The “Who’s Who” of international publishing will gather in Frankfurt in October to discuss the future of the industry. Decision-makers and experts will share their knowledge, engage in discussions and exchange ideas. Among the numerous speakers will be top executives such as Perminder Mann, CEO of Simon & Schuster UK & International, tonies CEO Tobias Wann, and Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing. Other experts will include Sebastian Stober, professor of artificial intelligence, economist Prof. Mariana Mazzucato and film director Volker Schlöndorff. With even more stages than in previous years, the programme for trade visitors running from Wednesday to Friday (7 – 9 October 2026) will offer even more events for professional development and networking and cover everything from the audio sector to game adaptations.
All events can be found in the online Calendar of Events: www.buchmesse.de/events. Please note that more listings will be added prior to the fair.
Trending topic: AI
AI continues to be the topic shaping the industry. From AI in the scientific field to tips on improving GEO discoverability: during the trade visitor days, there will be events on all stages that focus on AI and its applications in the international publishing industry.
Selected events:
Micro-Conference: AI in Academic Publishing
Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 1.00 – 2.00 pm, Dialogue Stage
AI in Culture: Truth or Fiction?
International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence under the patronage of UNESCO
Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 4.30 pm, Dialogue Stage
GEO Hacks: Getting Your Books Found in the Age of AI Search
Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 2.00 pm, Global Stage
AI in Asia’s Publishing Industry: How Is It Currently Being Used?
Thursday, 8 October 2026, 10.30 am, Asia Stage
All events on AI can be found here in the online Calendar of Events:
Programme and Event Calendar | Frankfurter Buchmesse 2026
Rights Then. Rights Now: 40 years of Frankfurt Rights Meeting
The leading conference for the rights and licensing industry is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. After four decades, the gathering remains the most important event for rights and licensing professionals from around the world. Under the theme “Rights Then. Rights Now” decision-makers from the industry will meet online in September and in person on 6 October at the book fair in Frankfurt.
In four digital sessions, experts will discuss artificial intelligence in the rights trade, the sale of rights in French-speaking markets, and the developments and challenges in the rights business for children’s and youth media. In addition, the session “Breaking the 3%” will focus on the sale of rights in English-speaking markets and how to increase the number of translated titles in these markets. At the networking reception on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, on the fairgrounds, the international rights community will have the opportunity to exchange ideas in person. To mark this year’s anniversary, conference tickets are being offered at a special price starting at 24 euros. Programme and tickets: www.buchmesse.de/frm
“Who Is Narrating the Future?” – Frankfurt Audio
From Audible to Spotify, all the major players in the international audiobook market will be coming together at Frankfurter Buchmesse. Audio ambassador Ama Dadson, CEO of AkooBooks (Ghana), will be on hand to facilitate networking. This year, the audio section at the fair will span two hall levels: publishing partners will enjoy special visibility in the Audio Business Centre in Hall 4.1, while audiobook and podcast fans will find the latest stories in the public area in Hall 4.0. On Wednesday, 7 October 2026, a short, English-language press tour of the audio area will be offered (12 noon, meeting point: Audio Business Lounge).
A high-calibre trade programme will highlight the latest trends and developments in this growing sector. Numerous panel discussions on Wednesday will mark the kick-off when, among other events, Spotify will announce new developments and tonies CEO Tobias Wann will provide insights into the company’s strategy. On Thursday afternoon (8 October), the Audio Micro Conference on the Dialogue Stage (Foyer, Hall 4.0) will be entirely dedicated to the spoken word. Every half hour, panel discussions will take place, allowing experts to shed light on audio markets, developments, strategies and products. Participants will include CEOs and high-ranking representatives from Audible, BookBeat, Pozotron, Pocket FM and Spotify, among others. These expert talks will be complemented by the Publishing Perspectives Forum and the Audio Publishers Association’s networking session, which is taking place at the book fair for the first time.
Beyond the book fair programme, “Who Is Narrating the Future?” – the new, free white paper from Dosdoce.com and Frankfurter Buchmesse just published in September – provides insights into the dynamics of the audiobook market. Audio expert Javier Celaya surveyed more than 85 industry professionals from around the world on the current state of AI use in audio production. To download the white paper: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/whitepaper
Further, detailed information about Frankfurt Audio and the programme can be found in the press release.
Book-to-Screen Day 2026: with Jenny Erpenbeck, Volker Schlöndorff, Carlo Cresto Dina, Kateřina Tučková and many others
During Book-to-Screen Day on Friday, 9 October 2026, Frankfurter Buchmesse will focus on the connection between literature, film and television series. Filmmakers, screenwriters, publishers, agents and other creatives from the international book, film and media industries will come together to discover new stories and material, discuss current trends in the market, and exchange ideas about potential film and TV adaptations.
