Tag: Literature

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Reading confidence

Competence and confidence in reading skills are closely related. The exact nature of the relationship remains a bit of a puzzle. Educational psychology stresses the importance of self-concept and self-efficacy for attitudes towards learning in general, but evidence on relationships related to the progress of reading competence over longer periods is scarce. The might be virtuous and vicious circles of competence and confidence at work. At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 many publishers presented established manuals on acquisition of reading skills. However, pre-school, primary school teachers as well as parents struggle to support early learners.
The “Lauter Verlag” presented a stimulating approach which tries to set children on a virtuous reading acquisition track. It start with very short 2, then 3, then 4 … letter words in German to reach the level to read whole sentences. Children build confidence with each step and they are encouraged to quickly reach a more challenging higher level. About time to test the interrelationship of competence and confidence in more detail to reach all learners of languages with innovative approaches. Even the much acclaimed French author Georges Perec kept lists of 3,4,5,6,7,8 letter words to build some of his famous poems.

Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 Lauter Verlag
Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 Lauter Verlag
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Oh happy days

The original English title of Samuel Beckett’s theatre play is “Happy Days”. In the French translation he changed this title himself to “Oh les beaux jours”, which sounds a bit more melancholic, which prepares better to the plot of the piece. There is no action in this piece, it is all words and not even real conversation between the 2 actors. The absurdity of our human existence despite ample references to famous literature across centuries is happily exposed. Let us continue to talk even if it doesn’t make sense anymore as we continue to repeat ourselves without any real changes in sight. How much of Winnie do we all have in ourselves? Indulging in souvenirs, rituals and abandoned trajectories of happiness is a danger of advanced age. Cathrine Frot and  Pierre Banderet are convincing in the roles to remind us to go beyond the absurdity of our ways to go about our lives. (Image: “Oh les beaux jours” at Theatre Les bouffes parisiens Paris 2026-10)

Theatre Les bouffes parisiens Paris 2026-10

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Game of letters

For most children reading and writing are too serious to be considered a game. And yet, learning is so much more fun if such competencies are acquired or at least accompanied through a game-like approach. School grades and PISA tests have taken out the fun part of learning of the most basic competencies. The fun in learning and experimenting is likely to increase the time spent learning, its efficiency and the return to learning. Georges Perec explored so many different ways to play around with words and letters to find his own most suitable style how letters assembled into words may serve his evolving purposes. The exhibition and accompanying material at the BNF on Georges Perec could spur a renewed interest in such games of letters and with letters for the young and old. (Image: BNF exhibition on Georges Perec, Words ending with letter d 2026-10).

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Alphabet as Mythos

The exhibition ”Georges Perec, Modes d’emploi“ at the BNF “site François Mitterrand” in Paris gives a fascinating insight into the complex life and work of the author of “La Disparition” (1968), “Les Revenantes” (1972), ”La Clôture”, “Alphabets” and “La vie mode d’emploi” (1978). In remembrance of his parents (eux) he wrote a whole book using only words without the first letter of “eux” which expressed how much he missed his parents. His mother was deported to and died in Auschwitz before he was 7 years old and his father had died in combat 3 years before. For the book “Les Revenentes“ (the returnees) he made use only of words containing the vowel “e” to somehow fill the previous gaps of words without the letter e. The preparatory work to collect those words (image below) filled pages as well. His poems explored combinations of letters, maybe even as a precursor of how AI is constructing words from small units (tokens) today. His quasi-experimental approach to literature goes deep into locations and emphasises the importance to remember at great length. So many lessons for us, which are simply built from the foundation of the alphabet to construct a mythical world of his own. (Image: Georges Perec, preparation for “Les Revenantes”, BNF Manuscript)

Georges-Perec-preparation-for-Les-Revenantes-BNF-Manuscript

Georges-Perec-preparation-for-Les-Revenantes-BNF-Manuscript
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Mitterrand literary

François Mitterrand is well remembered for his polititical leadership and of 14 years at the Presidency of France. He left behind a legacy of architectural highlights of which the 4 open books as the modern world idea about a cathedral size public library. The prolongation of the “Axe historique” to “La Défense” originated also in Mitterrand’s first term in office. However, only few would know about the literary ambitions and accomplishments of François Mitterrand. The Institut François Mitterrand organized a conference on the literary achievements of Mitterrand an his eloquent style and careful editing of speeches, his letters and journal writing (2026-10-16). The expert panel highlighted the literary sources of Mitterrand’s own reading and references to authors like Zola, Camus, Proust, Stendhal, Blum, Jaurès, Chateaubriand or also the letters of Simone de Beauvoir, to name but a few. The appreciation of the politician François Mitterrand by a German language author (Kimmel 2022) allows to get more familiar with an “external view” of a great politician, who ensured that also the enlarged Europe would still have a solid French foundation. Merci. Maybe Mitterrand has been the founder of a “literary leadership style”. Possibly in close resemblance to the antique or Roman vision to have philosophers as states(wo)man.

