Sneak Preview at FIL Guadalajara 2007

By AÍda Bardales -- Críticas, 11/15/2007

This year’s Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Book Fair, or FIL), the Spanish-language book market’s most important event, will take place from November 24 to December 2.

FIL will offer a range of activities for the estimated 228 American Library Association (ALA) members that have registered for the “Free Pass” slots sponsored by FIL and ALA, which subsidizes most of the costs. On Sunday 25, ALA members are invited to attend a free gala dinner, hosted by a group of Spanish-language publishers and book distributors and Críticas, at 8 p.m. at the Santo Coyote restaurant.

Visitors shopping at last year’s book fair

Now in its seventh year, the Salón del Libro will have more to look at than last year—26 percent more. It will gather 4500 of the most interesting titles from 187 publishers, all selected by two groups of experts on librarian acquisitions: U.S. ALA members and Mexican librarians affiliated with University of Guadalajara and other library associations. The titles will also be posted in an online catalog available throughout the year; the books at the Salón itself will later be donated to a non-profit organization that promotes literature.

Student checking out the latest books

Spanish Antonio Muñoz Molina and Pakistani Tariq Ali will participate in the Salón literario, a series of author symposiums. Muñoz Molina is the former director of New York’s Cervantes Institute and a member of the Real Academia Española (Spanish Royal Academy, or RAE). Considered an expert on the Middle East, he has published several books and is the editor of the political journal New Left Review. Muñoz Molina and Ali will be the opening and closing speakers, respectively.

School children on their way to workshops and shows during FIL niños (FIL Kids)

The VI Foro Internacional de Editores y Profesionales del Libro (International Forum of Editors and Book Professionals), which takes place on the 27th and 28th will focus on how publishers can best use the globalized marketplace to identify, establish, and develop alliances. The lead lecturer will be Daniel Halpern, VP of HarperCollins’s Ecco imprint. Others participating include Dennis Moillat, director of Librerie Mollat in France; Ofelia Grande, editor of Siruela; and Patricia Van Rhijn, director of children’s book publisher CIDCLI. Events will take place at the Hilton Hotel.

Focusing on Colombia

Kicking off the literary programs focusing on Colombia, this year’s guest of honor, is a special tribute to Álvaro Mutis on Sunday 25. Authors Jorge Volpi, Ignacio Padilla, and Mutis’s close friend Gabriel García Márquez will be present. Other events focusing on Colombia’s literary landscape include “Afro-Colombian Literature,” “Colombia Loves Mexico,” “From Journalism to the Novel,” and “Bogotá39.”

Literary personalities from around the globe will participate in FIL panels and book presentations, including renowned authors Xavier Velasco, Luisa Valenzuela, Elena Poniatowska, and many others.

Fernando del Paso will receive the Premio FIL de Literatura (formerly Premio de Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe Juan Rulfo) on November 24.

For updated information on FIL’s programs and special events, visit www.fil.com.mx/.