Frankfurter Buchmesse 2026: ‘On the Books’ – What Everyone in Publishing Will Be Talking About

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Hosts of Publishing Perspectives and Remote Daily’s podcast, Erin Cox and Felix Zeltner preview what attendees at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair can expect, provide a few hacks, and discuss the new layout, director, and more. This podcast episode is sponsored by Audible.

“On the Books” co-hosts Felix Zeltner and Erin Cox

By Erin L. Cox, Publisher | @erinlcox

As we all prepare to head off to this year’s Frankurter Buchmesse, Felix and I sat down in New York to talk about some of the topics attendees can expect to hear about at this year’s book fair.

At the top of the list of hot topics, is AI. After several years of hype and experimentation, publishers are confronting tougher questions about how and whether artificial intelligence should be used – from copyright to responsible AI to translation – and what happens when technology developed largely in English begins reshaping literature and language around the world.

We also look at the continued rise of audiobooks and the opportunity audio and AI could create in underserved languages and markets. And at the growing power of readers themselves, including how BookTok, reading parties, niche book clubs, and online communities are impacting bestseller lists, sometimes years after publication. This power shift is even changing the physical layout of Frankfurter Buchmesse, as the fair makes more room for reader engagement alongside its traditional B2B business.

We look deeper into the fair, from the launch of Frankfurt’s new LatAm Stage, Czechia’s appearance as Guest of Honour under the motto “A Country on the Coast”, and the transition from longtime Frankfurter Buchmesse director Juergen Boos to Joachim Kaufmann.

Finally, we discuss one of publishing’s hardest problems: Who gets to enter the industry – and who gets to lead it? And I reveal my number-one book fair survival hack. (Spoiler: this year, it does not involve dried broccoli. IYKYK)

Watch the full episode here.

Don’t miss our daily recordings during the book fair. Subscribe here to watch “On the Books” live Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 9am CEST.

This episode of On The Books is proudly sponsored by Audible, a leading provider and producer of premium audio storytelling with the largest selection of audiobooks available. Its latest full-cast production Dracula is a spine-tingling, immersive adaptation of Bram Stoker’s chilling psychological thriller. Available across the globe – and exclusively on Audible – Dracula has been adapted for seven international languages, with each version featuring all-star local casts.

More of Publishing Perspectives‘ Frankfurt Book Fair Preview:

About the Author

Erin L. Cox

Erin L. Cox is the Publisher of Publishing Perspectives. She has spent more than 25 years on the business development and promotional side of the publishing industry, working in book publicity at Scribner and HarperCollins, advertising sales and marketing at The New Yorker, and consulting with publishers, literary organizations, book fairs, writers, and technology companies serving the publishing industry. Cox is also the Publisher of Words & Money, a new media site focused on centering libraries in the publishing conversation.

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