Natalia Méndez, Senior Editor, Edelvives, Argentina

I was born in Buenos Aires in 1976. I love reading since I learned how to, so I found occupations that allowed me to read all day long. I have a degree in Literature and since 2002 I work in publishing, specialized in children’s and young readers’ books. I started at Random House Mondadori Argentina. At the end of 2008, I took a place in Grupo Editorial Norma as a Senior Editor (in charge of Children’s and Young Readers' Books Department). Since the beginning of 2012, I have the same position at Edelvives Argentina. I am teaching at the University of Buenos Aires, as a professor in the Publishing Course. I am also starting an independent project with a colleague to represent local authors abroad.

Edelvives is a Spanish publishing house, with a long tradition in children’s and young readers’ books. It has a broad catalogue, from textbooks to classic literature and contemporary fiction books. Since 2006, Edelvives has a small office in Argentina, where we develop books and some series that appeal to our market.

I believe good stories can travel all around the world, so I like to know books from other countries and share the books I know from Argentina. I am passionate to continue learning about authors, books and markets, and meeting people who works in publishing is a great way, that is why the Frankfurt Fellowship and the book fair are a big opportunity

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Flávia Alves Bravin, Editorial Director, Saraiva Publishing House, Brazil

Saraiva is one of the largest publishing house in Brazil (52nd in the world) and also the top Brazilian bookseller (more than 100 shops around the country). “Editora Saraiva” (the publishing side) offers a complete catalogue of Elementary and High school Textbooks, Law books, Business and Economics textbooks and trade books. Besides books, stationery and periodicals, “Livraria Saraiva” also has its own digital reader and marketplace and sells and rent movies. For more information: http://www.saraivari.com.br/eng/perfil/visao.asp.
My main interests are to share experiences regarding the publisher role and the digital, focusing business and educational books. New ways contexts are being used in universities around the world and different business models and initiatives (enriched educational content, distance learning, platforms for textbooks) are also a fascinating subject for me.
My expectations are to find publishers with similar needs, so we can start a network to discuss important questions of our traditional and future challenges. Regarding Frankfurt Fellowship and Frankfurt Book Fair, I also expect to learn more about international markets, problems in common, new titles and digital experiences.

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Trena White, Publisher, D&M Publishers, Canada

After graduating with a master of publishing degree in 2003, I was hired by Toronto-based publishing house McClelland & Stewart, where I worked my way up from editorial assistant to editor. In 2010 D&M Publishers hired me as an acquiring editor, and I was recently made publisher of two of the company’s imprints, Greystone Books and Douglas & McIntyre.

From a small, regionally based start-up founded in 1971, D&M Publishers has grown to become Canada’s largest independent book publisher. We have full offices in Vancouver, Gabriola Island, and Toronto, more than 1,000 books in print and an annual program of over 100 new titles. D&M publishes a wide range of award-winning books in the areas of biography, First Nations issues and culture, history, current affairs, art and architecture, food and wine, politics, nature, and recreation. We are Canada’s pre-eminent environmental publisher and the official publisher of the David Suzuki Foundation. Illustrated books are one of our core strengths. We publish some of Canada’s most esteemed writers, and we’re equally committed to nurturing up-and-coming talent.

With the Frankfurt Fellowship, I look forward to meeting the German publishers my company has established relationships with, and to discussing the challenges and opportunities of the changing book market with international contemporaries.

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Susanne Torpe, Publisher, Hr. Ferdinand, Denmark

Hr. Ferdinand is an independent publishing house established in 2003. Since the beginning we have specialized in publishing translated fiction, and we don’t publish any Danish authors. We have a crime/thriller/suspense line including authors like Dan Brown, Karin Slaughter and Stephen King, and a upmarket/literary line including authors like William Boyd, Chris Cleave, Alaa al-Aswany, Edmund de Waal, DBC Pierre, Daniel Glattauer and Jeannette Walls. We only publish 16-18 new titles a year, so we are very selective.

