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Germany’s Leipzig Book Fair cancelled over coronavirus

The Leipzig Book Fair is the latest publishing-industry event cancelled due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In a press release, the German spring show – originally scheduled to run March 12–15 – stated that under the directive of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Economics, each fair participant would have to provide written proof that they are not from any coronavirus risk locations, nor had any contact with people from those locations. The release states, “Considering the approximately 2,500 exhibitors and 280,000 expected visitors, this was not a reasonable task. The City of Leipzig and Leipziger Messe have therefore decided to cancel the event entirely.”

The cancellation is a disappointment for CanadaFBM 2020, the organization overseeing Canada’s presence as the Guest of Honour country at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Leipzig traditionally acts as the venue for Guest of Honour countries to reveal their Frankfurt programming.

While other upcoming events, including the London Book Fair and the AWP Annual Conference and Book Fair in San Antonio, Texas, are currently scheduled to continue despite concerns about the coronavirus, Canadian publishers and agents are now faced with the difficult decision of whether to attend those shows. Invisible Publishing cancelled its appearance at AWP and is joining other publishers offering a virtual book fair sale.

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March 3rd, 2020

3:55 pm