Frankfurt Book Fair Rights Directors Meeting to discuss ‘surprising successes in challenging times’ on 18 October 2016

The annual Frankfurt Book Fair is being held from 19 to 23 October 2016.

For example, who would have thought that a book about felling trees could become a global bestseller? Yet, Lars Mytting’s Norwegian Wood has been translated into 15 languages and has been flying off the shelves all round the world. What is the success story behind such a title? The Frankfurt Rights Meeting, formerly known as International Rights Directors Meeting, will explore such best cases on 18 October 2016.

John Donatich, director of Yale University Press, will share his insights into the US publishing market, focusing on the factors for selling translations successfully in the US.

Kris Kliemann, formerly director of Global Rights at Wiley, USA, and now a rights consultant – with copyright and licensing experience in a wide range of markets, dealing with many different content types – will talk about the long-term potential of the backlist, uncovering possible streams of revenue.

Bence Sárközy, director of Libri Publishing, Hungary, will speak about the Hungarian market: About challenges he faces every day and how he manages to publish translations successfully.

Gudrun Hebel, founder of agentur literatur, Germany, is the agenting force behind the internationally successful title Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting. Together with Katharina Bielenberg, commissioning editor at MacLehose Press, she will present the behind-the-scenes ‘journey’ of this exceptional title and explore what ‘made this book work’, especially in the challenging UK market.

Michael Healy, executive director (international relations) Copyright Clearance Center, USA, who also currently chairs the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) Agency and is a member of the partners’ board of the UK Copyright Hub, will focus on copyright licensing around the world in his talk.

Isabelle Bleecker, VP, director, international rights at Perseus Books, Hachette Book Group, USA will host the conference. With more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry – including over 17 years in the content and licensing business –Bleecker’s core skills include business development and working across cultures and languages.

For 30 years, representatives of the international trade in rights and licenses have been meeting and networking at the Frankfurt Rights Meeting, formerly known as International Rights Directors Meeting. Attendees include licensing and rights managers, publishers, literary agents, scouts, as well as business development and export managers from the publishing industry. For an overview of the programme and to order tickets, please visit http://book-fair.com/en/conferences/rdm/