09/02/2022 Leipziger Buchmesse

Leipzig Book Fair 2022 will not take place

The desire for a personal meeting at Leipzig Book Fair was huge. But numerous cancellations of exhibitors within the past few days led to the fact that the expected quality and breadth of content of such a large public fair is no longer guaranteed. For these reasons, Leipziger Messe, in agreement with the Advisory Board, has decided to cancel the trade fair combination of the Leipzig Book Fair, Manga Comic Con, Leipzig Reads and Antiquarian Book Fair from March 17 to 20, 2022. The next Leipzig Book Fair will take place from March 23 to 26, 2023.

"We were very pleased with the signal from politicians to finally allow trade fairs and congresses again. We thank for this great confidence to be able to safely implement events even in pandemic times," said Martin Buhl-Wagner, managing director of Leipziger Messe. "Unfortunately, due to the imponderables of the pandemic, many exhibitors currently do not feel able to reliably plan for such a large public event. This led to many cancellations at short notice. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we have now decided not to hold Leipzig Book Fair. This cancellation is due to the special nature of the dimension of the event and does not apply to other trade fairs and congresses at Leipziger Messe."

"The industry has given us clear signals to make the fair possible with all our strength - until the very end we aspired to hold it," said book fair director Oliver Zille. "Unfortunately, however, the volatile pandemic situation is causing staff shortages for many exhibitors. In agreement with the advisory board, we have decided to cancel the event. We thank all exhibitors for their trust in Leipzig Book Fair as well as our loyal audience."

"The cancellation of Leipzig Book Fair is a heavy blow for the industry. The fair would have been very important for the book and all those who live for and from it. Now the publishers and their authors are once again missing that long-awaited stage," said Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, head of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. "The last few days have shown that many publishers nevertheless find themselves unable to make a firm commitment due to the lack of planning of the Omikron variant. We thank all those publishers who would have come to the fair despite the circumstances and at the same time have understanding for all those who decided against it. I would also like to thank the politicians who would have made it possible for the fair to take place, as well as Oliver Zille and his dedicated team. We share the disappointment of all people of books and look forward to finally coming together again in Leipzig in spring 2023."

Due to the short lead time, no digital alternative program will be implemented this year.

Selected award ceremonies such as the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding on March 16 and the Leipzig Book Fair Prize on March 17 will take place and be streamed. Details will be announced promptly.

Leipzig Book Fair 2023 will take place from March 23 to 26.

Press contact:

Julia Lücke

Spokesperson for Leipzig Book Fair

Telephone: +49 (0)341 678-6555

Email: j.luecke@leipziger-messe.de

Dr. Andreas Knaut

Executive Director Communication/Spokesperson

Telephone: +49 341 678-6500

E-Mail: kommunikation@leipziger-messe.de

Leipzig Book Fair on the Internet:

www.leipziger-buchmesse.de