The focus will be on the different perspectives influencing the creative process behind literary adaptations, and on current trends in the European book-to-screen market. Guests will include authors Jenny Erpenbeck, Kateřina Tučková and Jaroslav Rudiš, director and screenwriter Volker Schlöndorff, Dr Agnes Schneeberger of the European Audiovisual Observatory, and film producer Carlo Cresto Dina. Another highlighted topic will be the significance of successful adaptations and the recognition they receive through the Frankfurter Buchmesse Prize for “Best Adaptation”.
Book-to-Screen Day thus provides a platform that allows professionals from the world of international publishing to interact with their peers from the film, television and games industries.
More information and programme: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/industry/rights-markets/book-screen
The future of children’s and young adult books
The trade programme for children’s and young adult books will offer international perspectives on the market. Under the theme “Rewriting the Future”, the Frankfurt Kids Conference will explore how publishers can develop high-quality books and reach young audiences despite cost pressures. The panellists will include Perminder Mann, CEO of Simon & Schuster UK & International. The Frankfurt Rights Meeting session on “Children’s Books Growing Up: Rights Selling in a Changing Landscape” will focus on the international rights trade for picture books, children’s books and young adult books. The MMU Conference hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University will be dedicated to diversity in children’s and young adult literature. The panel “Futureproofing Inclusive Children’s Books” will discuss strategies to counter campaigns that seek to remove children’s books discussing diversity from schools, libraries and bookshops.
From book to game: Where the world of books continues to grow
“Book Meets Game – Worldbuilding across Media” will allow Frankfurter Buchmesse to bring together publishers, game studios, authors and funding organisations in Frankfurt. The English-language programme will range from the opening panel “Why Cross-Media Collaboration Matters” and the panel “Funding Creativity: Innovation Opportunities for Game Developers” to workshop discussions on the fictional children’s character Pumuckl and the adaptation of The Pillars of the Earth as a video game. The sessions “Beyond the Book: How Interactive Content Keeps Readers Engaged Beyond the Page” and “Building Together: How Publishers and Game Studios Create New Experiences” will use the story-game app ueberstories and the Zauberakademie Siebenstern series to demonstrate how publishers and studios work together to develop interactive formats. To wrap things up, participants in “Tiny Bookshop: From a Small Daydream to the Big Indie Hit” will share the story behind the development of a narrative game for book lovers.
Comics: International und intermedial
The Comics Business Centre will be located in Hall 3.1, serving as a hub for rights managers from publishing houses, webtoon developers and the games industry. On Wednesday and Thursday, the trade programme will allow publishers, rights agents and industry professionals to participate in market presentations, a guided tour and discussions of webtoons, webcomics and digital manga. In 2026, the Frankfurt Global Network will focus on comics, manga, graphic novels and visual stories for the first time. At the invitation of Frankfurter Buchmesse, industry representatives who are just starting their careers will gain insight into the German-language book market as part of the fair’s support programme. They will receive assistance in building a network of international contacts and will be present at a collective stand (Hall 3.1 E53).
The new combined exhibition space for comics, manga and games will be located at Stand A76 in Hall 4.0. Since comics, more than almost any other genre, are present across media, the exhibition area has been expanded to include games. The focus will be on storytelling that transcends media boundaries – from comics and manga to webtoons and graphic novels to games. Further information can be found in the press release.
Focus on Latin America and Asia
Artificial intelligence, digital distribution channels, and trends in the rights and licensing trade from Argentina to Singapore: at the new LatAm Stage (Hall 3.1 H23) and the Asia Stage (Hall 5.1 A75), the focus will be on developments in the book markets of Latin America and Asia. From Wednesday to Friday, an extensive trade programme featuring experts from both regions will take place. More than a dozen book markets will be presented during panel discussions. At the weekend, the spotlight on both stages will be on authors and artists from these regions. Among others, the winner of the International Booker Prize, Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, will be speaking on stage.
Calendar of Events: LatAm Stage programme
Calendar of Events: Asia Stage programme
The LatAm Stage is being presented by keelo, the Brazilian app for e-books and audiobooks. The Chilean Ministry of Culture, Arts and Cultural Heritage and the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs are providing support for the new stage. MVB LATAM and Frankfurter Buchmesse are serving as project partners. The Asia Stage is sponsored by Rex Education and organised by Frankfurter Buchmesse.
On the future of the industry
How can we work toward gender equality and diversity in the industry? And how can the next generation not only make its voice heard but also actively help shape the future? These and other questions about the future of international publishing will be the focus of numerous panel discussions in Frankfurt.
Selected events:
Creating a Space for Global Publishers to Communicate
Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 4.00 pm, Dialogue Stage
Women in Publishing: From Community to Collective Impact
Thursday, 8 October 2026, 1.00 pm, Discovery Stage
Still Burning: The Climate Crisis We Stopped Talking About
Thursday, 8 October 2026, 2.00 pm, Global Stage
PublisHer x FBM: Women in Publishing
Thursday, 8 October 2026, 4.00 pm, Global Stage
Young Voices from Around the World – What’s Their Take?
