Leipzig Book Fair 2012

Last weekend I visited the Leipziger Buchmesse. Although it’s primarily a trade fair, it seems to be very public-friendly (it attracts more than 160,000 visitors over four days); when I went, the place was swarming with cosplay enthusiasts drawn to a competition in the manga and comics hall.

One of the more interesting areas for me was the Marktplatz Druckgrafik and Buch + Art section, where printmakers, letterpress practitioners, bookbinders and book artists gave demonstrations and showcased their work – something of a celebration of print.

It was also interesting to note the presence of quite a number of Germany’s art schools, whose graphic design and illustration students evidently produce work each year specifically for the fair. I wonder whether many of them end up working for publishers as a direct result of the Leipzig show.

While the Frankfurt Book Fair is bigger and perhaps more international in scope – Leipzig is very much concerned with the German-speaking publishing world – there was much here to be enjoyed for readers of all stripes.

More photos here.