work, leisure and love lives in the not-too-distant future. In conversation with Hua-yue Chen, the journalist Miriam Meckel will present her “Letter to My Life”, a personal report of her burnout and how she overcame it.

Theresia Enzensberger (“Blaupause” [“Blue Pause”]) and Jade Y. Chen – an author and theatre director, who lives in Taiwan and Germany and who has published numerous successful novels – will trace parallels and differences in the lives and love stories of their heroines. And, in his talk “Recht oder Unrecht” (“Right or Wrong”), defence lawyer and bestselling author Ferdinand von Schirach will probe our notions of “right” and “wrong.”

Staff members of numerous exhibitors will be on site, including Carlsen, Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag, Loewe, Ullstein Publishers, Carl Hanser Verlag, Schweizerbart/Borntraeger, Delius Klasing, Suhrkamp, arsEdition and Quaternio Verlag Lucerne (Switzerland), as well as Deutsche Welle DW.

BIZ Peking, the overseas office of the Frankfurter Buchmesse in China, will display especially beautiful German books at the stand as well as selected titles from theme collections. Other collections at the stand will present books on the Bauhaus, artificial intelligence, graphic novels/comics, children’s and young adult books – including titles that have been translated into English (“25 Children’s and Picture Books That Travel”). In addition, new literature, non-fiction and guidebook titles will also be on display, in particular Chinese translations of the authors present and English translations of contemporary German literature (“50 Books That Travel”).

Under the title “100 German Must-reads”, Deutsche Welle will present 100 important German works from the 20^thand 21^st centuries in video and text format. DW literature producer Sabine Kieselbach, Head of the DW’s Chinese Service and of the DW bureau in Taipei Philipp Bilsky, and the translator Grace Huang, will discuss why the past continues to fascinate us today, and how the “100 German Must-reads” list is also meant to reveal a new, different Germany. (Read: A German Voice for Taiwan)

Information about the Taiwanese Book Market

Within the Greater China region (mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong), the Taiwanese book market is the second largest market after that of mainland China. As a result, Taiwanese publishers are strategically important licensing partners for German publishers. Taiwan’s great interest in German culture and language is reflected in the steady number of licenses sold, which fluctuated between 81 and 107 between 2013 and 2017.

About the TIBE

With more than 600 exhibitors from 59 countries, the TIBE is one of the most important book fairs in Asia, inviting some 580,000 visitors to participate in an interactive reading experience every year. On some 30,000 sqm in the centrally located Taipei World Trade Center and in the extensive adjacent conference complex (Hall 3), 1,180 events will be held covering a wide spectrum of literary genres – from children’s and young adult literature to non-fiction and fiction – for Taiwanese and international audiences.

About the Frankfurter Buchmesse

The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,500 exhibitors from 109 countries, around 285,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and some 10,000 accredited journalists and bloggers in attendance. It also brings together key players from the fields of education, film, games, STM, academic publishing and business information.

Since 1976, the book fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. The Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. The Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association). 

Edited by Sharon Tseng

Original content can be found at the website of Taipei International Book Exhibition 2019 : “German Stories” - Germany is Guest of Honour at the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) 2019

This article is reproduced under the permission of TIBE and terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License (“CCPL”). It presents the opinion or perspective of the original author / organization, which does not represent the standpoint of CommonWealth magazine.