It sounds cynical, but the Frankfurt Book Fair is serious: the world’s largest gathering of authors and publishers has chosen a supposedly social network as its partner because it’s once again about saving the industry. With TikTok, the book is supposed to be supported by one of those platforms that exacerbate the information to the point of blurriness and reduce the attention span to a few minutes. TikTok (product of the Chinese company ByteDance) has long since become a hit accelerator in music. There they have a say in what goes through as suitable for the masses. TikTok now wants to extend this market power to other genres by pushing forward in Frankfurt.
The organizing stock exchange association of the German book trade likes to wave the flags of freedom of expression and tolerance. However, the fact that TikTok works with the “Shadowban” censorship tool and filters out words such as “terrorists” or the name of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai (she had accused a Chinese politician of sexual abuse) is overshadowed by the economic benefit: With 84 billion views, TikTok is effective -Hashtag #BookTok in the market. Half of all 12 to 19 year olds in German-speaking countries use TikTok regularly, and among 20 to 29 year olds it is a third. Due to the algorithm, there are now hypes about books, including the one about “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller. To the amazement of the author herself, the novel became a bestseller after being reviewed on BookTok – ten years after publication. Retailers also want to follow in the slipstream of the TikTok channel: Some bookstores have already set up shelves for BookTok bestsellers. As long as profit lurks, the incantation of free speech evaporates to warm air.
On the other hand, it is touching when high-tech fails in literary use: the writing robot T-A3 is at work in the pavilion of the guest country Spain. It is a mechanical arm designed to record a poem written by “mankind”. Anyone can send their text to #universalpoemuptofrankfurt – and you’re a poet. It’s just stupid when T-A3 writes “Karin ist Schund” although “Karin ist schön” was meant.
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Nevertheless, the bookmakers in Frankfurt are making efforts to create visibility for Iran’s women and Ukraine. Russia’s stand has been unloaded, dissidents are welcome, with many avoiding Frankfurt for fear of not being allowed to enter Russia again afterwards. Dmitry Glukhovsky nevertheless came.
The Russian writer knows anyway that he can’t go home again, at least as long as Vladimir Putin is in power. He had publicly criticized the war. “But my own difficulties are ridiculous compared to the difficulties of the Ukrainian people,” says Glukhovsky, who created the basis for the computer game of the same name with his worldwide bestseller “Metro 2033”. In Frankfurt he is presenting the volume “Stories from Home” – “and you won’t believe it, it’s a funny book”.
For a four-minute video message, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was also connected to the Frankfurt Congress of the European Publishers’ Association in the “Harmony Hall”. And he called for the industry to publish books about those “who support terrorism and want to specifically weaken Europe.” In addition, stories of the “victory of freedom” are more important than ever: “People have to know that freedom can defend itself.”
At the end of the speech there was standing applause. Also from TikTok employees.
Source: Nachrichten
