.png)
.webp)
.avif)
Quirky Kid attended the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair as a trade visitor, taking an early step towards building international publishing relationships around its emerging therapeutic resource range.
The 61st Frankfurter Buchmesse ran from 14 to 18 October 2009. Quirky Kid co-founder Leonardo Rocker attended to explore publishing rights, distribution and emerging digital formats while meeting with industry contacts interested in psychology-informed resources for children and families.
The official history of Frankfurter Buchmesse records 299,112 visitors, 7,373 exhibitors and participation from 100 countries in 2009.
Learning how international publishing works
At the time, Quirky Kid had only recently begun turning tools developed through child psychology practice into published resources. Frankfurt provided direct exposure to the international rights and licensing market at a formative stage of that work.
Quirky Kid’s contemporaneous record notes meetings around rights acquisition and sales, alongside interest in how print and digital publishing were changing.
An early international step
The 2009 visit was exploratory rather than an exhibition or award appearance. Its significance lies in the access it gave Quirky Kid to international publishing practice while the organisation was still developing its identity as both a psychology service and publisher.
The fair itself was also focused heavily on digital change. Frankfurter Buchmesse’s historical record highlights the arrival of Tools of Change for Publishing in Frankfurt and growing industry discussion around e-books, online distribution and new business models.
From trade visitor to collective stand
Quirky Kid returned to Frankfurt the following year in a stronger publishing position, joining the Australian Publishers Association collective stand at the 2010 fair.
Read about Quirky Kid at the 2010 Frankfurt Book Fair.
Together, the two visits show how international publishing moved from early market exploration into a more deliberate part of Quirky Kid’s growth strategy.