Thursday, 8 October 2026, 5.00 pm, Global Stage
Publishing Equality: Shaping the Future of the Book Industry
Friday, 9 October 2026, 9.00 am, Global Stage
International perspectives on translation
Frankfurter Buchmesse will also offer a packed trade programme for translators. Among those actively involved will be translators participating in this year’s book fair as part of the Guest of Honour programmes for the Czech Republic and Chile, as well as the Goldschmidt+ programme for German-French translators. The programme for the book fair’s stages – such as the Inspiration Stage (3.0 J34), the Latam Stage (3.1 F70) and the Asia Stage (5.1 A75) – will be complemented by events at the Centre of Words (5.0 C115) and Off-Bühne Schweiz (3.0 F86).
For example, on the Inspiration Stage, three professionals who translate Emmanuel Carrère’s work into different languages will appear together (Thursday, 8 October 2026, 12 noon). At the Centre of Words, translators and the role they play will be discussed. Other stages at the book fair will offer international perspectives on translation support and the work of translators, including contributions from Asia, Latin America and the Arab world.
The Aficionado Award – an international prize designed to support individuals, organisations, and initiatives that are bringing about lasting change in the publishing industry – will also be awarded to a translation project this year. For more than 20 years, the digital magazine Words Without Borders has been making international literature accessible through English translations, with a particular focus on indigenous and endangered languages or those otherwise underrepresented in the literary world. The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, 8 October, at 11.00 am on the Global Stage (Foyer 5.1). The award will be accepted by the project’s founder, Samantha Schnee.
Adapting to transformation: STM & Academic Publishing, Business Information
Hall 4.1 will bring together international academic publishers, the library and information community, educational providers and various partners serving the publishing industry. The Innovation Stage (4.1 A48) will focus on transformation, trends and market developments in the fields of academia, education and publishing partners. The Business Lounge (4.1 A68) will provide a new space for meetings and networking. The fully booked workstations (J79), which are available to different exhibitors each day, also provide additional opportunities for meetings and interaction.
The trade programme for the Innovation Stage will include the micro-conference “The Scholarly Kitchen Live: Trust, Licensing, and Infrastructure in Scholarly Publishing” (Thursday, 8 October 2026, 9.00–11.00 am) and Librarians Day (Friday, 9 October 2026), during which the Charleston Conference will have a two-hour slot (9.00–11.00 am). For more programme details, see our press release.
Publishing partners in Hall 4.1
In the new Knowledge Hub (4.1 J100) in Innovation Hall 4.1, publishing partners whose services and technologies are geared toward the entire industry will present their offerings every half hour. From Wednesday to Friday, the day will begin with the dpr Technology Breakfast (9.15–9.30 am). This will be followed by sessions on topics such as “From Manuscript to MP3: Rethinking Audiobook Production for Scholarly Content” (Friday, 9 October 2026, 11.30 am–12 pm).
Distribution in the global book market
Distributors bring books to readers across national borders and continents. A trade programme will address key issues in international book distribution, collaboration along the supply chain, and standards and best practices. The eighth International Publishing Distribution Forum (IPDF) will take place on the Global Stage (Foyer Hall 5.1) on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, from 11.00 am to 12 noon. The theme is “New Ways of Approaching Direct-to-Customer Relations”. On the LatAm Stage (3.1 F70), the focus on Thursday, 8 October, from 11.00 am to 12 noon, will be on distribution in Spanish-speaking Latin America. Immediately thereafter, the same venue will host a session on “Digital Distribution: Reaching Readers Globally Through a Variety of Formats.”
Career paths in the book industry and international networking
The international trade programme will feature the session “Future Skills for Publishing Professionals” on the Innovation Stage with Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing, and Suzanne Collier of Bookcareers (7 October, 9.00 am, Innovation Stage), as well as a live edition of the digital networking format “The Hof” on the topic “Building Career Pathways in Publishing”, in cooperation with the Young Voices Network, on Wednesday, 7 October, at 5.00 pm, on the Global Stage (Foyer 5.1) and via Zoom.
Starting this year, each of the book fair stages will have its own networking area, allowing publishing professionals to interact and exchange ideas. Anyone looking to network at an inspiring event after the fair closes is invited to FBM Young Voices Night on Thursday, 8 October 2026, starting at 8.00 pm at the 2og:dondorf cultural centre in Frankfurt-Bockenheim (Sophienstraße 1-3, Frankfurt). At this after-fair event, held in a former printing plant, the Young Voices Network will be presented, before the dance floor opens and the DJs take over. More information.
About Frankfurter Buchmesse
Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair and the most important international marketplace for content – from novels and children’s books to academic databases and stories for films, games and virtual reality experiences. Publishing professionals from around the world meet here with partners from the technology sector and from related creative and cultural industries, sparking new partnerships and business models. Since 1976, the book fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association). buchmesse.de/en
