2024-03-21 20:39:54
Hundreds of thousands of people came to the Leipzig Book Fair last year. This year it has a new boss – and has been open to the numerous book fans since Thursday.
Leipzig.
Barbi Marković won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in the fiction category with an experimental horror comic novel. The author, born in Belgrade in 1980, received an award for her book “Minihorror”. “Barbi Marković tells us about our present in an adorably funny and bitterly serious way; people in late capitalism inevitably become a joke figure,” said jury member Shirin Sojitrawalla at the award ceremony.
Protests at Steinmeier’s speech
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also came to Leipzig for the book fair. After a tour of, among other things, the state of Ukraine, he later gave a speech on democracy in the Old Stock Exchange. There were several disruptions. Seven activists called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and accused Israel of genocide. In addition, German arms deliveries were loudly criticized.
The day before, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s (SPD) speech at the opening of the book fair was interrupted several times by activists.
Steinmeier addressed the interruptions several times. “This is a serious topic that we discuss in this country not only during the book fair.” There are different perspectives, but: “There are no simple perspectives on this topic.” Steinmeier said he very much hopes “that the talks about the release of the hostages, which are now in full swing, will be successful” and lead to a ceasefire.
Prize for based on Mickey Mouse comic
In her book, Marković, based on the popular Mickey Mouse comic, describes the everyday life of the protagonists Mini and Miki – which is primarily characterized by numerous horror scenarios. In her acceptance speech, which she says she prepared shortly beforehand in the canteen, the author also tells a horror story in which Mini chokes and dies on stage.
The fiction prizewinner studied German and has lived in Vienna since 2006. Your book was published by Residenz Verlag. It’s about the nightmarish experiences of Mini and Miki, on vacation, visiting family and also – it seems – everywhere else. Grotesque formulations always cause the reader to stumble. For example, at one point the grimace of a family-eating cousin is described in gruesome detail, then there is a linguistic interruption, then an unexpected, funny remark. Horror of everyday life, criticism of capitalism and humor stand side by side.
Tom Holert and Ki-Hyang Lee were other award winners
The Berlin art historian Tom Holert was honored in the non-fiction/essay category. His book “”ca. 1972 “Violence – Environment – Identity – Method” focuses on the period after the revolutionary euphoria of 1968. In the translation category, Ki-Hyang Lee won for her translation of “The Curse of the Rabbit” by Bora Chung from Korean. The book fair has awarded the prize for the 20th time this year. According to the organizers, 486 new publications from 177 publishers were submitted and viewed by a seven-member jury.
Jury chairwoman speaks about the political nature of literature
In her opening speech, jury chairwoman Insa Wilke spoke about the importance of the book prize in times of political crisis. “Over the past six months, a central accusation has been silence,” she said, referring to the period since the Hamas massacre on October 7. “It was spoken from different sides and in different directions. It was about the concealment of suffering, the silence about trauma and the fundamental loss of a conceivable and livable future for many people in Israel, in Gaza and the West Bank, but also here In our case, Jewish, Muslim and Arabic-speaking people have said that they have experienced the silence of others and often the silence of friends and colleagues since October 7th as a fundamental rejection and as an existential threat.” Books emerged from this silence and could find a language.
First book fair under the leadership of the new director
After the book fair opened its doors to visitors on Thursday, the halls in the north of Leipzig were well filled. Around 100 events are planned until Sunday, with 2,085 exhibitors from 40 countries presenting their books and new publications. The Manga-Comic-Con has also been taking place on the exhibition grounds during the trade fair for 10 years and the antiquarian book fair for 30 years. The reading festival “Leipzig reads” also attracts visitors with 2,800 events at 300 locations throughout the city.
After positive advance sales, an increase in visitor numbers is expected this year. Last year 274,000 people came.
This year, as the guest country of the Leipzig Book Fair 2024, the Netherlands and the Belgian region of Flanders are presenting themselves as a common language and cultural area under the motto “everything but flat”. (dpa)
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