By Erin L. Cox

Yesterday, the US State Department issued a vague warning to Americans traveling to Europe. According to the warning, “Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks…Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests.”

The State Department does not focus on one particular city, nor does it give any further information about how or who or why…which raises the question:  will this scare publishers away from attending The Frankfurt Book Fair this week?

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Germany, the threat is no greater. “The travel warning for the whole of Europe issued by the US State Department should be seen in the context of the risk announcements already made known in the media last week. The Federal Government has already responded to this. There is no additional information on the matter. In particular, there are still no specific indications that any attacks are imminent in Germany.”

When talking to the publishers who flew out yesterday and arrived today, there was no increased security in the US airports nor did the warning worry them enough to prevent them from coming.  Unlike Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that actually prevented publishers from traveling to The London Book Fair, the small threat of possible terrorism is not going to stop American publishers from business as usual.