By Erin L. Cox
I’m leaving for The Frankfurt Book Fair on Saturday. With my multiple hats on (literary agent, Biz Dev/writer for PP, and publicist), I am juggling a few things on site and at home while I’m there. Because I’ll be busier than a one-armed paper hanger, it is important for this week to be very organized to help me prepare for next week’s onslaught and to help find those things that will keep me sane and grounded amid the flurry of activity. So, I thought I would share a few of my favorite things to help you get prepared or so you know who to talk to when you need gum/Milk Duds/a granola bar/bourbon:
• Candy and gum: If anyone follows me on Twitter (@erinlcox), you will know already that I love candy. The only thing I love maybe more than candy is bacon…and booze…and possibly coffee. Anyway, let it be known that candy is one of my favorite things. So, I have a lot of it for our week away to not only keep the sugar high going, but to remind ourselves that we should take some pleasure in what we do because, after all, book publishing is a fun industry to be in.
• Coffee: I don’t know about you, but the German coffee isn’t quite my taste and mama needs her coffee. So, I bring some of my own just in case. Coincidentally, a friend gave me some Starbucks Via as a gift, so if you see me dashing by through Hall 8.0, you’ll know I’ve just reupped my caffeine supply (hopefully, that won’t include my just pouring instant coffee directly into my mouth as if it were a Pixie stick).
• Snacks: Since I will likely not be sitting still for too long (except when writing my stories for PP and meeting with folks), it is important to bring snacks for my jacket pockets. I take a page from some of the mothers in my life and have snacks stashed in every bag and pocket for those moments of hunger/desperation. My snacks are mostly healthy (to offset the candy): granola bars, fruit leathers, nuts, and protein bars. Once they work out the packaging for bacon-wrapped dates, I’ll be golden…perhaps for next year’s fair.
• Non-work reading: Yes, I know I’m going to a book fair and there will be books EVERYWHERE, but I need to catch up on pleasure-reading and have a way to unwind at the end of the day that isn’t alcohol-induced. I read probably 3-4 books a week, but they’re all “work” reading and, thus, I can’t really fall into the story. On the plane, I want to read for fun. After semi-crowdsourcing my choices (by asking my friends what they thought I would enjoy reading on my trip), I have selected ROOM by Emma Donoghue, THE EMPTY FAMILY by Colm Toibin, and THE FATES WILL FIND THEIR WAY by Hannah Pittard (which I may have lied to Michael McKenzie about reading already when I was only about 20 pages into it and, thus, have to finish before he finds out…shhh, don’t tell him).
• Bourbon: Okay, you must be thinking, “That’s sort of strange.” But, is it? No. I am from the south and I like bourbon. It’s in my blood, there isn’t anything I can do about it. I am also just coming off a month of NOT drinking, so I want to drink what I want to drink. And, you know what’s hard to find in Frankfurt? Bourbon. Ok, it’s not SO hard, but I don’t want to be hunting all over town looking for bourbon. So, I’m bringing my own.
Does anyone else have things they have to travel with? I didn’t even get into sensible shoes and toiletries, but I think this stuff is more important…you can always buy new shoes, but do they have Jujyfruits in Frankfurt? No, I don’t think they do.
9 Comments
Have you been over to the Limelight Market yet (yes, it’s in the church that was the Limelight)? Welllll….they have bacon brownies!! Bite site, individually wrapped and they have an assortment of other flavors too. Including my personal favorite: Thai coffee.
Erin,
I too will be traveling to Frankfurt for a great deal of book-related fun/work. As for odd items on my packing list, they are all exactly the same as my standard “going to a conference” list:
* Granola bars – tons of them in many varieties. People get cranky when they are hungry and so many people working the shows never get a chance to eat – I like to save the day
* My custom book business card / notebook holder. Sure, everyone has books, but mine is all cut up and glued!
* An empty suitcase – I’m expecting to pick up some fun swag as well as gifts for friends and will need something to lug them back.
I wish you safe travel and will see you there!
-Nick
@Sarah Russo: Holy smokes! BACON BROWNIES??!?!? I just knocked over my chair in sheer joy and excitement. I am going to get them…
@Nick Ruffilo: All good items! I will have a mostly empty suitcase once I eat and drink all the stuff I’m bringing, so I’ll be picking up some fun swag too.
I need to issue a statement that while Jujyfruits USED to be made by a German company (Heide), they are now being produced by Farley’s & Sathers, an American company based in Round Lake, Minnesota. SO, while they appear to be German, they are not. Of course, you probably CAN get them in Germany, so I was wrong there. I’ll let you know for sure when I get to Germany. In all honesty, I’ve already eaten most of the box anyway, so I can just scratch those off the list.
Erin! So very glad to have stumbled upon you here while doing some research. AND – total bonus – I see the words “one-armed paper hanger” in the first paragraph! Okay, sorry, but that is one of my favorite busier-than-ever sayings.
What will your location @book_fair be so I can tell my @BookRixUS friends to find you when they need a Milk Dud?
Cheers and safe travels,
Jen ~ @JenCannPro – now following & looking forward to your tweets from Frankfurt!
VIA is the best. I cannot stand drinking German espresso out of those little tiny plastic cups — I always feel like they are melting into the coffee and slowing poisoning me. Perhaps I’m paranoid. For that reason I also bring my own steel commuter coffee cup. Very American, I know, but it makes me feel better about it. Plus, I like big cups of coffee. I find the European serving too wee for my needs.
Of course, I also pack “Go Greens” — the wonderful, dissolvable freeze dried vegetable drink. It tends to freak people out (the color is less than appetizing) but I swear it keeps me level after several days of quaffing ice cream, heavy German food and too much drink. I highly recommend it — or at least take some AIRBORNE dissolvable vitamins daily.
Wait – we have to bring our own candy, liquour and caffeine to this country? What a total rip off. Tell me they at least have hair dryers. Erin – two words: Hot Tamales. Nick – you and your empty suitcase crack me up. Ed – if I run out AIRBORNE, I know where to go.
Kat. I have Hot Tamales in my bag (and airborne). We don’t have to bring this stuff, but I am a creature of habit and want the brand/items that keep me sane.
E
As an exhibitor and general visitor to the Fair between 1998 and 2006, I was dismayed to hear Erin wanting to bring along American treats and other comfort food to Frankfurt. That’s like taking a sack lunch to a banquet! Enjoy all the good food, drink, and city life that Frankfurt has to offer. Once the city was dowdy and drab-capitalist. That has changed.
1) Forget international, world, or ethnic cuisine — go for the German. August Wagner’s restaurant in Sachsenhausen is a favorite, and there plenty more like that. Ask the tourist office where you can find Gutbürgerliche Küche.
2) Ditch the bourbon. You are in Wine Country, right during harvest. The Federweiss (new white wine) is incomparable, delicious, and strong. Apfelwein (Äbbelwoi) is great with a meal: only 5% alcohol content but most satisfying. You and your group should order a couple of Bembel of it.
3) Likewise the candy — German chocolates put American chocolates to shame, and you’re in the land of Gummi-everything.
4) The coffee? Probably here Erin is right: German coffee has declined markedly in quality, and the coffee at the refreshment counters inside the Fairgrounds is not particularly good. Look for Starbucks or a German knockoff instead.
5) And get outside for some fresh air and exercise! October in Germany is usually exceptionally beautiful. Don’t forget, your Fair pass is also a regional transit pass, and there are many places to go within an hour’s train ride of the Hauptbahnhof. Or rent a car and take a drive through the Taunus and any of the many spa towns to the west of the city. Towns in all of rural Hessen are stunningly beautiful.
Gute Reise!
GA