News
Last Saturday, 25th November, saw the start of the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (FIL), one of the largest book fairs in the world and the largest trade fair for the Spanish language publishing industry on the American continent. This year, the European Union is the Guest of Honour, and the presentation is coordinated by EEAS, the European External Action Service. The Polish programme was prepared by the Book Institute in cooperation with the Polish Embassy in Mexico, and guests included Witold Szabłowski and Jacek Dukaj.
The presence in Guadalajara is part of the Book Institute's three-year strategy to strengthen the presence of Polish literature in Spanish-speaking markets. This year, Poland was the Guest of Honour at the LIBER Book Fair in Madrid; moreover, translation into Spanish is currently one of the priorities of the ©Poland Translation Programme, which aims to promote Polish literature around the world by providing financial support for the publication of Polish books in translation into foreign languages. Participation in the Guadalajara International Book Fair is also an important sign of Poland's importance in the EU and will enable geographically and culturally distant readers and industry professionals to become more familiar with Polish literature and culture, which will bear fruit in the long term in the form of, among other things, new translations into Spanish.
The European Union is the event's Guest of Honour and is presented under the theme 'Building a Union of Cultures'. The EU introduces more than 70 authors from the 27 Member States and Ukraine. Invited authors include Colm Toibin, Andrej Kurkov, Jachym Topol, Tatiana Tibuleac, Frank Westerman, Nora Ikstena, Maria Duenas, Arnon Grunberg and Eva Meijer (the programme for the European presentation can be found here). Poland will be represented by Jacek Dukaj and Witold Szabłowski, who will take part in panel discussions with other European and Latin American writers, as well as author meetings in Mexico City.
The first of the meetings with Jacek Dukaj took place on Tuesday 28 November. It was a panel entitled “Book promotion in a digital world. What do the writers tell us?” Yesterday, Jacek Dukaj was a guest at the author's meeting at the fair, on Friday 1 December he will take part in a meeting entitled “Utopia and reality: a dialogue”, and on 5 December at 7 p.m., he will participate in a promotional meeting of the Spanish translation of Katedra (“The Cathedral”) by Amelia Serraler Calvo at the FCE bookshop. Witold Szabłowski, in turn, took part in two panels: " Passages between journalism and literature" (29 November, 7.30 pm) and "Conflicts and literature: Contemporary crises seen by the authors " (30 November, 5 pm).
In addition, the European Union has prepared, among other things, a programme for publishing professionals, an arts programme, a programme for children and young people, and a European Cinema Festival.
In addition, Grupo Teatral Emergente staged Slawomir Mrożek's “The Emigrants” on Sunday 26 November at the European Pavilion Forum.
The nine-day event at the Expo Guadalajara convention centre attracts more than half a million readers each year.
The 37th edition of the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara will run until Sunday 3 December. Next year, Spain will be the event's Guest of Honour.
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The project was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.