Networking, inspiration, exchange of experiences, the opportunity for great discussions and the opportunity to increase my knowledge of the German book market are my main interests regarding the Fellowship Programme. I am also eager to achieve an deeper inside knowledge of how the mechanisms of publishing is working in other countries all over the world; how is the situation concerning sale, marketing strategies, public relations, advances, bookstores, supermarkets, eBooks etc.

Inspiration, new knowledge and insight gained in an intense atmosphere are part of my expectations. Great discussions with publishers, editors and agents from all over the world, discussing what each of us is doing every day, how we do it – and why. I see The Frankfurt Fellowship Programme as an ideal opportunity to create new, long lasting and strong relations.

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Talal Abdalla Faisal, Editor, GEBO/General Egyptian Book Organisation, Egypt

Egyptian editor and translator, 27 years old. After finishing his medical studies, and in parallel with doing his Masters in Psychiatry he started his career in publishing industry. He’s been working with GEBO (General Egyptian Book Organization) for past three years.
During this period, he managed with them (by choosing, suggesting and arranging agreements with publishers and agencies) to introduce many authors to the Arabic market such as: Nobel Laureates: Tomas Tranströmer, J.M Coetzee, Herta Müller and Booker prize winners Margaret Atwood, Aravind Adiga, Hilary Mantel, and Pulitzer Prize winners: Norman Mailer, Elizabeth Strout, Geraldine Brooks and others.
Talal is an author himself, he’s just published his first novel “The Beauties’ effect” which topped bestseller list in Egypt just few weeks after publishing it, and he’s nearly finished his second novel. He’s translated also five books among which “Memories look at me” by Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer and “The quickening maze” by Booker prize shortlisted Adam Foulds and other titles.

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Marie-Pierre Gracedieu, Editorial Director (Foreign Fiction), éditions Stock, France

Stock is one of the oldest literary publishing houses in France. There I handle foreign fiction. I run an old literary imprint called “La Cosmopolite” in which authors such as Sofi Oksanen or Jennifer Egan are published alongside Virginia Woolf and Stefan Zweig. The fiction I am interested in is telling new stories of the world, but also stands out for the personality of the writing. Sasa Stanisic’s novel “How the soldier repairs the Gramophone” is in fact a very good example. It tackled an important subject, the war in former Yugoslavia, but from a new perspective, that of the children who lived it, but this novel was also questioning the ability of writing to recreate a country lost because of war and exile, and more generally to recreate the past.
But I am also building a new list of literary crime fiction, “La Cosmopolite noire”. Therefore, I intend to use the opportunity of the Frankfurt Fellowship to meet German editors to have a better understanding of the way they market literature and literary crimes, how they establish new authors, how they take care of the backlist in hardcover while paperback and digital editions are becoming more and more important.

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Pia Götz, Foreign Rights Director, Ullstein Buchverlage, Germany

Being a child of the world – born in Indonesia, growing up in the Bavarian Alps and the hustle of London town, now working in Berlin – I always enjoyed the aspect worlds and cultures connecting. My studies in History of Art at SOAS, London, also showed me that it wasn’t the objects, but the story behind them, that fascinates me. And with stories, I realised, I wanted to work. So, selling translation rights – carrying stories into the world – is therefore only a continuation of my passion and I embrace the challenges and joys equally.
After dabbling in journalism, I started my publishing career with a short work experience placement at Bloomsbury Publishing in London in 2005. It continued with various stops in editiorial here at Ullstein, where I still work today. Taking on the role of Foreign Rights Manager in 2009, I enjoy finding ways to share German literature and non-fiction titles with international readers, meeting many publishing colleagues from different backgrounds and to exchange ideas and experiences. I cannot wait to do so during this years Fellowship and very much look forward to meeting everybody.
A few words about Ullstein: Ullstein Publishing was founded in 1903 in Berlin by the Ullstein family, then one of Germany’s most important newspaper publishers. Back then some of the leading authors and books included Bertolt Brecht, Heinrich Mann and Erich Maria Remarque („All Quiet on the Western Front“). Since 2003 Ullstein belongs to the Bonnier Media Group and continues the tradition of introducing books of high quality to a wide audience. Today, Ullstein’s many authors include John le Carre, Joan Didion, Jo Nesbo, Richard Dawkins, Diana Athill, Stephane Hessel, Camilla Läckberg, Terry Ealeton and many more

