Attendees in the Rare Book Room at the Strand.

By Erin L. Cox

Frankfurt is much on our minds as we all schedule last-minute meetings, buy tickets to conferences, and start to lay out what we need to pack for our trip in just a week or more for the Book Fair. Last week in New York, the German Book Office in New York and the Frankfurt Book Fair started the festivities a little early by hosting an event to celebrate Brazil as the Guest of Honor Country at this years’ Book Fair.

Held in The Rare Book Room of The Strand in downtown Manhattan, the party brought a little piece of Brazil to New York through delicious caipirinhas, “The Girl from Ipanema” (arguably the most famous Brazilian song), the literature of Rodrigo de Souza Leao whose book All Dogs are Blue was released that day by And Other Stories, and some enlightening information about the Brazilian book market and a brand-new publishing house, Editora Reflexiva, which is launching in Frankfurt.

Ricardo Costa, the Book Fair’s Associate Partner for Brazil & South America, shared some key facts about the $1.8 billion Brazilian publishing industry, including some great growth opportunities for publishers (digital publishing, trade, translation) and some of what we can expect in their Guest of Honor Pavilion at the Book Fair.

The theme for the Pavilion is “A Land Full of Voices,” which illustrates the country’s creative energy, generated through a fusion of constantly evolving international influences.

A fascinating country, Brazil. If you’re going to the Frankfurt Book Fair, be sure to stop by their Guest of Honor Pavilion.

You can see a few more photos from the event below:

Ricardo Costa from the Frankfurt Book Fair’s Brazil and South American office introducing Reflexiva publishing house.

The featured giveaway, “All Dogs are Blue,” published by And Other Stories