It is an understandable decision that Canada, the Guest of Honour at this year's Book Fair, would like to postpone its physical Guest of Honour appearance by one year due to the uncertain and still dangerous situation caused by the Corona pandemic.
Not only the Frankfurt Book Fair complied with this request, but also the host countries of the following years - Spain, Slovenia and Italy - , which also agreed to postpone by one year each.
Never the less, Canada will be represented as a guest country at the Book Fair when it takes place in the autumn under special hygiene and security regulations: A strong virtual presence of Canadian authors* and publishers has been arranged with the Canadian Ministry of Culture and its partners as part of the digital Frankfurt Book Fair 2020.
Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said of this decision: "We would like to thank the Host Country Committees and the responsible governments in Spain, Slovenia and Italy for agreeing, in solidarity with Canada, to postpone their Guest of Honour appearances in Frankfurt by one year so that Canada can present its literature and culture under the best possible conditions at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2021. The publishers' associations of these countries also deserve our great thanks. At the same time, we look forward to the digital formats that our Canadian partners will present at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2020. This year, we all face great challenges and experience a united international book world standing up for each other. This cooperation between the official Guest of Honour countries is one of the many examples of that."
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, adds, "With today's announcement, Canada can now take full advantage of the many benefits available to a Guest of Honour country at the Frankfurt Book Fair. We would like to thank Spain, Slovenia and Italy for agreeing to adjust their own Guest of Honour schedules to accommodate our request. Thanks also to the Frankfurt Book Fair for helping us to make these plans a reality. Our virtual programme for 2020 will be a foretaste of the programme package planned for 2021. We look forward to showing the world what October has in store this year!"
S.E. Stéphane Dion, Ambassador of Canada to Germany and Special Representative to the European Union and Europe, is pleased with the overwhelmingly positive responses to the request to postpone the physical Guest of Honour appearance, "I am very grateful that in response to the current pandemic and in cooperation with the Frankfurt Book Fair, we have reached an agreement with our Spanish, Slovenian and Italian friends to postpone our respective presence as Guest of Honour for one year. Canada will be happy to participate in the 2020 Book Fair with a strong virtual presence, and we will be more prepared than ever to be a proud Guest of Honour in 2021. At the Frankfurt Book Fair and across Germany, the unique stories of Canadian authors, illustrators and artists of all disciplines will vividly represent Canada's diversity of voices. Our presence as Guest of Honour will not only lead to new and broader business relationships, but also to a deeper understanding of Canada's literary and artistic landscapes. Our presence will delight those in Germany and around the world who want to know our works and our cultural creators better."
The Frankfurt Book Fair 2021-2024
Dates.-24 October 2021: Frankfurt Book Fair - Guest of Honour Canada
19-23 October 2022: Frankfurt Book Fair - Guest of Honour Spain
18-22 October 2023: Frankfurt Book Fair - Guest of Honour Slovenia
16-20 October 2024: Frankfurt Book Fair - Guest of Honour Italy
