MORE BUZZ THAN DEALS AT FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR

Report from the New York Times.

Here at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the global publishing industry’s annual rite of partying, hype and marathon meetings, it has become a well-worn maxim that the event is as much about relationships as it is about books.

Sometimes the best relationship to have is with a little sister.
On Wednesday the first official day of the five-day fair, Anna Stein, an American foreign-rights specialist, was pitching a list of titles to a Dutch publisher when suddenly she began promoting another book, even though she had no professional connection to it.
“It’s called ‘How to Sell,’” Ms. Stein said. “I have not seen my brother so excited about a book in years.”
Ms. Stein was referring to Lorin Stein, her older brother and an editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. On Monday night, just after arriving in Frankfurt, he had bought “How to Sell,” a debut novel by Clancy Martin about a pair of brothers embroiled in the luxury jewelry business in Texas.

It was the kind of ad hoc moment of which the Frankfurt Book Fair is made, where word of hot books spreads virally inside the exhibit halls and during splashy cocktail hours and dinners spread across the city. This year an estimated 180,000 people from more than 100 countries attended the fair.

There was a time when American publishers and agents came here and actually bought or sold rights to publish books in foreign countries or languages on the spot. It still happens, but in recent years the fair has become more of a chance to schmooze and build buzz for deals down the road.

The full story from the New York Times........

Picture above shows visitors resting in the sun between meetings.