Thousands at book fair on open day

Tens of thousands of readers visited the Frankfurt Book Fair on Saturday, the first day the largest fair for the publishing industry was open to the public. The crowds meant traffic through halls and escalators often ground to a standstill and a 50m-long queue formed at a signing for best-selling Irish author Cecelia Ahern.

Hundreds of Harry Potter fans also gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his first appearance in print, many sporting his trademark lightning-shaped scar and glasses.

However, an attempt launched by JK Rowling’s German publisher Carlsen Verlag to beat the world record for most people dressed as Potter – currently held by Australia with 997 – failed, with around 100 too few people turning up.

A talk with popular US romance writer Anna Todd was cancelled after she was harassed by several men at a hotel on Friday evening.

The writer said she was harassed “for hours”, and complained that the incident was not taken seriously by German police and that they did not want to see a video she made of the men.

“They also told me they would take my cellphone if I didn’t delete the video from Twitter,” Todd wrote on the social media platform, adding that “I can’t sign at [the Frankfurt Book Fair] if these men aren’t removed”.

The book fair opened on Tuesday and ended yesterday.