Leipzig Book Fair
The best shopping Brussels has to offer
What was the last book that you fell in love with? That one that no matter how hard tried you just couldn’t put down. You found yourself thinking about it almost all the time. The one that had you staying up past bedtime to finish the chapter. There is something magical and incomparable about finding yourself immersed in a good book right? Well, if you are a literature [CR1] lover then you need to check out Leipzig book fair.
Taking place from Thursday 27th to Sunday 30th of April, Leipzig book fair 2023 will see an enormous literary programme take over one of Germany’s most vibrant cities.
First a little historical context… Finding its origins all the way back in the 15th century, the book fair, or Buchmesse as it’s known to German speakers, was previously Germany’s largest book fair. (Leipzig has a proud and historic connection with literature and publishing in general - Einkommende Zeitungen, one of the very first daily newspapers in the world was created and published there, but that’s a story for another time.)
Back to the present day, it is second in size only to the Frankfurt book fair, which is one of the world’s biggest, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of the event in Leipzig. In fact, due to its place in the calendar, it is often the place new publications are first revealed to the public and the book and media world. To maybe give you an idea of its continued size and importance – one of this year’s guests is former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
So, what can you actually expect from the book fair itself? Well, the last time it took place in 2019 (it was cancelled for the last three years thanks to you-know-what) there were 2,500 exhibitors from 46 countries, and over 285,000 book lovers had the chance to connect with authors, journalists, publishers, and media companies from both Germany and around the world.
Basically, a great opportunity to make all kinds of new literary discoveries in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. From mainstream to up-and-coming authors and independent publishers, pretty much any genre you could think of is also covered here. This is reflected in the fact that part of the book fair, but still a major draw in its own right, is the Manga Comic Convention. If you buy a ticket to either of these, entrance to the other is also included. Not bad eh!
But maybe our favourite thing that is included in the festivities is Leipzig Liest. That’s Leipzig Reads for all you non-German speakers, and as you can probably tell from the name, it’s a reading festival. Not just any old reading festival though, it’s Europe’s largest reading festival. With 3,700 events at 500 venues across and around Leipzig, you can experience a range of literature coming to life in a complete mix of different places, from typical spots like libraries and bookshops to more unique locations like cemeteries and churches.
If you are interested in attending Leipzig book fair 2023, there are still tickets available and you can find them here. Now that you have your culture-filled weekend of words lined up, you’re probably going to need a hotel in Leipzig, aren’t you? What a coincidence, we know the perfect one! Pentahotel Leipzig is a lovely hotel (in our humble opinion) and it’s also ideally located so that you can easily access both the city centre for some random readings and the exhibition grounds for the actual book fair itself. That’s that sorted then!
Book your stay here.
