Full halls, crowds of people at readings, hustle and bustle in the aisles - the Leipzig Book Fair 2025 has become the expected colorful book festival this spring. The fair has recorded a huge increase in visitors. But despite the party atmosphere, there are also concerns. The book market is under pressure, and small publishers in particular are having a hard time. The German Publishers and Booksellers Association used the trade fair to once again campaign for structural support for publishers in Germany.
More visitors at the trade fair and "Leipzig liest"
Around 296,000 visitors came to the book fair, the associated reading festival "Leipzig liest" and the Manga-Comic-Con this year. That was 13,000 more than in 2024 - and it is the fair's best visitor record to date. "The great interest in the book fair shows how important the analog experience still is," explained Director Astrid Böhmisch.
At the same time, the number of exhibitors was slightly lower this year at 2,040 than in 2024 (2,085 exhibitors). Managing Director Martin Buhl-Wagner explained this by saying that the book fair was feeling the effects of the concentration processes in the industry.
Börsenverein calls for support for publishers
According to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, small, independent publishers in particular are under economic pressure. The industry association is therefore calling for structural support. So far, publishers have mainly been supported with various prizes awarded at federal and state level for literary programs. However, according to the Börsenverein, none of this is predictable and therefore not a basis for economic work.
The failed traffic light coalition had planned to examine funding in order to maintain the cultural diversity of the publishing landscape. In the view of the Börsenverein, the new federal government must now act. The acting Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, who was at the book fair for two days, also drummed up support for the introduction of a funding system.
Wrestling for attention for books
Another topic that was frequently discussed at the four-day fair was the battle for readers' attention. Cell phones and computers are tough competitors - especially for young people.
In Germany, 1.7 percent fewer books were sold last year. According to the Börsenverein, the fact that total sales nevertheless increased by 0.8 percent was simply due to the fact that books have become more expensive.
Date for the 2026 fair set
This year's Book Fair guest country Norway also gave a positive assessment of the fair. The Scandinavians brought almost 50 authors to Leipzig under the motto "Dream in Spring". Events with Norwegian stars such as Karl Ove Knausgård and Trude Teige were well attended.
Next year, the Leipzig Book Fair will be held from March 19 to 22. It remains to be seen who will be the guest country.
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