Leipzig Book Fair revisited: still anything but flat

At the end of March, we returned to the Leipzig Book Fair with our colleagues from the Dutch Foundation for Literature, presenting a new selection of Dutch-language literature in German translation. Following the great success of 'Alles außer flach' (Anything but flat), the campaign we launched as guest of honour in 2024, we decided to put Flemish and Dutch authors back in the spotlight in Leipzig this year. And it was another success!

Just like in 2024, our programmes at the fair and in the city were well attended. During the day, young readers at schools and libraries enjoyed readings by Bart Moeyaert and Herman van de Wijdeven from Morris and How It Happened. At our stand, preview copies of our books were rarely found on the shelves, as they were passed from one reader to another.

Matthijs de Ridder and Anna Eble participated in the programme at the Lyrikbuchhandlung, a space at the fair dedicated to poetry. They drew attention to classic Flemish titles with a presentation on ‘Boom Drumbeat!’ and the work of Paul van Ostaijen (through translations and adaptations of Occupied City).

The evening programme kicked off with a Flemish-Dutch reception at the GRASSI Museum. Together with the Flemish Representation in Berlin and the Dutch Embassy, we toasted to the successful return to Leipzig with suitcases full of literature. Afterwards, we headed into the city centre where Sulaiman Addonia and Nina Polak engaged in a conversation with Bettina Baltschev. They took us into the worlds they created in their books The Seers (translated into German by Sula Textor) and Outer Life (translated into German by Stefanie Ocheland), each exploring relationships, migration, and the connection between people and the city in their own unique way.

While our Dutch colleagues headed to the Haus des Buches for an evening of Dutch literature, we got a preview of ‘The Gift’ (translated into German by Lisa Mensing) on Friday evening. The latest novel by Gaea Schoeters will soon be released almost simultaneously in German. The publisher seized this opportunity to showcase the book with a press dinner. The enthusiasm was great: Gaea remains a star in Germany.

Before we knew it, it was already Saturday evening, and time for our final programme. A Flemish-Dutch Ladies Night with Gaea Schoeters, Nina Polak, and Sacha Bronwasser. The three authors engaged in a conversation with Bettina Baltschev in front of a packed house at the Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst.

It was wonderful to see that readers in Leipzig fondly remember our guest country appearance and that interest in Dutch-language literature in Leipzig remains strong. We are already looking forward to a new wave of German translations in 2026 and visiting the fair again.

With thanks to the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Flemish Representation in Berlin, the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, Leipziger Buchmesse, Artefakt Kulturkonzepte, studio de Ronners, Bettina Baltschev, Ole Steffen, Beatrix Herman, Mixtvision, Carl Hanser Verlag, Zsolnay Verlag, and Orlanda Verlag.

© Photos: Celia Solf, Victor Schiferli, and Konstantin Schmidtbauer.