Leipzig Book Fair ends with record attendance

Full halls, crowds at readings, shuffling in the aisles – the Leipzig Book Fair 2025 has become the expected colourful book festival this spring. The fair has recorded a huge increase in visitors. However, despite the party atmosphere, there are also concerns. The book market is under pressure, and small publishers in particular are having a hard time. The German Publishers and Booksellers Association used the trade fair to once again make the case for structural support for publishers in Germany.

More visitors at the fair and “Leipzig reads”

Around 296,000 visitors came to the book fair, the associated reading festival “Leipzig liest” and the Manga-Comic-Con this year. That was 13,000 more than in 2024 – and it is the fair’s best visitor record to date. “The great interest in the book fair shows how important the analogue experience still is,” explained Director Astrid Böhmisch.

At the same time, the number of exhibitors this year (2,040) was slightly lower than in 2024 (2,085 exhibitors). Managing Director Martin Buhl-Wagner explained this by saying that the book fair was feeling the effects of the concentration processes in the industry.

German Publishers and Booksellers Association calls for support for publishers

According to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, small, independent publishers in particular are under economic pressure. The industry association is therefore calling for structural support. Up to now, publishers have mainly been supported with various prizes awarded at the federal and state levels for literary programs. However, according to the Börsenverein, none of this is predictable and therefore not a basis for economic work.

The failed traffic light coalition had planned to examine funding in order to maintain the cultural diversity of the publishing landscape. In the view of the Börsenverein, the new federal government must now act. The acting Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth, who was at the Book Fair for two days, also drummed up support for the introduction of a funding system.

Fighting for attention for books

Another topic that was frequently discussed at the four-day fair was the battle for readers’ attention. Cell phones and computers are tough competition – especially for young people.
In Germany, 1.7 per cent fewer books were sold last year. According to the Börsenverein, the fact that total sales nevertheless increased by 0.8 per cent was simply due to the fact that books have become more expensive.

Date set for the 2026 trade fair

This year’s guest country, Norway, also gave a positive review of the fair. The Scandinavians had brought almost 50 authors to Leipzig under the motto “Dream in Spring”. Events with Norwegian stars such as Karl Ove Knausgård and Trude Teige were well attended.
Next year, the Leipzig Book Fair will be held from March 19 to 22. It remains to be seen who will be the guest country.

(dpa)