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India National Stand opens at Frankfurt Book Fair 2026
India’s National Stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 opened with a celebration of literature.
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India’s National Stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 was inaugurated on Wednesday, with German and Spanish translations of a collection of modern Indian classic stories for children released at the event.
The stand was inaugurated by Deepak Bansal, acting consul general of India in Frankfurt, and author and social activist Sundeep Bhutoria. Claudia Kaiser, vice-president of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Dhananjay Singh, member secretary of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, and representatives of Indian literary and educational institutions were also present.
Yuvraj Malik, director of the National Book Trust (NBT), India, said the stand was conceptualised to bring Indian books to an international platform and promote the country’s literature and languages under one umbrella. He said the collective display represented Indian publishers as a whole rather than an individual publishing house.
Bansal said India’s presence at this year’s fair was particularly relevant as India and Germany mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. He said the exhibition could help strengthen ties between the two countries and appreciated the collective presentation of books.
Bhutoria highlighted the role of reading in understanding India’s culture, history and diverse traditions. He also stressed the importance of translations in taking Indian literary works to readers across languages.
Kumar Vikram, chief editor and joint director of NBT-India, said the stand had been designed to showcase prominent figures in Indian literature, including Premchand and Sumitranandan Pant, and encourage younger readers to engage with their works.
Children’s stories translated
The inauguration was followed by the release of German and Spanish editions of Modern Indian Classic Stories for Children, published by NBT-India.
The collection includes Mitthu by Premchand; Do Goraiya and Chamgadad ka Ras by Bhisham Sahni; Cycle ki Swari by Sudarshan; Bahadur by Amarkant; Sabse Sundar Ladki by Vishnu Prabhakar; and Kunji by Acharya Shivpujan Sahay.
The series has been developed for young readers to introduce them to works by established Indian writers. According to NBT-India, the stories continue to hold relevance for contemporary readers.
The stand has been set up by the Ministry of Education, with NBT-India serving as the nodal agency in association with the Consulate General of India in Frankfurt under the Ministry of External Affairs.
