26 Oct 2 Seas Goes from Paris to the 2025 Gothenburg Book Fair

From 22–28 September 2025, just weeks ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair, senior agent Chrysothemis embarked on a high-intensity business trip: meetings in Paris followed by attendance at the Gothenburg Book Fair in Sweden. Over the span of a few days and five flights across two countries, she held around 70 meetings with French and Nordic editors.

By Chrysothemis Armefti — Article first published in October 2025

Paris Meetings

In recent years, I have typically met with French publishers in late May/early June, coinciding with the Paris Book Market for international meetings. This year, however, I missed that traditional slot due to a family wedding and a stop at the Lisbon Book Fair. so, I squeezed in a short stop in Paris en route to Gothenburg. Despite the intensity, 70 meetings in 5 days in 2 countries, it was incredibly rewarding! I suppose all literary agents a bit workaholic; it only takes a couple of conversations about books with foreign editors to lift your spirits!

Paris welcomed me with sunshine on Monday, September 22, as I visited nine publishing houses, some of them for the very first time! A standout moment: my meeting with Grasset, who preempted French rights in the Dutch literary debut Bullhead by Manik Sarkar (Hollands Diep) just three weeks later. I spent then two days at the iconic café Les Éditeurs, discussing new literary titles, upmarket and commercial fiction, as well as fantasy and non-fiction with several other editors.

French Market Insights

French publishers remain cautious: overall sales are decreasing though still above pre-pandemic levels, supported by higher prices and reduced title output. Notable exceptions exist, like the incredible success of Freida McFadden’s titles, whose Femme de ménage series (City Editions) continues to dominate the bestsellers lists.

Literature was the only growing segment (+5.7%), driven by romance and crime fiction, while comics, science, and reference works declined. Despite challenges, the French market shows resilience: balancing production, modestly increasing prices, and using digital transformation to sustain its global competitiveness.

Transition to Gothenburg  

After three full days of meetings in Paris, I took a late-night flight via Copenhagen to Gothenburg. This was my third time attending Scandinavia’s leading book event, the Gothenburg Book Fair (Bokmässan) at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre. My first time in Gothenburg was in 2018, and the second time was in 2023. Third time is a charm, as they say, since I had the best experience up to now.

The 41st edition of the Gothenburg Book Fair recorded its highest attendance since before the pandemic, with 95,700 visits — about 2,000 more than last year; with over 775 exhibitors and 3,250 participants from 35 countries.

Why the Gothenburg Book Fair Matters

Back in 2018, I described Gothenburg as “the best place to connect with publishers from the Nordic region and gain an even better understanding of the market.” That still holds today. For European foreign rights agents, and editors acquiring from Nordic countries, it remains an essential stop.

With Québec as the Guest of Honor at the Gothenburg Book Fair 2026, and Flanders & the Netherlands in 2027, my visit was particularly relevant and necessary.

2 Seas Agency handles Nordic rights on behalf of several French-Canadian publishers, such as Lux Editeur, Editions XYZ, as well as the following publishers on behalf of the Books & More Agency: La Peuplade, Alto, Héliotrope, Mémoire d’Encrier, Les Herbes rouges, and Le Cheval d’août. And, we also represent world translation rights for the Dutch publishers: Hollands Diep & Lebowski (part of the Overamstel Group), Meulenhoff-Boekerij, and Bertram + de Leeuw Uitgevers.

My goal in Gothenburg was to meet with Swedish and in general Nordic acquiring editors to present to them literary French-Canadian and Flemish/Dutch titles, but also promote our variety of catalogs which include all kinds of fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels & comics, and chidlren’s books in English, French, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Highlights & Key Insights from the Fair

The Rights Centre was on the 2nd floor (as in 2018) was fully booked. I managed to secure a sofa corner and a table just outside the rights centre, and hosting meetings back-to-back for two full days. On Saturday morning, I took time to visit editors at their stand, which is an opportunity for more informal encounters and on-the-ground market research. The fairgrounds were completely crowded of course and it was difficult to move around, so I don’t recommend this! Readers were queuing for autographs or to attend a variety of conferences.

