The Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest in the world in its field. For five days, the heart of the literary world will beat in Frankfurt. During the event, the German Book Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, and the German Youth Literature Prize will also be awarded. Turkish writer Yaşar Kemal received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1997.
The Frankfurt Book Fair opens tomorrow, 15 October and ends on 19 October. 4300 publishers are taking part in the event.
Guest country: Philippines
The Frankfurt Book Fair was first held in 1949. Since 1988, one country’s literature and culture have been specially featured each year. This year’s “Guest of Honor” country is the Philippines.
The Philippines, with a population of 109 million, is home to 135 languages. The fair will showcase the literature, history, and indigenous communities of the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,641 islands. To this end, 100 authors and creatives from the Philippines have been invited.
Special events will be dedicated to José Rizal, a central figure in Philippine literature. Rizal (1861–1896) was a writer, doctor, and critic of colonialism, and is considered a national hero of the Philippines. The Spanish colonial government executed him on December 30, 1896.
Helîm Yûsiv to sign his new book
Helîm Yûsiv’s 2019 novel Firîna bi Baskên Şikestî has been translated into German by Elisabeth Ruetz and was published on September 15, 2025, by Sujet Verlag.
Sujet Verlag, together with Neqşê Publishing from Rojava, will host a book signing and seminar with Helîm Yûsiv at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 18 and 19, from 12:00 to 14:00.
The novel was released in German under a different title: Liebe im Schatten der dunklen Flaggen (“Love in the Shadow of the Dark Flags”).
About the book
The main setting of Helîm Yûsiv’s novel is Kobanê. The author tells a moving love story between Rodî and Perwîn, set during the 2014 resistance against ISIS. The two young filmmakers strive to immortalize the events in Kobanê, where death loomed everywhere, giving voice to many unheard stories. The novel offers heartbreaking testimony about the brutality of radical Islamists, the people killed, and the families torn apart, while also conveying the hope born from courage and love.
Love in the Shadow of the Dark Flags provides a powerful perspective on the horrors of war, portraying Kurdish women fighters as symbols of hope and strength in times of despair.
