CANADA Guest of Honour | Frankfurt Book Fair 2020/2021

It is our pleasure to invite you on a virtual journey through Canada’s Guest of Honour pavilion in Frankfurt. Immerse yourself in the pavilion’s design, as well as a selection of the programming developed to showcase the official literary delegation representing Canada to visitors of the Fair.

This literary programming represents Canadian talent from all literary genres and from French, English, and Indigenous voices.

Click & Drag to Start

Please note that as of October 24th, 2021, Canada’s role as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair has concluded. The information on this and any related pages is no longer being updated and serves only as a record of past activities.

Water | Journey Begins

The source of life all across the territory, in constant motion, water moves us.

View The Pavilion

From the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Arctic Ocean to Canada’s southern border, the scenery is as varied as it is stunning, shaped by unique geological phenomena and weather. The imposing landscape feeds the passion and imagination of the artists, authors, and illustrators who are the beating heart of Canada’s cultures and literature: the pillars of Singular Plurality.

We contain multitudes

The idea that we as individuals create and inhabit different identities is widely accepted these days. But how do these various identities affect a writer’s work, shape their readers’ responses and determine their position in the literary community? Conversation with Esi Edugyan, Kim Thúy, and Catherine Hernandez. Hosted by Hal Wake and Claudia LaRochelle.
Mapping Canada

Writers whose homes are their muse. Mapping out the geographic and cultural worlds within the national body. Conversations with André Alexis, Diane Carmel Léger, Michael Crummey, Eden Robinson, and Michel Tremblay.

Minerals | Discovery

As resilient as wherever ideas come from, the raw matter of inspiration.

View The Pavilion

Culture and language, like the rocky plateaus that make up this land, are the foundation upon which strong communities have established themselves and flourished.

Inclusion in Crisis

6 Degrees is the global forum for inclusion, and a project of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC). We’re excited to be bringing our unique 6 Degrees style of conversation to Frankfurt. The novelist and essayist John Ralston Saul (who is also co-founder and co-chair of the ICC) has gathered seven other renowned writers from Canada and Germany to address the increasing polarization of our time, to find new ways to achieve more inclusion, and to defend plurality and equality in a critical time.Participants: André Alexis, Kim Thúy, Yann Martel, Chelsea Vowel, Jaafar Abdul-Karim, Tanja Kinkel, Ulrike Draesner and, John Ralston Saul.
Preserving and Protecting languages & cultures

It is through language and cultural expression that we describe our world and our understanding of it. So every time language is lost and culture disappears, we lose a unique perspective or view of how we make sense of human existence. These writers passionately believe in the power of language and culture and are determined to ensure that these languages and cultures survive.Conversations with Alain Deneault, Josephine Bacon, Waubgeshig Rice, Diane Carmel Léger, Paul Seesequasis, and Marie-Claire Blais. Hosted by Kim Thúy.

We | Poetry

Words are the genesis of emotion taking shape. A force, a leap across borders.

View The Pavilion

Poetry on the Mainstage

Some would say that poets are the soul of a nation. They certainly aren’t afraid to examine their own innermost feelings unflinchingly and at the same time, face the world in all its complexity. With Vivek Shraya, David Goudreault, and Canisia Lubrin.Animation by: Chhaya Naran & Harlo Martens, Agathe Bray-Bourret and Josh Neu.

Plants | Writing

A living thing, an open-air maze, a repository for stories: instinct and language coalesce and come to life.

Authors and Illustrators View The Pavilion

Canada is a SINGULAR PLURALITY. The uniqueness of our country is composed of many cultures, languages, and its Indigenous, francophone and anglophone literatures, which makes the country unique, diverse, eclectic, creative, and strong in all its multitudes.

Authors and Illustrators

Horizon | Vision

The fertile ground of knowledge. We go beyond the horizon for a broader perspective. Limitations fall away and the possibilities multiply. Building the world to come.

We invite you to dive into the works of the official literary delegation representing Canada at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2021, and to discover the beauty and imagination of Canada’s rich and diverse literary landscape.

Explore the Canadian pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair

Conversations: Hope Against Despair

It often appears that humanity is tormented by a somber shadow, beset with environmental, social, and political crises. Canada, the Guest of Honour country at the 2021 Edition of the Frankfurt Book Fair partners with the Canada Council for the Arts Institute and meets with Canadian authors, Jocelyne Saucier, Alix Ohlin, and Joshua Whitehead, to understand how they feel about the role that the writer plays in confronting the some of humanity's biggest challenges. Conversation with Jocelyne Saucier, Alix Ohlin and, Joshua Whitehead. Hosted by Hal Wake and Claudia LaRochelle.

Singular Plurality, Canada Guest of Honour Frankfurt Book Fair 2020/2021

Water | Journey Begins

The source of life all across the territory, in constant motion, water moves us.

We contain multitudes

Mapping Canada

Minerals | Discovery

As resilient as wherever ideas come from, the raw matter of inspiration.

We | Poetry

Words are the genesis of emotion taking shape. A force, a leap across borders.

Plants | Writing

A living thing, an open-air maze, a repository for stories: instinct and language coalesce and come to life.

Horizon | Vision

The fertile ground of knowledge. We go beyond the horizon for a broader perspective. Limitations fall away and the possibilities multiply. Building the world to come.