News from Berlin
Berlin Electric Book Fair
June 23rd, 2014
News from Berlin – On June 21, the first ever German electric book fair has been launched in Berlin Wedding at the Co-working and Event-zone ‘Supermarket’. Previously confined to related fairs such as the CEBIT in Hannover or conventional literature exhibitions across Germany, e-book start-ups and experts decided to establish a fair of their very own, aimed at readers just as much as publishers. Not only the fair was different in its content, but also in its format: there have been no hostesses or booths, so that there was no differentiation between exhibitors and visitors.
An ‘Electric Café’ allowed the various groups to interact casually. The audience had the opportunity to talk to authors and publishers individually to discuss new literary works, reading devices and applications, digital configuration and civic education and responsibility.
Another program, the ‘Electric Enquete’, included lectures and discussions among experts. In contrast to traditional fairs, any visitor has been allowed and even encouraged to attend these conferences.
The aim of the fair was to highlight those qualities of e-books that printed books lack, for example text retrieval. The fair has been supported by the Berlin Senate and the German federal agency for civic education. The event was organized by project leader Nikola Richter, a German author and founder of the digital publishing firm mikrotext, and a varied team of representatives from the publishing, literature and design industries.
News from Berlin – Berlin Global
More Information: http://electricbookfair.de