Every October, my team at DHH Literary Agency and the global publishing community gather in Frankfurt for one of the most significant events in the literary calendar, the Frankfurt Book Fair.
It’s not a bookshop, nor is it primarily about physical books or for readers. It is where the business of books takes place; where stories cross borders and languages, and where agents, publishers, scouts, and rights teams come together to negotiate future publications in various languages.
The Scale of Frankfurt
For anyone who hasn’t experienced it, imagine several enormous exhibition halls filled with publishers from all corners of the globe. From the big five conglomerates to small independent presses, from Iceland to India, from the US to the UAE.
There’s a constant hum of conversation, a whirlwind of meetings scheduled back-to-back in thirty-minute slots – like speed dating – and an atmosphere that blends optimism, exhaustion, sugary treats, and caffeine equally.
As a literary agent, Frankfurt focuses on rights, which is the core of the fair’s business. When a book is published in English, it can have many more opportunities ahead: through translation, film or television adaptations, audio formats, or special editions. It’s our role as agents to ensure our authors’ work reaches the widest audiences possible and that they are justly rewarded for it.
At its simplest, selling rights involves granting a publisher in another country permission to translate and publish a book in their language. For example, a British novel might be sold to a French publisher for a French translation, to a German publisher for the German edition, and so on. Each of these deals can generate new income for the author and introduce their work to an entirely new audience.
Why Translation Matters
For an author, having their work appear in multiple languages is more than just a financial gain (though that’s certainly significant). It’s an extraordinary validation, proof that their story resonates beyond its original cultural context.
I represent English, Icelandic, Irish, and Dutch authors, and entering a bookshop in Paris, Milan, or Tokyo and seeing their novels on a shelf in translation is a moment of pride. It signifies that their characters, ideas, and worlds have crossed borders.
Translation rights can significantly impact an author’s career. Occasionally, success in another country can rekindle interest in different territories. There are numerous cases of books that became bestsellers abroad before gaining recognition at home, demonstrating that stories often find their audiences in unexpected places.
A Week of Conversations and Connections
In Frankfurt, I spend most of my time in meetings with foreign editors and publishers. We discuss the authors we are involved with, the new novels I have recently sold, and the backlist of remarkable titles I represent—books that could suit another market.
Every conversation presents an opportunity, a chance to find the right home for a story in a new language.
The Business of Books
But the truth is, it’s also about business. My job as an agent is to ensure my clients are appropriately rewarded for their creativity. That means negotiating the best possible terms, ensuring fair royalties and advances, and building long-term relationships that sustain their careers.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is where much of that groundwork takes place, where enthusiasm turns into contracts, and where books begin their journeys out into the world.
A Celebration of Storytelling
There’s something inspiring about watching this vast machine in motion. At its core, it serves as a reminder of what unites us: our love of stories and our faith in the written word as a way to understand each other.
Even in an age dominated by screens, Frankfurt shows that books still matter—that stories still hold the power to connect us, in every language.
Leaving Frankfurt
As I leave the fair each year, exhausted but exhilarated, I am reminded of why I do what I do. It’s about helping writers find their readers, wherever they might be, and making sure that good stories never get lost in translation.
