Since 2021, Luxembourg has had a national stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. What began as a modest presence in 2018 under Reading Luxembourg, with support from the Ministry of Culture, has now evolved into a coordinated platform managed by Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg. 

“The main aim is to promote Luxembourg literature globally and facilitate translation, because this is really the place where translators and agents are present and publishing or co-publishing opportunities are,” explains Michal Grabowski, head of literature at Kultur | lx, adding: “We aim to support the international careers of Luxembourg authors, and guarantee this place as a platform for our publishers to have professional opportunities.”

In 2025, Luxembourg will be represented by ten publishers – Black Fountain Press, Capybara Books, Éditions Guy Binsfeld, Éditions Schortgen, Ernster Éditions, Hydre Éditions, Kremart Edition, PassaParola Editions, PersPektiv Editions, and Point Nemo Publishing. Roughly half of the entire country’s publishing houses, these ten will present their catalogues, authors, and some 20 new literary releases.

Frankfurt offers invaluable professional space to exchange ideas, sell rights, and build networks. “Sometimes in Frankfurt, we have readings or meetings with authors, but this is very specific,” Grabowski says. “The first three days are professional days. We will organise two special networking events. The first will be on Thursday at 5pm. This will be a great moment to connect with Luxembourg authors and publishers.”

On Friday, Kultur | lx will participate in Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia’s OFF Bühne stage with the event: “Speculative Futures: Small Countries, Big Visions – Speculative Literature Between Fiction, Present, and Possibility”. The event is moderated by Luxembourger Samuel Hamen, who edited Angstvoll und leicht sehnsüchtig: Vier literarische Spekulationen über Luxemburg, a new anthology published by Hydre Éditions which resulted from an international writer’s residency in Luxembourg. 

A redesigned booth reflecting Luxembourg’s plurilingual identity

For 2025, the Books from Luxembourg stand has been completely redesigned. At its heart is a new trilingual logo – in French, English, and German – created by Studio Polenta. An original illustration by artist Viktoria Mladenovski adds a visual dimension, exploring the theme of exploration in literature: across genres, languages, and themes such as migration, exile, memory, and belonging.

Despite its diminutive size, the work of Luxembourg authors can be found around the world. This is partly thanks to the country’s multilingual demographic but also their migratory backgrounds. 

“They have a lot of international experience, linguistic experience and also personal experiences, which is very unique. And let’s not forget that more authors in Luxembourg write in English now,” Grabowski notes. 

Brian Bailey, project manager for literature, underlines how common fluid multilingual practice is for many authors, a dimension which adds diversity and richness: “Some authors may, for example, write their novels in German, and their theater play in Luxembourgish, and poetry in another language.” This, he says, can help open doors with distributors abroad. 

Meanwhile, the strong output of books spanning various genres and styles from Luxembourg broaden the country’s literary appeal. “For its size, the scene is very dynamic,” Grabowski says. “Many books are published every year. Our authors cover all the genres found in other countries.”

Challenges and opportunities in a global industry

For all its dynamism, Luxembourg’s publishing sector faces structural hurdles. “The biggest challenges are about distribution,” Grabowski explains. “How can your book be present in other countries? And there is also the challenge of selling rights to your book outside Luxembourg. If you sell a German-language book to Germany, who has the rights?” With most publishing houses run by one or two people, time and resources are often limited.

Here, the Luxembourg Arts Council has assisted publishers by subsidising translations from extracts of books, offering international publishers a glimpse of what they’re selling.

“I’m amazed by how some editors manage to get everything done to be present, because there are some editors who have another job, being editor beside their main job, and to get everything done,” Bailey says, adding: “It’s great that we can help them. They’re very motivated. They’re trying to do things better and find new solutions.”

Support from national structures such as the Fonds Culturel National Luxembourg (FOCUNA) and the Ministry of Culture helps sustain this ecosystem, but international opportunities remain crucial. “Frankfurt is the biggest event of its kind in Europe,” Grabowski stresses. “So we are also there to learn about new trends in literature and where we place Luxembourg in the global literature market. It helps us think about our strategy for the years to come.”

Spotting trends, building futures

Among the pressing themes this year will be artificial intelligence and its implications for publishing. “Many meetings in the innovation programme are dedicated to artificial intelligence and the challenges it brings,” says Grabowski. 

Bailey sees Frankfurt as an opportunity to exchange strategies: “International meetings and workshops help you see what other literary trends from big publishers are, and whether Luxembourgish authors are far away from that, or actually conscious about what’s happening on an international level.”

Luxembourg’s strategy is evolving accordingly. Beyond Frankfurt, Kultur | lx supports participation in other international fairs, from Leipzig and Brussels to smaller independent events. To access new markets, the Arts Council is pushing harder on translation, “to make it even more efficient and more attractive to our foreign partners in the near future,” Grabowski says.

Why Frankfurt still matters

For Luxembourg, as for the global publishing world, Frankfurt remains indispensable. It is where translation rights and licensing deals are negotiated, where trends are spotted, where personal connections spark future collaborations. It is also, as Bailey points out, a chance for Luxembourg to make its plural, multilingual literature visible: “What we want to create is a professional platform for the different actors of the literary sector in Luxembourg to connect, and also that professionals from abroad can connect with the Luxembourgish team.”

Ultimately, Luxembourg’s presence at Frankfurt 2025 signals both ambition and openness: a small but dynamic literary scene seeking dialogue, collaboration, and recognition on the world stage.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse takes place from 15-19 October. The Luxembourg stand F130 is hosted in Hall 3.1, www.buchmesse.de/en