Organized from the outset by the University of Guadalajara, unlike most other book fairs the FIL is aimed at both professionals and the general public. Last year it drew 182 literary agents, along with representatives of 1,928 publishing houses from 43 countries.
The fair has transformed Guadalajara into Mexico’s literary capital, welcoming over eight million visitors and generating a 330-million-dollar turnover for the city over 25 years. Although mainly a Spanish-language literary event, there will also be hundreds of English-language titles on display and for sale.
Aside allowing professionals the chance to network, the FIL is also a major academic and cultural festival, with world famous authors and intellectuals taking part. This year, Mexico’s Carlos Fuentes will be on hand, while the scheduled debate between Nobel Prize winners Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru and Herta Müller of Germany is not be missed.
For nine days, Guadalajara will be awash with book presentations, round-table discussions, conferences, awards, music, arts, cinema and theater, with special input from guest of honor Germany. “The country of Goethe, Schiller and Thomas Mann, Bach, Wagner and Beethoven,” Germany is described by the FIL website as being blessed with a “strong creative economy and a dynamic cultural scene.”
The 2011 fair will also include the award of the 25 Best Kept Secrets in Latin America and the presentation of the FIL Literary Award in Romantic Languages to Colombian-Mexican author Fernando Vallejo.
The FIL takes place at Expo Guadalajara (Av. Mariano Otero 1499, at Av. Las Rosas, five blocks from Plaza del Sol). It is open on November 26 and 27 and from December 1 to 4 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and from November 28 to 30 from 5-9 p.m. Cost of entry is 20 pesos. For more information and a full list of the hundreds of FIL-related events, visit www.fil.com.mx.
German culture at the FIL
Germany has organized and bankrolled a diverse cultural program for the FIL, including music, literature, art, film and theater.
n Free live shows by German performers, Nov. 26 to Dec. 4, 9 p.m. in the Explanada, Expo Guadalajara.
n Talks by 27 German authors and illustrators, Nov. 26 to Dec. 4, Salon 1 & Rincon Literario del Pabellon Aleman, Expo Guadalajara.
Art exhibitions: n “Linie Line Linea” opens Nov. 24, 8.30 p.m., Instituto Cultural Cabañas. n “Deutschland für Anfänger” opens Nov. 25, 1 p.m., Museo Regional. n “Come In” opens Nov. 25, 8.30 p.m., Museo de las Artes.
n Daily German film screenings from 3.50 p.m. in the University of Guadalajara’s Cineforo, Avenida Juarez 976.
Theater: n “Gotas de agua sobre piedras calientes,” Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, Teatro Experimental, Calzada Independencia 237, next to Agua Azul Park. n “No tengas miedo – son solo monstruos, nada más!” Nov. 26, 6 p.m., Nov. 27, 4 p.m. & Nov. 28, 10 a.m., FIL Niños, Expo Guadalajara.
n Gala night with Nobel Prize winning author Herta Müller, Nov. 28, Teatro Diana, Avenida 16 de Septiembre 710.
Visit http://www.goethe.de/ins/mx/lp/kue/lit/fil/esindex.htm for further details.