After Amazon’s takeover of the US website “Goodreads”, the owners of the Holzbrinck-financed online books website “Lovelybooks” reacted extremely calmly. This is a typical reaction in this sector. With growing ebook sales in German-speaking countries, the European group also sees good prospects for German language social reading offers. Whether that’s true or not. The message…
2015
2015, Literary trends across Europe
Anticipating the Leipzig Book Fair/ Vor der Leipziger Buchmesse
by Rainer Moritz •
When the Leipzig Trade Fair’s impressive Glass Hall was officially opened in the mid-1990s, it was in the stars what this investment would mean for the Leipzig Book Fair. Leipzig, “the city of the book” with a long tradition, was to gain a future, and it seemed unthinkable that of all book fairs the death…
2015, Innovations in the digital field
What we buy – what we read – and (perhaps) future writing style/ Was wir kaufen – was wir lesen– und wie (vielleicht) künftig geschrieben wird
by Dirk Rumberg •
Unread (or unfinished) books sit accusingly on the bookshelf – “Ulysses” and “Moby Dick”, Büchner’s “Lenz” and Tellkamp’s “Turm” (“The Tower”). These titles may appeal to some buyers mainly as highbrow and educational wallpaper, but the owner is usually the only person to know whether and how much he or she has read of them. The…
2015, Literary trends across Europe
Sweet Reader’s Prejudices/ Sladki bralski predsodki
by Ana Schnabl •
Quite recently, a young poet sent me one of his poems, a poem which drew a lot of attention in his home country and was likewise noticed in Ljubljana’s artistic corridors. He wished to share it with me because, well – I’m not really sure why. Probably because people like to share their creations,…
2015, Innovations in the digital field
CLICK AND READ: NEW MEDIA WRITING PRIZE
by Chris Meade •
It’s been a pleasure being one of the judges The New Media Writing Prize, now in it’s fifth year, run by Bournemouth University who are leaders in the field of animation in the UK, and awarded annually to a piece of literature that’s best experienced on a screen. No agents involved, no intermediaries, just a…
2015, Literary trends across Europe
Angela Merkel and Paul Celan move (themselves in) Budapest/ Angela Merkel und Paul Celan bewegen (sich in) Budapest
by Wilhelm Droste •
SNOW OF TOMORROW Angela Merkel and Paul Celan move (themselves in) Budapest Currently a minor miracle is happening in Budapest. The city is celebrating the poet Paul Celan with numerous events and an exhibition that runs until 20 February. Actually, Celan had no noteworthy connection to Hungary. At the Goethe Institute there was an international…
Comic and Graphic Novel
Angoulême 2015 – Charlie Hebdo
by Christian Gasser •
The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the mecca of the comic scene. For the 42nd festival, illustrators, writers, publishers and journalists from around the world and over 200,000 comic fans gathered in the small town in south-west France. The comic world’s big festival was overshadowed this year by the Charlie Hebdo attack. The security measures…
2015, Innovations in the digital field
Quo vadis book market?/ Quo vadis Buchmarkt?
by Dirk Rumberg •
Anyone who looks this early in the New Year at the various reviews and forecasts, studies, surveys and expert appraisals of where the book market (German, European or also international) is headed is likely to feel confused. While some see a renaissance of print books, others forecast the continued triumph of digital publication. Many people…
2014, Comic and Graphic Novel
War in Comic-books/ Der Krieg im Comic. Part/ Teil 3: Rutu Modan
by Christian Gasser •
Rutu Modan: A Suppressed War In complete contrast to both Tardi and Sacco, the Israeli author Rutu Modan, in her graphic novel Exit Wounds, deals with a current war, the Israel-Palestine conflict. She tackles it only indirectly, but reflects its impact on life in Israel, and in so doing, describes Israelis’ lives and attitudes more…
2015, The Migrants
The Migrants/ Die Ausgewanderten
by Walter Grond •
At the first European Literature Days in 2009, Jürgen Ritte, a literary scholar at the Sorbonne Paris, responded in answer to the question “Is there a European literature?” – “No and yes. Yes. Of course there is – there are shared lines of heritage. No, it has always been an export–import undertaking, like Europe and…