Netherlands and Flanders present themselves at book fair

As the guest country at the Leipzig Book Fair, the Netherlands and the Belgian region of Flanders want to put the Dutch language area in the spotlight. Under the motto "Everything but flat", around 40 authors are scheduled to make appearances during the large public fair from 21 to 24 March, as the organizers announced in Berlin on Wednesday.

The guest country will focus on presenting new voices and perspectives in literature. Reference was also made to current developments around racism and exclusion. "The whole of Europe is characterized by the fact that right-wing extremist forces are on the rise," said curator Gaea Schoeters. Authors whose works are sensitive to change and turned towards the world should counter this. An event under the motto "Everything but hate" is also planned as part of the supporting program.

According to the information provided, there are around 4,000 publishing houses in the Netherlands. Around 11,400 new books were published in 2022, around 6,700 of which were literary works. 120 books were translated into German. The approximately 17 600 Dutch authors wrote around 7300 new books in 2022, including around 4400 new literary publications.