Meet the Australians attending Frankfurt in 2026

The publishers sharing the 2026 Australian Collective Stand at Frankfurt this year range from first-timer attendees to those who’ve lost count of their visits. Read on to see who’s who.

University of Queensland Press: Erin Sandiford

I’ve been attending the Frankfurt Book Fair for around seven years, with a couple of missed years due to Covid and maternity leave.

Our reason for attending the fair is solely for me to sell rights, although our publishers Aviva Tuffield, Ben Ball and Cathy Vallance may acquire from Frankfurt rights guides they receive.

I’ll be spending a lot more time talking translation rights at this Frankfurt. My schedule is especially scout-heavy this year, which is always exciting, as scouts are often the first champions of a book in translation markets. This reflects both a sense that fewer mid-sized independent publishers from the UK and North America, the kinds of houses UQP is most likely to publish with, will be attending Frankfurt this year, and the fact that my list is particularly translation-friendly at the moment, especially on the children’s side.

Although UQP doesn’t publish academic or scholarly works, I’m hoping to meet with representatives from major university presses in the UK and US to discuss developments in university publishing. Also, at every book fair I attend, I steal away a couple of hours to wander the halls on my own. Some of my favourite discoveries at Frankfurt come from stumbling across a publisher I’ve never encountered before, and taking photos of particularly inspiring book covers and marketing displays to share with my colleagues back home. This is a non-negotiable part of every book fair trip for me. Amid the packed schedule of rights meetings, spending time wandering the halls reconnects me with the creativity and sheer possibility of publishing, and of the important role independents play in the ecosystem.

Melbourne University Publishing: Foong Ling Kong

I have attended Frankfurt previously, and since I’ve been back at Melbourne University Press, the last two years.

We are a nonfiction scholarly publisher, so I look forward to hearing the news and developments from my counterparts in different parts of the world and seeing what ideas are coming through their lists.

I’ll be attending as many sessions on copyright, technology, AI and data security as I can find – these are areas of enduring interest and concern.

NewSouth: Kathy Bail 

I’ve attended the book fair since 2010. This will be my 17th year. It’s always a fascinating – and demanding – week!

At NewSouth we’re looking for titles that complement our Australian publishing list, especially in popular science.

Frankfurt is also an opportunity to meet with those publishers NewSouth Books distributes in ANZ. We’re all adept at online meetings these days, though we look forward to an opportunity to meet in person and chat.

I’m planning to attend various meetings of the International Publishers Association as an Executive Committee member. This year there’s an International Convention of University Presses scheduled, which is an opportunity to see old and new friends working in this area of publishing. The Green Book Alliance, which is doing excellent work, is also holding a session on sustainability in the book supply chain, which I hope to attend. No doubt I will be tempted to join other gatherings in the lead-up.

Photo credit: Narelle Haas.

Black Inc.: Sophy Williams

This will be my 20th Frankfurt Book Fair.

I’m mainly selling rights, though I will be talking about the “Shortest History” series with some agents and seeking new authors.

I’m not attending any panels – my meeting schedule is full! As usual, I’m seeking to learn new things, so I hope I don’t know some of the topics I’ll be discussing yet. But I assume the usual things will crop up – how AI is helping/hindering business; the challenges of independent publishing; trending genres; current economic situations of different territories; success stories – I love hearing about titles that have hit it out of the park lately for other publishers.

Fremantle Press: Alex Allan

This will be my fourth year attending for Fremantle Press as part of the Australian Publishers Association’s Australian Collective Stand, but I first attended Frankfurt in the early 2000s as a publisher at DK and I attended almost every year for 20 years. It has been an amazing experience seeing Frankfurt from the perspective of an Australian independent – it is an incredible opportunity to be connected to the global industry.

We don’t acquire [international] rights, so our focus will be on pitching the work of Australian creatives and on meeting international publishing colleagues to understand more about their markets and how the work of our writers can travel more broadly.

