10 Things to Know About Berlin's Art Book Festival

The community-centric festival draws in print-lovers and creatives from across the globe, with more than 260 international exhibitors and guests making the journey to Miss Read each year. Admission is free and guests are encouraged to wander the exhibitors’ area, exploring the wealth of amazing publications.

Each year the Miss Read festival gives a special focus to publishers from a particular country or ethnicity. By highlighting and carving out space for these publishers the festival creates a platform for a global print community.

Miss Read boasts an extensive and well-curated timetable of lectures, symposia, workshops and book presentations. Often converging under a special focus, the annual book festival offers plenty of free and ticketed events for guests.

Aside from the extensive and inspiring program and exhibitors area, Miss Read also give visitors a chance to meet and mingle with like-minded creatives. The down-to-earth, open energy of the festival offers the right environment to strike up a conversation with fellow print-lovers and connect over the medium.

In conjunction with Berlin’s Art Book Festival, the annual Conceptual Poetics Day explores the lines between visual art and literature. With its own program of talks, lectures and events, the juxtaposed day delves into the notion that there is a border between visual art and the written word.

Founded in 2009, Miss Read put on its 10th edition this year, celebrating a decade of Berlin’s largest and most diverse art book festival.

Miss Read has released a book as part of the art book festival’s 10th-year celebration. Titled Publishing Manifestos, the book is an anthology that includes key texts, entries and information from protagonists from the publishing field, featuring a comprehensive who’s who of publishing. All the contributors have participated and exhibited at the Berlin Art Book Festival over the past decade.

In 2017 Miss Read relocated to Haus der Kulturen der Welt near Tiergarten. The building was given to the former West as a gift from America, and the former Congress Hall was since turned into a House of World Culture in Berlin. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the contemporary art, music and culture space has hosted an impressive calendar of cultural events.

As Miss Read draws in the most interesting artists, creators, authors and publishers from around the world, it’s no surprise that the exhibitors’ area is bursting with the latest and greatest in print. Visitors can uncover their next favourite independent publication, chat with pioneers and pick up eccentric zines and books that they might have otherwise missed.

Offering a culturally-current series of events, plenty of chances to connect with like-minded creatives and tons of amazing printed work, Miss Read is the not-to-be-missed weekend for bibliophiles and art aficionados.