Books, people, publishers and blisters
The annual Leipzig Book Fair is truly a people's book festival and in stark contrast to the Frankfurt Book Fair which is all about deals. Ever since Johannes Gutenberg invented his book printing machine (I visited the museum two years ago in Mainz ), Germany has been the centre of the publishing trade. From 1632 to 1945 Leipzig was the biggest book fair in Germany and in Europe. However after the divide of Europe and Germany into East and West after the Second World War in 1945, the festival continued in East Germany. It was however was overtaken in importance by Frankfurt. This get-together of the publishing and media sectors with writers, readers and publishers has an invigorating air about it. In the hustle bustle of some spring sunshine th e famous mix with booksellers, readers, plebs and wannabe authors like myself. Nobel Prize Laureates Günter Grass and Hertha Müller were walking around being interviewed and talking to people, as was South African author Deon Me...