Approximately 40 Christian publishers and booksellers gathered in Budapest, Hungary, for Marketsquare Europe to do business and benefit from training, networking and fellowship.

Held Oct. 4-5 prior to the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Christian Trade Association International (CTAI) event drew attendees from Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United States. The event featured a two-day translation rights show and a banquet.

The sixth annual Marketsquare Europe event also featured the fifth European Christian Book of the Year contest. First place went to Ukraine's Bright Star Publishing's Warm Stories for Coffee Time by Nadiia Gerb?sh. The contest honored original works by European authors, but special recognition was also given to a translation project by Slovakia's CreativPress' multi-language e-book She Said Yes. It is based on the 2002 Thomas Nelson book by Misty Bernall, the mother of Columbine High School Christian martyr Cassie Bernall.

"Christian Trade wants to highlight the original works of Christian publishers in Europe," said Kim Pettit, CTAI's executive director and CEO. "In many evangelical markets abroad, the development of local writers lags behind the publishing of English-language translations from the U.S. and the U.K., or German and French translations. We want to encourage the growth of the Christian trade, and that includes supporting the development of excellent content, wherever it may be found."

During Marketsquare Europe, Paul Abspoel, publisher at Ark Media in Amsterdam, Netherlands, spoke on his journey in publishing and discussed "How to Reinvent Yourself" and "From Christian Publishing to Christian Power House." Along with Abspoel, Els de Jong-van Gurp, director of BCB in the Netherlands, encouraged publishers to "network or die."

"Marketsquare Europe was inspirational," said pastor Károly Géczi of Immanuel Publishing in Budapest. "It provided truly practical ideas and spiritual encouragement for building long-lasting plans and publishing partnerships."

CTAI chose Budapest for the event because of its location in Central Europe and proximity to Romania, a key market for translation in Eastern Europe.

Marek Marcus of Porta Libri in Slovakia added: "This event was great for networking. The location was perfect."

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