For the 30th year of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), Latin America is the guest of honor, and the largest Spanish-language book fair in the world is expanding with the presence of more than 650 writers from 44 countries. FIL, which runs from November 26 to December 3 in Guadalajara, Mexico, has become not just a book fair but also a place where thought leaders, artists, educators, and scientists gather to share information that impacts the publishing industry.
This year’s lineup of authors, artists, and publishers is more impressive than those of previous years. FIL’s diverse program provides attendees the opportunity to get to know authors from different parts of the world, with discussions planned on Central America, Brazil, and about a dozen European countries. The literary program will open with a presentation by Nobel Prize–winning author Mario Vargas Llosa. In addition to the many authors in attendance, there will be 2,000 publishers with books in 23 different languages, among them Tzotzil, Zapoteco, Nahuatl, and Maya.
FIL Kids will have 80 events. Twenty-nine national and international companies will offer more than 1,500 sessions in 17 workshops promoting reading to the thousands of children that will attend. The FIL Youth program is also quite extensive, with the participation of 142 writers from 32 countries. Young readers will participate in the third annual Booktubers program during which they will post digital book reviews, bringing book reviewing into the digital age.
One of the most important parts of FIL is the business platform. This year there will be more than 20,000 professionals from 47 countries in attendance, among them librarians, booksellers, distributors, editors, proofreaders, translators, illustrators, and literary agents. FIL’s Rights Center, the most important in Ibero-America, will host 125 companies from 27 countries.
Marisol Schulz, director of the fair, says that she is very excited about this year’s program: “Our anniversary could not have a better guest of honor than Latin America, a region that is home to several of the countries that have graced the fair. It will allow us to celebrate our ethnic and linguistic diversity that unites our countries, as well as the many native languages of this continent—a complex and fascinating reality.”
The list of FIL’s events and attending authors is extensive. Included below are some well-known Latin American authors who will attend this year’s FIL. We have also included just a few of the many publishers whose books are worth a look.
Argentina
Authors: Gabriela Cabezón, Alicia Dujovne Ortiz, Camila Fabbri, Mempo Giardinelli, Ariana Harwicz, María Negroni, Andrés Neuman, Patricio Pron, Eduardo Sacheri, and Luisa Valenzuela
Publishers: Adriana Hidalgo Editora, Del Naranjo, and Ediciones Iamiqué
Bolivia
Authors: Fernando Barrientos, Magela Baudoin, Liliana Colanzi, Edson Hurtado, Edmundo Paz Soldán, and Giovanna Rivero
Representative: Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Brazil
Authors: Stella Florence, Adriana Lunardi, Ana Paula Maia, Nélida Piñón, Carol Rodrigues, and Luiz Ruffato
Publishers: Association of Brazilian Publishers
Chile
Authors: Alejandra Costamagna, Nona Fernández, Carlos Franz, Alberto Fuguet, Rafael Gumucio, José Ignacio Valenzuela, and Alejandro Zambra
Publishers: Editorial Amanuta, Origo Ediciones, and Ziemax Ediciones
Colombia
Authors: Héctor Abad Faciolince, Piedad Bonnett, Santiago Gamboa, Carlos Granés, Jorge Hugo Marín, Mario Mendoza, Laura Restrepo, Luis Miguel Rivas, and Claudia Rueda
Publishers: Ecoe Ediciones, Rey Naranjo Editores, and Tragaluz Editores
Costa Rica
Authors: Luis Chaves, Carlos Cortés, and Anacristina Rossi
Publishers: Book Publishers Association of Costa Rica and Universidad de Costa Rica
Cuba
Authors: Carlos Manuel Álvarez, Raquel Bigorra, Iván Chile Martínez, Ileana Diéguez, Rafael Rojas Gutiérrez, and Leonardo Padura
Publishers: Association of Book Publishers of Cuba
Dominican Republic
Author: Rita Indiana
Publisher: Librería La Trinitaria
Ecuador
Authors: Gabriela Alemán, María Fernanda Ampuero, Ariruma Kowii Maldonado, Marcela Ribadeneira, María Clara Sharupi, and Eduardo Varas
El Salvador
Authors: Horacio Castellanos Moya, Vanessa Núñez Handal, and Mauricio Orellana
Guatemala
Authors: Humberto Ak’ Abal, Carlos Calderón, Patricia Cortez Benfeldt, Arnoldo Gálvez, Anabella Giracca, Rodrigo Rey Rosa, and David Unger
Publishers: Amanuense and F&G Editores
Honduras
Authors: Julio Escoto and María Eugenia Ramos
Mexico
Authors: Lydia Cacho, Ana Clavel, Joel Flores, Enrique Florescano, Margo Glantz, Francisco Hinojosa, Enrique Krauze, Mauro Libertella, Sofia Segovia, Juan Villoro, and Jorge Volpi
Publishers: CIDCLI, Ediciones Cal y Arena, Ediciones Felou, Ediciones Tecolote, Editorial Las Ánimas, Editorial Kamite, Soulkeepers Comic, and Vaso Roto Ediciones
Nicaragua
Authors: Gioconda Belli, Ulises Juárez Polanco, Mario Martz, and Sergio Ramírez
Panama
Authors: Rosa María Britton, Consuelo Tomás Fitzgerald, Enrique Jaramillo Levi, and Carlos Wynter Melo
Publishers: Editorial Seguridad y Defensa and Kadi International
Paraguay
Authors: José Pérez Reyes and Jacobo Rauskin
Peru
Authors: Jaime Bayly, Renato Cisneros, Alonso Cueto, Carmen Ollé, Santiago Roncagliolo, and Nobel Prize–winner Mario Vargas Llosa.
Representative: PromPeru (an organization that promotes Peruvian books and culture)
Puerto Rico
Authors: Mayra Montero and Mayra Santos-Febres
Uruguay
Authors: Horacio Cavallo, Damián González Bertolino, and Laura Santullo
Publishers: Association of Uruguayan Publishers
Venezuela
Authors: Alberto Barrera Tyszka, Carolina Fonesca, and Victoria de Stefano
Publisher: CENAL
● Romanian author Norman Manea will receive the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages on Saturday, November 26, at 11 a.m. at the Juan Rulfo Auditorium.
● Nobel laureate in literature Mario Vargas Llosa will be honored for his 80th birthday, taking center stage as one of Latin America’s most important authors. Saturday, November 26, at 5 p.m. in the Juan Rulfo Auditorium.
● This year, FIL is inaugurating the Ochenteros program, an initiative that features a diverse group of 20-something writers born in the 1980s. Twenty-one authors will participate in five different panels from November 27 through December 1.
● Antonio Gamonedam, winner of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, will inaugurate the Poetry Program with the participation of 18 authors from 13 Latin American countries, Quebec, and Romania on Saturday, November 26, at 5:30 p.m. in the Salón de la Poesía.
● Argentine María Cristina Ramos will receive the prestigious SM Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature on Tuesday, November 29, at 6 p.m. in Salon 2.
● The International Storytelling Conference is dedicated to Ignacio Padilla, a prominent Mexican writer who died this year. Presented by Pedro Ángel Palou, Rosa Beltrán, and Jorge Volpi on Wednesday, November 30, at 6:30 p.m. in Salon 6.
● The prestigious Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Literature Prize for women will be presented on Wednesday, November 30, at 6 p.m. in the Juan Rulfo Auditorium.
● The inaugural conference of the International Forum of Publishers and Book Professionals (FIE), “The Role of the Literary Agent in Our Day,” will be presented by literary agent Andrew Wylie on Tuesday, November 29, at 4:45 p.m. at the Professionals Salon in the International Area.
