Created for the 50th anniversary of Frankfurter Buchmesse in 1998, the Frankfurt Fellows program now has had 288 participants from 57 countries engaged in its instructional and networking events in Hamburg, Berlin, and Frankfurt. We urge you to meet this year’s group. They’re next year’s leaders. —Porter Anderson

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By Alastair Horne | @PressFuturist

Committed, Perceptive, Enthusiastic

They come from Ukraine, the United States, Frankfurt Guest of Honor France, India, Italy, Germany, Colombia, the Netherlands, and other markets.

Of special interest are the challenges they see in their home markets, many so familiar in other nations’ settings: overproduction of books in a crowded market, piracy, low readership trends, translation issues, the need for reading community, fading traditional retail outlets, the digital transition, and more.

Here are short interviews with some of the 2017 Frankfurt Fellows chosen for this year’s Buchmesse.

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Mariia Shakura
Family Leisure Club, Ukraine

Publishing Perspectives: Who do you work for and where are you based?

Mariia Shakura: I work for the biggest publishing house in Ukraine, Family Leisure Club. We produce approximately 30 percent of all books in Ukraine: fiction, nonfiction, practical titles, and some for children.

We’re based in Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, known as the cradle of modern Ukrainian publishing because many publishers and the three best and most productive printing offices are located here.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

MS: Around five years. I started as a freelance reader-reviewer and translator and then was offered the roles of rights manager and assistant publisher. After two-and-a-half years I was promoted to publisher. This year, 150 out of the 450 Family Leisure Club’s new titles are produced by my team.

PP: What’s your dream role in publishing? Where would you like to end up, and why?

“Russian publishers have begun opening subsidiaries in Ukraine and just printing Russian-language titles under sub-license. It cancels all the progress we made in the last three years.”Mariia Shakura

MS: It’s too early to think about that, as I have a long way to go in my career (I hope). And I already have a dream job—an opportunity to be among the first readers of the best new books, such as Stephen King’s Sleeping Beauties, which I’m reading right now. And I’m able to publish them in my country and therefore contribute to raising a better educated generation.

Following this path, in the future I’d be happy to become a managing partner in new publishing house.

PP: What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt as a fellow?

MS: Constant development and learning are the key to success in any area. It’s essential to learn about the markets of the other Fellows’ countries and present my own.

I look forward to networking and exchanging experiences in project management and the specific features of our industry, especially marketing and editorial processes.

PP:   And what are the key issues you face in your market?

MS: When the conflict in the East of Ukraine began, our market was flooded by Russian-language books, because Ukraine is mostly bilingual and borders were open for Russian imports. Now there’s a demand for Ukrainian-language books, so the market is booming, and publishers have started fighting hard for new titles and for classic ones to be published in Ukrainian for the first time.

We have two key issues. First is a lack of qualified people—we have plenty of books to translate, but fewer good translators, editors, proof-readers, designers. Talented translators go to the IT industry because it pays better.

The second issue is that Russian publishers have begun opening subsidiaries in Ukraine and just printing Russian-language titles under sub-license. It cancels all the progress we made in the last three years and threatens the possibilities of growth in our market.

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Tynan Kogane
New Directions, USA

Publishing Perspectives: Who do you work for and where are you based?

Tynan Kogane: I’m an editor at New Directions, an independent publisher based in New York City.

Long before I started working there, New Directions already had the reputation—established by James Laughlin and secured more recently by Barbara Epler—of being one of the leading publishers of experimental literature from all over the world.

In fact, when I was first beginning to read serious literature, it was the familiar New Directions colophon that I searched for on the spines of books in my college library and favorite bookstores.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

TK: Years ago, I stumbled into the publishing industry because I loved books, and had vague ambitions of somehow being involved in their creation, production, or reception. I was an intern at New Directions about seven years ago, and quickly fell in love with the editorial work, the staff, and everything the press represents—finding the most exciting and original books from around the world, and sharing them with as many readers as possible.

Before coming back to New Directions as an editor, I worked for a few years at Other Press, another fine publisher of literature from many parts of the world.

PP: What’s your dream role in publishing? Where would you like to end up, and why?