Institut François Mitterrand colloque 2026-10-16 Paris BNF
Institut François Mitterrand colloque 2026-10-16 Paris BNF
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Books for children

On the international level the book market of books for children is doing alright (Info Frankfurt book fair 2026). Whereas the turnover for school books is shrinking, children’s books have achieved increasing turnover in 2025 again. The market has diversified and merchandising related to books for children has substantially increased. Figures about this trend, however, are hard to come by. Based on TV-characters, books may also sell as a kind of merchandising product for the time offline. Talking about books is an educational opportunity which is still underexploited. Popular among children with their parents or as part of reading aloud, the real multiplier of reading interest is the talking about books among children themselves. Imagination is sparked and there is a great chance that reading will continue. 

Presentation at Frankfurt book fair Imagination stage 2026
Presentation at Frankfurt book fair Imagination stage 2026
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Booktok OMG OMG

The Frankfurt Book Fair #fbm26 has made considerable efforts to make it easy for the production of booktok content. The phenomenon of short recommendations of books by mostly young enthusiastic persons, some of them actually readers, has a proven record to influence decisions to buy books. In seemingly frank talks, booktokers admit that the first best solution is to go and get your copy or copies of different editions. Second best is actually reading them. Nothing wrong with that. After all, we all have many books on our shelves which we haven’t read or we haven’t finished reading yet – considering some books you want to refer back to several times or at a later stage in your life.
In 2026 the prestigious “Julius-Campe-Preis” for literary criticism and the promotion of reading (own translation) has been awarded to a critic commentator and booktoker, Thomas Sachsenmaier with an exceptionally broad reach in Germany. There are still too few literature critics who reach audiences across generations because of their presence in all media channels with high professional standards. Interesting “Booktok” is a skill, just like “youtuber” is a performance-based video production. “Oh-my-God (OMG), the times are a changing”.

Julius-Campe-Preis-an-Thomas-Sachsenmaier-2026
Julius-Campe-Preis-an-Thomas-Sachsenmaier-2026
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Death and rebirth of author

Over the long run there have always been times when the death of the author had been announced. With the arrival of the printing press and the ease to mass produce prints and books, previous authors’ books could flood the market. Obviously this could put new authors at the risk of finding no audience anymore as printers asked cash upfront before printing. The economic risks were solely on the author’s side. Ebooks became a risk to publishers as authors had an additional alternative way of publishing. Then the advent of the internet changed again the world of books and publishing. Global distribution became an option. Thousands of authors could have died because authors from around the globe became more accessible. None of these threats have materialized. Publishing on a global scale is fine, only European publishers are concerned about a shrinking market. AI facilitates entry in new markets and AI could kill already struggling authors. Instead, AI opens up lots of opportunities for authors as well. Editing and translation services become more accessible to low budget production. The next wave, some claim a tsunami, shall submerge the publishing industry. Quality, selection of innovative content and events associated with the content shall still make the difference. There is neither the death of the author nor of the publishing world due to AI. On a global scale many new voices can be discovered, probably assisted a great deal by AI who would never have dared to become an author and to enter into the world of publishing or self-publishing. (Image: Korea at Frankfurt book fair 2026-10)

Korea at Frankfurt book fair 2026-10

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Self-publishing as resistance

Self-publishing has been the title of a historical account of the Czech publishing since the Nazi occupation of Czechia since 1939 (mfk-frankfurt.de). Forced into exile or clandestine underground publishing, many publishers and authors had no other option than to go it by themselves. The underground press during the Soviet union dominated communist rule in Czechia had to rely on similar methods, since censorship as well as persecution were a consequence of illegal writing and publishing activities. In the 21st century self-publishing has become much easier, but the persecution even beyond national borders continues to be a threat in many parts of the world.
Platforms that enable a visibility beyond publishing houses and institutional support broaden the scope for authors to reach various audiences as part of  democracy’s vitality and preparedness. Who knows about the grip on publishing of authoritarian and autocratic regimes in advance and their thirst to curb alternative opinions? Historical evidence points to the need to have self-publishing and publishing in exile as an important additional defence mechanism of democracies (Image: Czechia pavilion at Frankfurt book fair 2026)

Czechia pavilion Frankfurt book fair publishing 2026
Czechia pavilion Frankfurt book fair publishing 2026
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Out of Czechia

On the occasion of the Czech Pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Hermann, Sander and Suva (2026) accomplished an astonishing project and an anthology. In viewing Czechia, beyond the well-known city of Prague, 12 authors contribute short stories from a temporary resident’s perspective in a provincial town. “Minout Prahu” in Czech, “Jenseits von Prag” in German built and continues to build bridges between cultures of neighbors who often claim to know a lot about the other culture, and yet, a more thorough understanding remains a “Böhmisches Dorf”, a Bohemian village, but better translated as “is all Greek to them”. In a continuation of “Czechia: A country on the Coast” at the 2026 book fair in Frankfurt, we are no longer surprised to read (p.82) that in town Ostrava with a industrial and mining history, the European Championship of “Beach Volleyball (U20)” took place with many spectators. There is a lot to discover in and about Czechia beyond the famous authors like Kafka and Kundera and the journey to seek for the beaches in Czechia.

Jenseits-von-Prag-published-on-occasion-of-Frankfurt-book-fair-2026-Czechia-Pavilion