The world's largest trade fair for books - based on the number of publishing companies represented, as well as the number of visitors - opened its doors to the general public on Saturday.

The seven thousand exhibitors from more than a hundred countries gathered since last Tuesday to negotiate international publishing rights and licensing fees. Over the years, they have developed their presentations from print to multimedia, and this year to discussions around self-publishing, E-books and the challenge set by online book seller Amazon.

"A lot of people have proclaimed the end of the book on paper in the past years, but actually nothing like this is going to happen. We are seeing so much interest in the story itself, it doesn't matter whether it's in print or whether it's digital or whether it's video, whether it's a film in Hollywood or whatever. The author doesn't really think about the media anymore. What counts is the story," said Fair director Juergen Boos.

The Fair dedicated a full day on Saturday to self-publishing on the Publishing Perspectives Stage, covering social media for authors, cover design, editing, E-book distribution, and success stories with established authors.

Amazon

Germany is one of online bookseller Amazon's biggest markets outside the US. The company had no stand at the Fair but on Tuesday, its opening day, announced the launch of a monthly, flat-rate offer for unlimited access to E-book titles.

Austrian author Gerhard Ruiss was quick to criticise the service, saying: "We fear unfair competition on prices as well as authors' fees through this service."

"Amazon doesn't have the market it would like to have in Europe. That's the reason for this new step," Ruiss added.

Ruiss is one of about 2,000 German-language writers who signed a petition protesting Amazon's E-book price battle with Scandinavian publisher Bonnier, a major player in German publishing.

Online business is estimated to account for about 16 percent of the German book market. Of that, Amazon accounts for up to 70 percent of sales, according to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association.

Big deals

Traditional publishers are also active. A major discussion this week concerned the future of the world's largest book publisher, New York-based Penguin Random House. Bloomberg News reported earlier in the week that Europe's biggest media company, Bertelsmann, based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, intended to raise its stake in Penguin Random House through a purchase of the 47 percent stake of the company held by British educational publisher Pearson. Bertelsmann already owns 53 percent of Penguin Random House.

Also this week, News Corp subsidiary HarperCollins said it was expanding in the German book market.

This year's guest of honor at the Fair was Finland with a focus on literature under the banner "Finland. Cool."

Next year will see major changes at the Fair including relocation of English-language publishers from its outskirts to halls nearer the center of the action. The English publishers currently have a twenty-minute walk to the center of the Fair.

jm/tj (AFP, dpa)