“People in the United States don’t read nearly enough as it is, so it can often be difficult to convince others that this particular book—and it might not be an easy one—is the one they need to read.”Tynan Kogane

TK: In many ways, working at New Directions is my dream job: I get to read and work on books that I love. It’s a nimble enough company that we can take risks, and we get to constantly interact with a wonderful and supportive group of writers, translators, reviewers, editors, booksellers, and readers.

PP: What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt as a fellow?

TK: I’m especially thrilled to be a part of the Frankfurt Fellowship. I love connecting with other literature fanatics from around the world—I joined this cult long ago. It’s what gives purpose and meaning to all the labor. And Frankfurt will be a wonderful opportunity to share enthusiasms, ideas, stories, gossip, and books.

PP: What are the key issues you face in your market?

TK: At a small independent publisher in the United States, sometimes the biggest hurdle can be finding a readership for our books—the books that we love and think everyone else will love too, the books we think should win all the prizes and be covered exhaustively by the media every day.

People in the United States don’t read nearly enough as it is, so it can often be difficult to convince others that this particular book, and it might not be an easy one, is the one they need to read. It’s thrilling when it works out, and when it does, it’s thanks to terrific writers, translators, prize judges, reviewers, editors, booksellers, and readers.

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Dorothy Aubert
Belleville Éditions and Hugo & Cie, France

Publishing Perspectives:  Who do you work for and where are you based?

Dorothy Aubert: I work in Paris. I’ve been working for Hugo & Cie, one of the largest independent publishers in France, for three years, in charge of New Way, the YA list I created when I started there.

Hugo is famous for its success with the new romance genre. I mainly publish romance for a YA readership, dealing with today’s teenagers’ issues: school bullying, the weight of social networks in their daily life, and so on.

And at night, I publish literary fiction from many parts of the world with my young publishing house, Belleville Éditions.

I’m a passionate traveler, and when I quit my previous job I spent 18 months exploring the world. I worked in bookstores (two months in Istanbul, two months in Bucharest), and met international publishers and booksellers to find different, original voices.

That’s when I decided to launch the “Belleville project” with my partner Marie Trébaol. It’s a book concept with a strong digital element: connected footnotes that let you travel through the universe of the book with photos, music, articles. We’ve published five novels, and we’re planning to launch four more books next year.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

“The digital aspect is a challenge for the French market, since people are attached to paper, and ebook sales are not really emerging yet.”Dorothy Aubert

DA: Ten years. After many internships, I started my career in Michel Lafon publishing, another major independent publisher. It was an enlightening experience because I worked with a dynamic team on all sorts of projects, from fiction to illustrated books, nonfiction to box sets. This experience gave me confidence and the opportunity to progress quickly, and to develop a solid network in the industry.

PP:  What’s your dream role?

DA: Hugo & Cie is a fascinating experience, and a very active team that’s always developing new projects. We’re currently thinking of new opportunities for our YA list. We created our own writing web platform called Fyctia, and the team is doing an amazing job in finding new French voices.

Belleville had success last year with Brazilian author Socorro Acioli and we’re willing to expand.

Our goal is to emphasize literary voices from less translated areas. Our authors come from South America, Eastern Europe and Arabic countries, and we want to explore other areas like India and Africa. We also want to publish faster, up to eight books a year.

It’s a different job since I’m a business owner, and it’s a tremendously rewarding if unpredictable experience. But I’m learning so much that I believe I’ll never grow tired of publishing.

PP:  What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt?

DA: I’m eager to meet new people and learn about their markets. I hope it will open new territories and opportunities for fiction both at Belleville and Hugo. For instance, we’ve been thinking of launching a new international list of graphic novels with Belleville.

PP: What are the key issues you face in your market?

DA: The YA market has changed a lot in 10 years, and evolves very quickly. Some books published in 2005 were marketed for a 16+ readership, and now are intended for younger readers. You really must look closely at the evolution of trends, and always challenge yourself, because juvenile fiction is a quite saturated market.

The digital aspect is also a challenge for the French market, since people are attached to paper, and ebook sales are not really emerging yet. But I do think digital and paper can work together and offer beautiful reading experiences.

