The Frankfurt (Germany) Book Fair was held in October. It is one of the biggest book shows in the world, so what happens here is very indicative of what’s going on in the publishing industry worldwide.

Stats show that professional attendance has dropped, but the exact figures haven’t been released yet. However, lots of deals were still happening, especially between publishers and agents at the rights center. Reportedly, there were a number of seven-figure advances and a record number of agents in attendance. In the first of two such deals made just before the official start of the fair, Kate Medina at Random House acquired The Girls, by 25-year-old author Emma Cline, from agent Bill Clegg, as part of a three-book deal. The novel is said to be inspired by the Manson cult in the 1960s. In the second big pre-fair deal, David Ebershoff, also at Random House, took North American rights from agent Susan Golomb to Cameroon novelist Imbolo Mbue’s The Longings of Jende Jonga. Golomb said the immigrant tale has “some of the most delightful and refreshing characters seen in recent fiction.

The attitude was upbeat and polls show there is optimism about the future of book publishing. Opening day speaker was the CEO of HarperCollins, Brian Murray. He talked about a “new era of experimentation” and how this has already yielded positive results for the publisher. “What we’ve seen in the digital realm is that every time you have a new partner—a new digital partner and a new digital offer—you’re creating new merchandising opportunities,” he said. “So, while maybe there are fewer tables at the front of bookstore chains for marketing and promotion, when you introduce a brand new e-tailer, or a different e-model or distribution partner, you are picking up new ways to market your books. In this day and age, [new] companies come up seemingly overnight with billion-dollar valuations, and the next thing you know they’re trying to get into the publishing business. So you have to be at the forefront. You have to try things.”

In other news, FBB debuted an overhauled ConTec, the pre-fair digital-themed show, and the Frankfurt Business Club, which offered extra benefits for attendees.  “There are a lot of people coming from technology companies, and from hardware makers, who realize that they have to have content,” Boos explained, adding, “These people want to explore the possibilities here, and maybe they don’t need a stand, but they need to be found. The business club offers this.”

Perhaps the biggest trend at Frankfurt this year, is that more publishers, and the fair itself, are clearly no longer afraid to, as Murray said, try things. “We know that digital is going to stay, print is going to stay, Amazon is going to stay,” Boos says. “But it is not the end of the world. I am not scared to change.”

*Information came from PW Global Rights Report, 10/14.