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Manasi Subramaniam, Editor, Karadi Tales Company, India

I am the Commissioning Editor at Karadi Tales Company. I began working in publishing when I interned with Anthem Press in London in the spring of 2008 and later joined Karadi Tales as Editor in August 2008. I have four years’ experience in publishing, several years’ experience in theatre and creative writing, and a postgraduate degree in Literature from one of the world’s best-known universities for the arts.

At Karadi Tales, I focus on picture books and audio books, and in 2011, I commissioned and developed the company’s first series of young adult novels. I also work cross-functionally with multiple media teams towards digital platforms, educational content, and licensed products. I have represented Karadi Tales at the international trade fairs in New York, Frankfurt, London, Singapore, Kolkata, and New Delhi.

Karadi Tales is an independent publishing house based in Chennai, India, and is a subsidiary of the ACK Media Group. We are primarily publishers of audio books and picture books for children. We also create a very special imprint of handmade tactile picture books with text in Braille and English for the visually challenged. We have also recently forayed into video, applications, and television. Karadi Tales products have won worldwide critical acclaim and recognition from international bodies including National Association of Parenting Publications of America (NAPPA), White Ravens (Internationale Jugendbibliothek, Germany), International Board on Books for Young people (IBBY), and the Dr. Toy Awards.

I am extremely focused on bringing the very best of children’s books from India to an international audience, as well as introducing Indian children to picture books of the world. The Indian book market is young and fast-growing, and at every book fair I find that I have much to learn from the people I meet. Through the course of the fellowship and the book fair, I look forward to learning more, meeting and collaborating with diverse international publishers, and exchanging ideas and approaches.

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Sharon O’Donovan, Rights and Permissions Manager, Mercier Press

I began working in Mercier Press as assistant to the Managing Director after completing an MA in English Literature and Publishing in 2007. Now, five years on, I have worked in every aspect of the business from editorial to marketing and sales to finance and rights and
permissions. I envision a long career ahead of me and I am delighted to participate in the Frankfurt Fellowship Programme to learn how other companies operate and to share my experiences.

Mercier Press is Ireland’s oldest independent publishing house and was founded in 1944. We publish up to fifty new titles a year in areas such as Irish history, biography, fiction, humour and business. EBook production has become an important part of our business and we are
well underway to having our front list and many of our backlist titles available as eBooks. Mercier Press has participated enthusiastically at book fairs throughout the years and this year marks our fifty-second year attending the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The programme offers a rare insight into the German market as well as an opportunity to meet with like-minded individuals to learn how they are meeting the challenges facing the publishing industry today. It is now more vital than ever that we broaden our international
relationships in order to share innovations, business practices and knowledge to ensure that the publishing industry continues to survive and flourish.

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Linda Tan Lingard, Literary Agent, Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency, Malaysia

I have always known I wanted to be in publishing but I majored in Economics at university and decided I like the business side of things. So I did my MBA and got into publishing anyway, always thinking of marketing, promotion and making money. After more than 20 years in publishing in editorial, production and marketing, I set up the Yusof Gajah Lingard Literary Agency with a partner in 2009.
We represent Malaysian and Asian writers and illustrators of children’s books and that continue to be our strength today although we are starting to work on adult fiction and translations, a growing area I am especially excited about. We also represent foreign publishers.
I have been attending the Frankfurt Book Fair since 2009 and it is always exciting. When we first started, we felt nobody knew us so we have always been part of the Malaysian collective stand. Last year we were the appointed agent for Malaysia’s country pavilion and this year we will be taking a table at the Literary Agent Centre. While I still think about marketing, promotion and making money, I like most the genuine connection you make with people in the industry. I am very lucky to be in the book business.
Going to the Frankfurt Book Fair for me now is also meeting and catching up with friends. I hope to make more friends through the Frankfurt Fellowship and to learn from each other.