Ninni Yabini by Cheryl Kickett-Tucker and Tyrown Waigana will be on display as part of the IBBY-UNESCO Remarkable Books catalogue, which launched last week. This is a joint effort by IBBY and UNESCO to protect linguistic diversity in the field of children’s literature and features some 170 books from around the globe. It’s shocking to me that by the turn of the 21st century we are likely to lose some 40% of the 7,000 languages currently spoken, and we’re honoured to be part of this important initiative.

Bakers Lane Books: Ginny Grant

Although I’ve spent many years in publishing preparing materials for Frankfurt and other book fairs, this will be my first in attendance. I feel strongly that the Bakers Lane titles I have acquired to date have international potential and what better event to introduce them globally than the world’s largest gathering of publishing professionals.

My focus this year will be on selling rights to Bakers Lane titles rather than acquisitions. That said, I have been on the lookout for quite some time for fiction and nonfiction books on neurodiversity, which is a particular interest area for me.

With so many publishing businesses present, it’s a great opportunity to spread my wings. As such, I have booked several non-rights meetings with various publishing services suppliers, including product developers and printers.

Exisle: Nathan James Thomas

I first attended the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2010 with my dad, Gareth St John Thomas, who founded Exisle. I remember a frenetic, heady atmosphere; everyone was terrified of a scary new technology called the Kindle. How quaint that now seems in the age of AI! I have returned to Frankfurt every few years since, and probably done six or seven fairs in all.

Exisle is looking for pragmatic and readable nonfiction that combines qualified expertise with an engaging personal story. For us though, Frankfurt is primarily about selling translation rights of our titles; both on the Exisle Publishing (nonfiction) list, as well as our children’s books with heart published under the EK Books imprint.

Everyone comes to Frankfurt so it’s a great opportunity to meet people involved in selling Exisle books who we don’t normally get to see. From our Australian sales manager to our British sales reps and even an American printer, everyone is there, so it’s a great chance to put faces to names and discover that many of us are much taller than our Zoom screens purport us to be.

Giramondo: Nick Tapper

This will be my sixth time in Frankfurt – I first attended in 2018.

We attend book fairs primarily to represent the rights of Giramondo’s authors internationally, but we’re always on the lookout for inventive and unusual literary works to acquire, in translation especially, as well as writers we might publish in our literary magazine HEAT.

I would love for there to be time during Frankfurt to do other things than attend meetings during the day, but it’s never been the case, and I don’t think this year will be any different – but one of the highlights of the fair is catching up with friends and colleagues from all parts of the globe in the evenings, at dinners and parties, to get a real sense of the state of literary publishing around the world.

Text Publishing: Michael Heyward 

I first went to Frankfurt in the late 1990s. The organisers gave me a certificate and a box of chocolates a couple of years ago in honour of my 25th book fair, which was kind of them even if the number is alarming.

I always carry the same hopes to the fair, that I can find and perhaps acquire a handful of books I would never have otherwise encountered. But I also hope to meet people who will be beguiled by our titles, and want to buy rights in them.

I am always booked up with back-to-back meetings, so rarely attend panels at the fair. I expect questions about AI and copyright to dominate the conversation.

Hardie Grant: Eve Green

I have attended in 2023, 2024 and 2025. This will be my fourth year attending. I won’t be acquiring, only selling.

I will have a full schedule of rights selling meetings, so unfortunately will not get to attend any of the Frankfurt panels or sessions. I am looking forward to discussing market trends with international publishers and getting an update on the state of the publishing landscape in foreign territories. As we are growing our graphic novel list and building new relationships with potential international partners, I am eager to hear how the graphic novel market is changing and developing overseas and where there are opportunities for Australian titles to be successful in the global market. Middle grade has been struggling internationally for several years, and I am keen to discover if this is still the case or if some territories are starting to see improvement. I am also looking forward to discussing the YA market and in particular the fantasy and dystopian categories and how they are performing amid the romantasy craze.

Category: Think Australian profile