Agents and publishers condemn violence at Frankfurt Book Fair

Agents and publishers have spoken out to condemn the violence that took place at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair between left- and right-wing groups.

Last Friday (13th October), Achim Bergmann, the 74-year-old director of Germany’s leftist publishing house and record label Trikont, was punched in the face near to the stand of the right-leaning newspaper Junge Freiheit (Young Freedom), and the next day, after showing up at a right-wing stand to protest, Nico Wehnemann, a member of the anti-political group Die Partei, said he had been tackled by a neo-Nazi and beaten by private security forces, according to German international broadcaster DW.

Further scuffles reportedly took place over the weekend as demonstrators protested about a book presentation by right-wing publisher Antaios, which included controversial far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Björn Höcke.

Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, condemned the violence. “We categorically reject the political position and publishing activities of the New Right,” he said. “At the same time, as organiser of the largest international trade fair for books and media, we are obliged to uphold the fundamental right to free expression.”

The skirmishes followed problems at Sweden’s Gothenburg Book Fair in September, which saw dozens of arrests after organisers allowed entry to hard-right magazine Nya Tider, which in turn prompted the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) to march through the city.

UK agents and publishers The Bookseller spoke to expressed their shock at news of the skirmishes. Nelle Andrew, agent at PFD, said she was “deeply disappointed” by the violence, but added that she was “not surprised”.

“I didn’t see it as I wasn’t there but this seems to be the climate we are in, and we all have to think very carefully about which side of history we want to be on,” she said.

"For me, it is a no brainer - I whole heartedly stand for people's rights to lead the best possible life they can without discrimination or hatred holding them down and to that end I am very conscious of the kinds of books I want to be involved in and the kinds of voices I seek to promote because we are seeing their resonance far and wide now."

Penny Daniel, rights director at Profile, branded the violence “vile”.

“It's shocking,” she said. “The organisers of London Book Fair need to consider this too, in case it becomes a trend to silence any alternative views.”

Meanwhile, Louisa Joyner, editorial director at Faber, said: "I didn’t see the violence but I did hear about the protests - I spoke to Dutch and German publishers who were anxious and distressed by it - and it fed into a general discussion about how liberalism in all its forms has to continue to defend itself and that as publishers we are in the perfect position to make the voices of those who feel intimidated heard.

“We can defend our liberal values in who we publish, what we say about whom we publish and how we all must keep reaching further and arguing harder for a multiplicity of voices.”

Nik Gorecki, manager at radical bookshop Housmans in London, reflected that “left-wing booksellers have a long history of being attacked by far-right sympathisers".

"Book fairs such as Frankfurt and Gothenburg have a much broader remit and so the scope for conflicting viewpoints is greater," he added. "I would suggest that as the neoliberal so-called ‘political consensus’ of the 90s and 2000s collapses the polarisation at both ends of the political spectrum can only increase. I very much doubt this is an issue that’s going to go away.”

Gothenburg Book Fair director Maria Källsson said organisers had taken more security measures in 2017 than in previous years but had been faced with “a classic dilemma” of "how should those who believe in democratic methods handle those who question democracy's basic values of tolerance, transparency and respect for the equal worth of all people?”

 "As a book fair we must move forward to actively work against those who question the equal value of all people, and who can, in the future, threaten the very foundations that our book fairs rest upon,” she said.

Speaking on the chief executives’ panel during the Frankfurt Book Fair, which took place before the violence, Simon & Schuster chief Carolyn Reidy said that as culture becomes more divisive, it was up to publishers to remain open to all points of view. “We’re in such a divisive time right now, where opposing points of views don’t even want to understand the opposite side. That’s a dangerous thing,” she said.

Ahead of LBF next April, director Jacks Thomas said organisers takes the security of its exhibitors and visitors “very seriously”.

“Book fairs – and all book related events – are a wonderful forum to hear from a variety of voices, to connect with those from all round the world, and to debate different points-of-view.  

“All book fairs have different characters. The London Book Fair is the largest book fair that is exclusively business-to-business; we always take the security of our exhibitors and visitors very seriously and plan appropriately to create a productive and energetic business environment. Diversity, a range of perspectives and freedom of expression are the bedrock of the book industry.”