Our friends over at the European Literature Network tell us that The European Children’s Book Fair in Saarbrücken, Germany, is keen to invite 2 or 3 more British/UK-based children’s book authors and illustrators to showcase their books which have already been translated into German. The writers and illustrators would be asked to read from their books in English, and the European book fair pays a fee as well as travel and accommodation expenses.

According to EuroLitNet, this year’s thematic focus is “Discover!” This deliberately broad slogan highlights both the discoveries to be made by opening a book, and by browsing the shelves and displays at the fair, but also as a call to curiosity and openness towards the world.

The Buchmesse (book fair) takes place from 26 to 29 September 2019 in the German city of Saarbrücken, whose name offers a neat play on words: Brücken are bridges, so their slogan is Bücher bauen Brücken (Books build bridges), as indeed they do.

They say they have Great Britain as the country focus of this year’s Book Fair, but I guess they mean the whole of the UK, so if you’re a Northern Irish children’s book writer/illustrator with a book translated into German, go ahead and enquire at least!

Application deadline:

Since there are only a few time slots left, please write to info@buchmessesaarbruecken.de by 10 June 2019 if you want to apply.