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Anna Hodge, Senior Editor, Auckland University Press, New Zealand

He mihi nui tēnei kia koutou katoa. Ko Maungawhau te maunga; ko Ngā-ana-wai te awa; ko Waipapa te marae; ko Ngāti Pākehā te iwi; ko Anna Marama Hodge ahau.

With an honours degree in English literature and a diploma of publishing behind me, I started at Auckland University Press as an editorial assistant in 2005. Over the next seven years I became the Press’s sole editor, with a responsibility for our celebrated poetry list, as well as commissioning other art and literature titles. Alongside our director and designer, I also manage the production of the entire AUP list.

The largest of New Zealand’s four university presses, the Press publishes about 25 books a year – poetry, history, art, Māori studies, economics, politics, and science – by some of the country’s top scholars and writers. I love seeing a project from first whisper of idea to manuscript to finished form ¬– recent books have taken me from Antarctica to the Kermadec Islands, among scientists and architects, exploring events from the Global Financial Crisis to the recent Christchurch earthquakes.

New Zealand is a small, faraway country, but these days Auckland University Press is increasing its international reach and global electronic partnerships, so I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet international peers and fellow publishers – particularly this year, with New Zealand being Country of Honour at the Fair.

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Marina Adriana, Literary Agent, Simona Kessler Agency, Romania

I have been working at the Simona Kessler Agency since 1997, being hired while still at university. The agency was founded in 1994 and as such, was the first local, independent literary agency established in Romania after the Communists fell in December of 1989. We represent a great number of literary agencies and publishers from around the world, managing their translation rights activities for the Romanian market. My main interests as a reader are also, fortunately, the kinds of works which seem to do well in Romania, namely literary fiction, quality nonfiction and children’s work. (Don’t tell the publishers I represent who have catalogues full of other stuff….)

Although I have been an agent for fifteen years and feel I have an excellent grasp of the agent’s role and responsibilities, I have been only an agent during my professional career. So I understand there is still a great deal about the actual process of publishing that I have yet to learn. My hope through the Fellowship is to gain a far greater understanding about publishing on the whole and German publishing in specific. The proximity to professionals from all over the world will not only allow me to forge meaningful friendships but I can also learn about the publishing and agenting businesses in the markets from which my fellow participants come.

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Mikhail Kotomin, Publisher, Ad Marginem Press, Russia

Mikhail Kotomin (born 1977). Graduated from Moscow State University (philological department). Have been working in different independent bookstores and writing book reviews for Jalouze, Glamour, Harper’s Bazzar magazines and Independent Newspaper (Nezavisimaya Gazeta) in 1994-1996. Working for Ad Marginem Press since 1996 as fiction editor and foreign rights director. Co-owner and publisher since 2003. Member of working group of Alliance of Independent Publishers and Booksellers (Russia).
Ad Marginem Press is a private independent Publishing House established in Moscow 1993. We are specializing in contemporary Russian fiction and sometimes Western fiction. We also publish postmodern philosophy classics like Derrida, Foucault, Walter Benjamin etc. and actual non-fiction. Among our fiction authors Christian Kracht, Ingo Schulze, Vladimir Sorokin, Mikhail Elizarov (Russian Booker-2008 prize), Eduard Limonov, Zahar Prilepin (National Bestseller-2008 prize) etc.
As a publisher, I am mostly interested in a new book form like paperback series connected to eBook format. I am also looking for vintage texts and so called long tail sellers rather than contemporary fiction. And for theoretical texts than can describe contemporary, permanent shifting, cultural landscape. I am waiting from Frankfurt Book Fair new experience in the international independent publisher’s practices and the knowledge how publishers keep books attractive in Internet world.

