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Guest of Honour
Iceland to be Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011
Agreement signed by Iceland's Minister of Education, Science and Culture and Book Fair managing director.
The former Minister of Education, Science and Culture Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir and Managing Director Jürgen Boos of the Frankfurt Book Fair signed an agreement on 25 April 2008 that Iceland would be the Guest of Honour at the Book Fair in 2011. The agreement was signed in the Culture House in Reykjavík, in the presence of leaders of the project.
The Minister welcomed the agreement: she said she believed it entailed a unique opportunity for Icelandic literary culture abroad – as the Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest and best-known of its kind in the world. Since 1988, one nation has been invited to be Guest of Honour at each year's Book Fair: the literature of that country is showcased, both by German publishers and others. The Guest of Honour is also allocated a special exhibition space at the Book Fair. As a result the Guest of Honour has invariably received extensive media coverage in Germany, and the event has boosted translations of the country's books, both in Germany and elsewhere. In 2007 Catalonia was Guest of Honour, followed by Turkey in 2008. China will be next, and then Argentina. It will be Iceland's turn in 2011.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is held each October. In its modern form it is sixty years old, although its history can be traced back to the 16th century. The number of exhibitors generally exceeds 7,000, from over 100 countries; nearly 300,000 people visit the five-day Book Fair each year. Iceland is the first Nordic country to be Guest of Honour at the Book Fair, and the invitation is a great honour for Icelandic literature and culture. The Icelandic government decided in September 2007, in response to an initiative from Book Fair management, to apply to be a Guest of Honour. Finland also applied.
If good use is made of this opportunity, it will provide a unique chance to promote Icelandic literature on the international book market, and also to publicise Icelandic culture and arts in general in Germany.
The project board comprises representatives of the Ministries of Education, Science and Culture and of Foreign Affairs, and of the Icelandic Literature Fund. The board is chaired by Steingrímur Sigurgeirsson, and project manager is Halldór Guðmundsson.