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Anish Chandy
Juggernaut Books, India

Publishing Perspectives: Who do you work for and where are you based?

Anish Chandy: I work for Juggernaut Books which is based in Delhi.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

AC: This is my sixth year in publishing.

PP: What’s your dream role in publishing? Where would you like to end up, and why?

AC: I’ve transitioned from the editorial side to the business end of publishing, and they’re both incredibly fulfilling and challenging areas.

I’d like to continue to play a part in the operating of a profitable publishing house that is constantly putting great books out for its readers.

PP:  What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt as a fellow?

“It’s getting harder for new authors to be discovered if they aren’t already famous.”Anish Chandy

AC: I hope to learn about the German publishing industry, and to build a network in Germany so we can trade translation rights and distribute German publishers on our digital platform in the future.

After seeing the diverse profiles of the other Fellows, I expect to have great opportunities to learn from their experiences from all over the world.

PP:  What are the key issues you face in your market?

AC: We’re a growing market with a shrinking retail infrastructure. It’s getting harder for new authors to be discovered if they aren’t already famous.

We have to find a way to encourage retailers to grow financially.

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Flavia Vadrucci
Marsilio Editori, Italy

Publishing Perspectives: Who do you work for and where are you based (city, country)?

Flavia Vadrucci: I work for Marsilio Editori, an independent publishing house based in Venice. (I know, we’re so lucky.)

Marsilio was founded in 1961 and now publishes 250 new titles a year.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

FV: I started in 2009 after spending a few years in a political consultancy. I began as a press officer at a small publishing house based in Rome, but, because of the size of the company, I ended up—everyone ended up—multitasking.

I then moved to Milan and worked as a freelance copy editor for two of the most important publishing groups in Italy, RCS and GeMS, for independent publishers, and for a key literary agency, the one that represents Niccolò Ammaniti, Gianrico Carofiglio, Giancarlo De Cataldo, and Margaret Mazzantini, among others.

I’m also very proud of the translation work I undertook at the time, in particular of having worked on a pamphlet by Tristan Tzara about poetry and revolution.

One day I was called for a job interview in Venice and I plunged into this new adventure.

PP: What’s your dream role in publishing? Where would you like to end up, and why?

“The Italian book market has a structural problem: just 40 percent of people are readers…a barely-surmountable limit to launching new writers, particularly literary.”Flavia Vadrucci

FV: I’m not so interested in “roles”, to be honest. I started working in publishing because books were my love and obsession, and not much has changed over the years.

I’m a junior editor, so I want to grow, of course. I want to read, read, and read again, to develop my skills and international experience and to find new literary voices that are worth believing in and launching.

My boss is Stieg Larsson’s Italian publisher. I wouldn’t mind finding a bestseller.

PP: What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt as a fellow?

FV: It’s my first time at Buchmesse and I already know it will be a great opportunity to enlarge my network, discover other book markets, and broaden my knowledge of German publishing. But above all, I expect to get to know wonderful people and to learn a lot from them.

PP: What are the key issues you face in your market?

FV: The Italian book market has a structural problem: just 40 percent of people are readers. This is a barely-surmountable limit to launching new writers, particularly literary voices.

I think the greatest challenge for us, and a way to get around the obstacle, is building up a community around books we believe in by involving critics, booksellers, book clubs, bloggers, and readers, and together trying to overcome that conservative attitude which makes readers prefer established authors.

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Dominique Pleimling
Eichborn, Bastei Lübbe, Cologne

Publishing Perspectives: Who do you work for and where are you based?

Dominique Pleimling: I’m the editorial director of Eichborn, an imprint of the publishing house Bastei Lübbe. We/re based in Cologne.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

DP: I’ve been working in publishing since 2008. My first job was an internship in Eichborn’s publicity department.

After working at the University of Mainz’s department of book studies, teaching and researching, I returned to publishing at Lübbe and then, again, Eichborn.

PP: What’s your dream role in publishing? Where would you like to end up, and why?

