Leipzig Book Fair breaks attendance record

Over the course of four days, the Leipzig Book Fair attracted more than 300,000 visitors, surpassing the previous attendance record set in 2025.

In total, 313,000 people visited the fair this year — 17,000 more than last year. A total of 2,040 participants from 54 countries presented their books and projects in the pavilions. Over 3,000 events took place during the fair. Traditionally, the exhibition was held in conjunction with Manga-Comic-Con, which attracted tens of thousands of visitors.

“Under the slogan “Danube – Strong Currents and Between Worlds,” book presentations, discussions and debates will take place on a dedicated stage in Hall 4 on all days of the fair. The programme, curated by Stephan Ozsváth, was developed in collaboration with partners such as the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, the Goethe Institute, TRADUKI, the City of Leipzig and cultural institutions in the participating countries, and shows where stories in the Danube region connect or divide: literarily, historically, socially and politically,” the fair website read.

“The strong turnout was a confirmation that the fair continues to serve as an important hub for discussions on social and cultural policy. The opening of this year’s Leipzig Book Fair demonstrated perfectly that we are a platform for vigorous, passionate, and incisive discussion,” said Astrid Böhmisch, the fair’s director.

Ukraine was represented by a national stand organized by the Ukrainian Book Institute, featuring the slogan “Filling In.” Seven publishing houses showcased their publications there.

“Taking part in one of the oldest festivals, which attracted more than 300,000 visitors this year, is very important to us, as it serves primarily as a platform for promoting translations of Ukrainian literature — long absent from the global literary map. It is important for us to speak about the resilience and longevity of our literature, about the names erased by centuries of oppression, about contemporary Ukrainian literature created amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, about those who are creating it now,” said Olena Odynoka, the Deputy Director for International Cooperation at the Ukrainian Book Institute.

The program included 30 events, such as book presentations and discussions. The literary performance “Echoes” was presented by poet and paramedic Olena Herasymiuk of the volunteer medical battalion “Hospitaliers” and poet and soldier Pavlo Matyusha.

“This year at the Leipzig Book Fair, in addition to numerous translations of Ukrainian authors into German, there was an increased presence of works by German scholars and intellectuals exploring Ukrainian history, literature, and culture, and, for instance, new publications by Martin Schulze Wessel. Ukraine is also entering the literary world: in Ulrike Almut Sandig’s novel, a fictional Ukrainian city named Volnopol appears. “This is no longer a gesture of solidarity, but a sign of the deeper cultural presence we are striving for, and which is already reshaping the map of European literature,” said Maria Shubchyk, Head of Communication at Goethe-Institut Ukraine.

In an exclusive comment to Chytomo, representative of Friedrich Mauke Verlag revealed plans to release a print edition of Andriy Semyankiv’s best-selling Ukrainian medical detective story “Dancing with Bones” as early as May.

When it comes to translations, Eugenia Kuznetsova’s “Cooking in Sorrow. A Manual for Interacting with Ukrainians and Food” and Yuriy Gurzhy’s “Ein Aquarium voller Schlüssel – Charkiw und die Fotos meines Vaters” (edition fröhlich) have been selling well. Friedrich Mauke Verlag also announced that it plans to publish another book by Kuznetsova in German “Sheep Are Safe.”

The novel “Zugwind” (Draft) by Iryna Fingerova, translated by Jakob Walosczyk and published by the major German publishing house Rowohlt Verlag, has become very popular among German readers. The book tells the story of a Ukrainian doctor in Germany who is forced to delve into the stories of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war and, in doing so, confronts her own fears. The book sold out from the publisher’s shelves, the Ukrainian booth, and a major bookstore at the Leipzig Book Fair. By Sunday, when the author was presenting it at the Ukrainian booth, she was holding the only signed copy in her hands — there were no others left.

The Leipzig Book Fair is one of the top ten national and top 50 international exhibition organizers. Events associated with the fair take place both in Leipzig and in various cities across Germany and abroad. The event is both a central networking venue for book and media professionals and a trade fair for readers, authors, and publishers. The fair presents spring releases, current topics, and trends, showcases young German-language literature, and features new works from Central and Eastern Europe.

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Images: Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Ukrainian Book Institute, MDR