Most of my meetings focused on commercial fiction, with audio and eBook formats, driven by subscription-based digital services dominating the discussion.

In 2024, Sweden’s book industry surpassed SEK 5 billion in turnover for the third time. Print sales continued to decline—23 million printed books sold, 1.4 percent fewer than 2023—while their market share dropped to 67 percent from 83 percent in 2018. Children’s and YA books were a bright spot, up 12.7 percent in value thanks to new school book grants. Digital formats kept rising, with 45.7 million audio and e-book streams (+3.3 percent), and subscription services grew 6.3 percent, marking the slowest increase in seven years yet remaining the only channel to outpace inflation.

Across the Nordic region, audio accounts for 50–70% of all book sales. Consultant Carlo Carrenho gives a great insight into the statistics of the audio sales in the Nordic countries here.

Due to the rapid increase in audio sales, Nordic publishers are looking for digital-only deals for commercial fiction, such as romance, crime, and thrillers. Their focus is mostly on series, or authors with substantial backlists. Storytel owns multiple publishing houses under “Storytel Books”, including Lind & Co and Norstedts, which makes it easier to create their own digital-only editions. North Audio Publishing, established in 2021 as part of JP/Politikens Forlag is primarily focusing on the growing audiobook market.

With the rise of digital-only deals and fast-paced production demands, Nordic publishers are increasingly embracing AI tools to translate more books and release them more quickly. More and more editors are making offers only on the agreement that they will use an AI-assisted translation tool to make the first draft translation, which will be then revised several times by humans. Something that seemed like a dealbreaker a few years ago for authors and proprietors, it’s becoming more common in our discussions.

While the commercially driven publishers are focusing on mass production and digital formats, independent publishers are resisting all odds and continuing to acquire high-quality literary fiction and non-fiction, focusing mostly on print sales, author visits and traditional promotion. It was a joy to see several of our books translated into Swedish including Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s Watching Over Her, Éric Chacour’s What I Know About You, and Joséphine Bacon’s Uiesh—all represented on behalf of Books & More Agency.

Thankful to be invited to the Québec Cocktail on Saturday night, where I met translators, publishers, and other members of the Québec Edition. It takes a lot of people to talk about the same book to a Swedish (or foreign editor) to convince them to make an offer! Everyone was very enthusiastic about the idea of bringing some of their authors over in 2026, and we are happy to say that deals for new Canadian authors were made just after the fair, including Jocelyne Saucier’s classic Twenty-Two Cardinals (Éditions XYZ) and Martine Desjardins’ incendiary novel Medusa (Alto).

Market Opportunities & Translation Support

Due to the strong competition from the English imported editions, Nordic publishers are eager to explore non-English language titles for translation, but they are cautious as they must balance the cost of translation with any available funding. Initiatives such as Guest of Honor programs play a vital role in encouraging these acquisitions.

With Flanders & the Netherlands featured in 2027, now is the perfect time to start building relationships with Swedish publishers. The Dutch Foundation for Literature has even increased its translation subsidy for Dutch authors translated into Swedish—from 70% to 90%, plus 25% production cost support (up to €4,000). The same support is available for audiobooks and digital projects. These subsidies can be applied for via the website.

Final thoughts

This fast-paced trip reminded me why personal connections remain at the heart of our job. In a rapidly digitalising landscape where audiobooks, AI-assisted translations, and new publishing models reshape the field, human connections are more than necessary. What stayed with me after a busy week isn’t exhaustion, it’s energy.

Publishing may be shifting faster than ever, but its essence hasn’t changed: people, stories, and the bridges we build between them. This trip was a vivid reminder that, even in an era of digital development, we still make books travel with a conversation and a shared love of books.

For us at 2 Seas Agency, these encounters not only generated new leads and partnerships, but also reaffirmed a timeless truth: stories continue to transcend borders—and it’s our privilege to help them find their way.