“The main issue in Germany is the decline of the traditional booksellers, although this is a bit slower here than elsewhere, thanks to the fixed price system.”Dominique Pleimling

DP: My current job is my dream job. I’m in charge of a small, carefully curated list featuring literary fiction and food-for-thought nonfiction. We publish authors including Neil Gaiman, Sarah Perry, Graham Moore, John Darnielle, and Timur Vermes.

PP: What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt as a fellow?

DP: I’d like to meet new people from across the globe and delve right into the experiences we have all had, and what we can learn from each other. And of course, it wouldn’t hurt to hear about some bestsellers in the making.

PP:   What are the key issues you face in your market?

DP: The main issue in Germany is the decline of the traditional booksellers, although this is a bit slower here than elsewhere, thanks to the fixed price system.

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Leonardo A. Archila
Intermedio Editores, Colombia

Publishing Perspectives: Who do you work for and where are you based?

Leonardo A. Archila: I’ve worked for Intermedio Editores since 2002. I started as an editor and now I lead the editorial team.

Intermedio is mostly a publishing house for nonfiction and journalistic books, but we also publish some fiction for young and adult readers.

We’re based in Bogotá, Colombia, and are part of the largest media group in the country, El Tiempo Casa Editorial.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

LAA: I started to work in book publishing in my university days, 24 years ago, but it’s not always been full time since then.

For many years I combined freelance jobs with other things, like traveling and sailing. I had the good fortune to learn from very wise and experienced masters who taught me the old editorial ways as though they were handcrafts, and now, in these digital times, I really appreciate that.

PP: What’s your dream role in publishing? Where would you like to end up, and why?

“We work in a hostile environment threatened by criminal groups that copy all titles that triumph in bookstores and sell them at half-price in the streets.”Leonardo A. Archila

LAA: My dream is to found my own publishing house, a little one, independent, distinguished and slightly profitable.

Going back to Frankfurt some day with my own books would be the summit of my career.

PP: What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt as a fellow?

LAA: I’m very interested in meeting German editors and authors, and understanding how one of the biggest and important publishing markets in the world works. I am very excited because it will be my first time at the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

PP: What are the key issues you face in your market?

LAA: The book market in Colombia faces two big key issues: piracy and the low number of readers.

We work in a hostile environment threatened by criminal groups that copy all titles that triumph in bookstores and sell them at half-price in the streets.

Not only is it hard to sell books in this situation, but our society also has a very low readability index, fewer than three books a year per person.

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Lisanne Mathijssen
HarperCollins, the Netherlands

Publishing Perspectives: Who do you work for and where are you based?

Lisanne Mathijssen: I’m commissioning editor for fiction and nonfiction at HarperCollins Holland. We’re based in Amsterdam.

PP: How long have you worked in publishing?

LM: I’ve worked in the business for about six years. I did several internships and was commissioning editor at Prometheus before I came to HarperCollins Holland.

PP: What’s your dream role in publishing? Where would you like to end up, and why?

LM: Being a commissioning editor really suits me. I love working with my authors, networking, diving into manuscripts. Book fairs are my favorite time of the year. I love how close I am to the creative process, to the content of the books.

I don’t rule out being a publisher one day, but I hope I’ll still be very involved with the authors and books.

PP: What do you hope to get from attending Frankfurt as a fellow?

“We experience a crowded market with a lot of (new) competitors and fierce price competition. The overall number of titles is down, but we still face a general overproduction.”Lisanne Mathijssen

LM: I hope for a lot of literary cross-pollination.

First, I’d like to broaden my network, not only with German publishing houses, but also with young publishing professionals from all over the world.

Second, as we have a strong German list focus, I’m looking to broaden and deepen our list by being more engaged and more informed. I hope to learn a lot from German colleagues and contacts.

And third, it would be an honor to promulgate the independent, innovative, and diverse profile that HarperCollins Holland has created in the past three years, to show the world the authenticity of our list.

PP:   What are the key issues you face in your market?

LM: We experience a crowded market with a lot of (new) competitors and fierce price competition.

The overall number of titles is down, but we still face a general overproduction of titles. The market is dominated by established names, so there’s little room for debuts and little time to introduce new authors to the market. Bookstores are still under pressure.