The Frankfurt Book Fair 2010 kicks off on Wednesday 6th October. It will be a busy one for Irish publishers and Irish Publishing News will be there to cover breaking news and to attend some of the events.

The key social event of the week for Irish Publishers is the Irish Party which takes place at 5pm Friday at the Irish Stand (Hall 8, C947). The party doubles as a celebration of Mercier Press’ 55th year of attending the fair, an impressive record. There’ll be a minister of state there, Martin Manseragh TD, and the Irish ambassador to Germany, His Excellency Mr Dan Mulhall.

Publishers, of course, are not the only Irish business people attending and many Irish agents (or irish based agents) will be present.

Jonathan Williams will have a busy fair and highlights Lavinia Greacen’s updated biography of J.G. Farrell. J.G. Farrell: The Making of a Writer and a work of non-fiction, Hell Hath No Fury…, by John Morris. Greacen’s book was first published in 1999 and got effusively reviewed. Since that time, much more has been learned about Farrell’s life, and his novel Troubles won the ‘Lost’ Booker Prize.

Morris’ book joins the enormous canon of literature about Jack the Ripper, but it persuasively argues that Jack the Ripper was female (Jill the Ripper might be an optional title!). It presents a series of previously overlooked clues that lead directly to the murderer, and outlines the extraordinary chain of events that turned an upper middle-class Victorian woman into a vicious serial killer.

Belfast based Paul Feldstein of the Feldstein Agency will be presenting an exciting list including Rudi, Danny Morrison’s fourth novel a modern treatment of Hermann Hesse’s 1915 book, Knulp, which is about a vagrant who has many friends in many towns who admire his freedom and innocence – though his way of coping with life has its complications.

Other titles for the Feldstein’s include, Disappeared, a debut crime novel by Dungannon based Anthony Quinn and debut literary fiction, The Coop, Part one of the Thickets Wood Trilogy by Bangor based Rebecca Reid.

The Feldstein’s will also be presenting a new work of general fiction by author Tara West, whose previous title, Fodder, was published by Blackstaff, called Poets are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan, which centres on the life of Tommie Shaw as she struggles with her mother’s soon to be release tell-all memoir, he own insecurities and battle with depression.
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Publishers, Agents and Authors, don’t forget, if you have any news for IPN you can reach me during the fair: editor{AT}irishpublishingnews.com