Astrid Böhmisch to Be Leipzig Book Fair's New Director
Astrid Böhmisch will be taking over responsibility for the Leipzig Book Fair on 1 January 2024. She will be taking over as Director from Oliver Zille, who is stepping down at the end of the year. Leipzig Book Fair also includes Manga-Comic-Con and "Leipzig liest", Europe's largest reading festival.
Astrid Bömisch is bringing many years of extensive experience in the book and media industries to the role. She holds degrees in German and English and currently works in Berlin as a business consultant for media companies. Until 2022, she was General Manager at Bookwire GmbH and responsible for the German-speaking markets, where the company has a broad customer base of publishing houses for digital books. Before that, she worked as head of marketing for Piper Publishing, including all its imprints, for four years. From 2006 to 2015 she held various positions in marketing at Senator Entertainment, culminating in the role of Executive Vice President of Marketing & Publicity.
Martin Buhl-Wagner, Managing Director of Leipziger Messe: "Astrid Böhmisch has tremendous expertise at her disposal and she is very well connected in the world of literature as well as the publishing and media industries. She also has extensive knowledge of trade fairs and project management. Under her leadership, the Leipzig Book Fair will continue to develop in both strategy and content, thus strengthening its position as an outstanding international cultural event. I am enormously looking forward to working with her."
Astrid Böhmisch: "Being responsible for the future of the Leipzig Book Fair is a huge honour and an exciting challenge for me. The fair is an absolute highlight each year for everyone who publishes, creates or enjoys literature. I look forward to working with everyone involved to shape this unique combination of events with Leipzig Book Fair, Manga-Comic-Con and Leipzig liest and to lead it into the future."
Martin Buhl-Wagner warmly expresses his gratitude to Oliver Zille for his exceptional commitment during his 33-year tenure. "Without his tireless work, the Leipzig Book Fair would not have achieved the status it has today in the international calendar of cultural events. Oliver Zille and I have worked together closely and successfully for many years. I wish him all the best for the future".