Germany at the Istanbul Book Fair
Germany will be guest of honour at the Istanbul Book Fair – and will take the opportunity to address the issues of freedom of the press and expression.
“Worte bewegen - Sözcüklerin etkisi” (i.e. Words move) will be the slogan for Germany’s appearance as guest of honour at the 2016 International Istanbul Book Fair. The country will be taking part during a time of political turmoil: “Particularly in times of fraught political relations, close cultural relationships and ties between countries and their people are important. Literature is an important key if we wish to gain a sense of the mentality prevailing in a particular language area”, says Professor Maria Böhmer, minister of state at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. As she goes on to explain: “Germany and Turkey have traditionally enjoyed close ties. The book fair will serve to strengthen those ties and to discover new dimensions. A book fair is a place for open dialogue and free speech. Culture, and particularly literature, creates the space and freedom so urgently needed for people to develop and express themselves. Orhan Pamuk once talked of writers as being ‘the champions of all those who cannot make themselves heard and as the advocates of the suppressed word’. This applies always and everywhere. We wish to take advantage of our role as guest of honour and, together with the Turkish Publishers Association, Turkish and German authors, journalists and civil society, to fight for the freedom of the word and thoughts.”
An exchange of thoughts and ideas now in particular
The Federal Foreign Office, Frankfurt Book Fair and the Goethe-Institut Istanbul are organising Germany’s appearance as guest of honour in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry. “We jointly decided that now is the right time to accept the offer”, says Frankfurt Book Fair director Jürgen Boos. “We are watching the closure of numerous publishing and media houses with concern. Germany’s participation as guest of honour in Turkey is also a sign of solidarity with authors, journalists and publishers who are pursuing their professions in difficult times. All the same, we are also gearing our presentation to the Turkish public, which shows great interest in German literature and culture.” Reimar Volker, director of the Goethe-Institut Istanbul, also believes that exchange is the way forward: “Particularly in these tense times it is important to create space for an exchange of thoughts and ideas between authors, readers, the guests from Germany and the reading public in Turkey. I am looking forward to some interesting sessions and stimulating discussions”, says Reimar Volker, director of the Goethe-Institut Istanbul.
With a floor area of 250 square metres, the German booth offers plenty of space for browsing. Around 350 new publications and older titles will be presented, including the long list for the 2016 German Book Prize, current books for children and young adults, a compilation of German works translated into Turkish, German books about Turkey, a collection relating to the “freedom of the word”, and a selection of the most beautiful German books in 2016.
More than ten literary figures have confirmed that they will be taking part in Germany’s guest of honour appearance. Ilija Trojanow, Olga Grjasnowa, Silke Scheuermann, Peter Schneider, Matthias Göritz, Judith Kuckart, Emine Sevgi Özdamar, Wilhelm Schmid and Tobias Hülswitt will be introducing Turkish readers to their works – many of their books are available in Turkish translation.
Freedom of the press and expression is one of the most important elements of modern democracies. How it should be defended and preserved is the subject of a panel discussion entitled “Für das Wort und die Freiheit” (i.e. For the word and freedom) that will be staged as part of the supporting programme to Germany’s guest of honour appearance. Taking part in the panel will be Alexander Skipis, general manager of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, the author Ilija Trojanow, the writer Burhan Sönmez and Rowohlt Verlag CEO Peter Kraus vom Cleff. The discussion will be chaired by Fahri Aral, vice-president of the Turkish Publishers Association.
International Istanbul Book Fair from 12 to 15 November 20166
