Prague / Frankfurt, 2 October 2023 – The Guest of Honour for Frankfurter Buchmesse 2026 has now been decided: the Czech Republic will take on the showcased role at the 78th book fair (7–11 October 2026). Frankfurter Buchmesse Director Juergen Boos and Czech Minister of Culture Martin Baxa signed the official agreement at a ceremony held on Monday, 2 October, in Prague, the Czech capital.
“I am very pleased that the Czech Republic will appear as Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour in 2026,” Boos said. “I’m especially pleased about the motto for the country’s presence at the fair: ‘Czechia – A Country on the Coast’. It’s a maritime description of a landlocked Central European country. It catches the eye, it stimulates the imagination – far beyond the literary motif of Bohemia by the Sea. We are also looking forward to a Guest of Honour programme featuring contemporary literature represented by authors such as Radka Denemarková, Jáchym Topol and Kateřina Tučková. Another programme focus: the cultural and literary perspective of a country located in the heart of Central Europe.”
“I am delighted to learn that the Czech Republic will be the Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2026,” said Czech Minister of Culture Martin Baxa. “The Czech Republic’s appearance at the fair is a major opportunity for the Czech book industry and the country’s entire cultural sector. It’s not only a chance to present the high quality of Czech literature to the world, but also an investment in the future. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to this outstanding outcome. But the work is not yet done – on the contrary. The biggest part is still ahead of us and I’m already looking forward to the results.”
The Czech Republic will be represented at this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse (18–22 October 2023) by 23 publishing houses and through its own programme, which will include titles from the series “The Most Beautiful Books of 2022” and new works of contemporary Czech prose, poetry, comics, and literature for children and young adults, among other highlights.
The Moravian Library in Brno is entrusted by the Czech Ministry of Culture with the organization of the Czech presentation.
About Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour programme
Since 1976, Frankfurter Buchmesse has hosted Guest of Honour presentations. Initially, they took place every two years and alternated with thematic focuses. Since 1988, a different country or region has presented itself in Frankfurt each year. For the Guest of Honour itself, the presentation is important on two levels: In addition to the great attention paid to its literature and culture, which are presented in exhibitions and a wide-ranging programme of events, its book industry presents itself to an international audience at the world’s largest book fair.
An important aim of the Guest of Honour programme is to increase the number of translations from the guest country into German. The great public interest shown in the Guest of Honour at the book fair each year is also an incentive for publishers worldwide to publish titles from the respective host country. In this way, Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour programme promotes the international trade in licenses and the transfer of literature.
The Guest of Honour at this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse (18–22 October 2023) is Slovenia. The spectrum of previous guests ranges from regions and countries such as New Zealand, Flanders and the Netherlands, Norway, Lithuania, India and Indonesia. In 2022, Spain presented itself as Guest of Honour; Italy is expected in Frankfurt in 2024 and in 2025, the Philippines will be Guest of Honour for the first time.
More information about the fair’s Guest of Honour programme:
https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/guest-honour