Known as the world's largest trade fair for publishing, the 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair will be held from Oct. 16 through 20. Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and organized by the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, this year's two-part Taiwan Pavilion program in Frankfurt will be showcasing "TAIWAN: ISLAND OF AMAZING STORIES" to unveil the various facets of Taiwanese life throughout the ages.
Literary writers Syaman Rapongan (夏曼．藍波安), whose works underscore the shared history of the Austronesian peoples and their complex relationships with water, and Liao Hung-chi (廖鴻基, also credited as Liao Hung-gee), whose works depict his interactions with the vast ocean as a considerable force behind Taiwan's marine ecology conservation, will be this year's special guests at the book fair. Furthermore, the Ministry has worked with the National Museum of Taiwan Literature to produce a booklet of translation samples on the two writers, specifically excerpts from "The Old Fisherman (老海人)" and "Life of Whale (鯨生鯨世)," to introduce their works to the international literary community.
On the illustration side, three well-known comic authors have been invited to attend and exhibit their works — Chang-Sheng (常勝), HOM (翁瑜鴻), and Honey Chen (陳漢玲). Golden Comic Awards laureate Chang-Sheng is a mainstream comic author with stereoscopic realistic characters drawn in a fantasy style. HOM is one of the best artists of her generation who depicts different aspects of the ordinary lives of modern city dwellers. Lastly, Chen is an outstanding artist in the manga genre for girls and a professional cosplayer.
For the first time, there will be a separate pavilion dedicated to the best Taiwanese comic publications from a wide variety of styles. This special pavilion at Hall 3.0 will be displaying the "Forest of Comics" theme to reflect the extraordinary diversity and vibrant vitality of Taiwanese comics, and provide a unique experience for readers and publishing professionals from all over the world.
There will also be a special tribute to Chen Uen (鄭問), a late artist hailed as a national treasure who led the Taiwanese comics renaissance of the 1980s. The "Chen Uen Master Special Exhibition" will showcase his classic works, paintings, and video game art.
The two pavilions will showcase a total of 117 publishing houses and 832 pieces of print and digital publications in featured sections divided as Featured Authors, Featured Works, Publishers, Recommended Titles From Taiwan, Titles with Foreign Rights Sold, and Digital Publications. These selected works represent the quality, vitality, and diversity of Taiwanese publications.
To further promote the nation's publishing creativity, the Ministry will be subsidizing six publishing professionals (editors, translators, publishers) to participate in the Frankfurt book fair. Two matchmaking events will be held with publishers from Canada, Malaysia, Slovakia, and Turkey to enhance cultural exchanges and negotiation of rights for translations. In addition, two seminars will be held with senior Taiwanese publisher Rex How (郝明義), who is presently serving as chairman of Locus Publishing Company, to discuss the current standing and future development of Taiwan’s publishing market.
Two-Part Taiwan Pavilion Program @ Frankfurt Book Fair
Date: Oct. 16 – 20, 2019
Venue: Messegelande, Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1, 60327 Frankfurt am Main.
Taiwan Pavilion: Hall 4.0, D50
Taiwan Comic Pavilion: Hall 3.0, H45
Website: www.buchmesse.de/en