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Anna Soldevila, Mass-market editor/Digital Editor, Grup 62, Spain

I was born in Barcelona in 1981 and I grew up reading in a country that has the rich peculiarity of being bilingual. I have worked in publishing since 2000, when I started my career as a bookseller while still studying. When I finished my degree in Humanities in 2003, I started working at the rights department of Grup 62, which was an interesting place to start since I had the chance to see how al the imprints worked. In 2005 I moved to MB literary agency, where I learned all the secrets and strategies of being an agent working with Catalan, Spanish and foreign publishers. In 2008 I went back to Grup 62 as a junior editor in Edicions62. Four years later, I am responsible for the pocketbook and the digital area of Grup 62, two of the most important pillars of our ever-changing publishing world, which are changing every day. Grup 62 is focused in publishing in Catalan, and it’s the leader of our market, although we also have a fiction and a non-fiction imprint in Spanish. This is just the opposite from the main Spanish publishing houses who are focused in Spanish and have just, a few of them, a small Catalan list.
I am very interested in the multiple format editions and in sharing my experiences about the technological change which is taking place in publishing with editors, agents and those responsible of marketing departments around the world. I would like to discuss how this will affect the reading habits and how is it going to modify the author’s writing and the readers’ interests. I think that the Frankfurt Book Fair has a major role in this new era and I am sure that the Fellowship exchange will be very much profitable for everyone.

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Michael Bhaskar, Digital Publishing Director, Profile Books, United Kingdom

Having worked on digital publishing over the past six years, surely there has never been a more exciting time to be in publishing? The landscape is constantly evolving and the future is still open. As Digital Publishing Director at the independent London-based publisher Profile Books, my job is to create the systems, products, platforms and relationships to successfully publish in a digital age.
Profile Books was originally founded to publish stimulating non-fiction. In addition we publish the books of The Economist and have two literary imprints, the cult publisher Serpent’s Tail and a new list called Clerkenwell Press. We now publish eBooks and apps as well as books, work through digital channels to spread our message and look at new services, partnerships and business models to supplement and augment our traditional publishing.
One of my big priorities for the Fellowship is to figure out how we can create an international rights market for products like apps. Without collaboration between publishers, creating compelling, competitive products will be much harder. My goal is to gauge interest about alliances of publishers to build and sell digital products globally in many languages. I look forward to meeting colleagues from around the world at the Fair and discussing my favourite topics – books and their future!

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Corinna Barsan, Senior Editor, Grove/Atlantic, United States of America

Born and raised in New York City, I graduated with a BA in journalism from New York University and an MFA in creative writing/fiction from Hunter College. I had a brief stint in the fashion industry and then a longer stint as a photo editor for illustrated book and magazine projects. In 2004, I crossed over to the editorial side of book publishing. I started out at Farrar, Straus and Giroux and later joined Other Press, where I worked on a vibrant international list. As of late 2011, I am a senior editor at Grove/Atlantic. I edit literary fiction/nonfiction from around world—forthcoming titles include Yan Lianke's Lenin's Kisses, José Manuel Prieto's Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia, Peter Nathaniel Malae's Our Frail Blood, and Gustavo Faverón Patriau's The Antiquarian. I also serve as a member of the Young Professionals Council of Words Without Borders.
Grove/Atlantic is an independent publishing house with a long and illustrious publishing history. Our rich backlist in translation includes works by Ismail Kadare, Kenzaburo Oe, and Ivan Klima.
During the Frankfurt Fellowship, I look forward to getting a behind-the-scenes look at the German book market, discovering works with translation potential, and forging relationships with international publishing professionals.

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