The 29th International Book Fair (FIL) – the world’s second largest literary event – roars to life on Saturday, November 28, running daily through Sunday, December 6 at Expo Guadalajara.
Created 29 years ago by the University of Guadalajara, the FIL is aimed at both professionals and the general public, a characteristic that sets it apart from other book fairs around the globe.
Over 19,000 book professionals will attend the fair to buy or sell author rights, network and discuss future trends in the industry. The literary event will draw 1,900 publishers from 42 countries, offering their publications to over 750,000 visitors.
Although business is one of its main goals, FIL is also a cultural festival and a forum for the academic discussion of the major issues of the time.
Throughout its duration, the fair envelops the cultural life of the city, with literary personalities, music, arts and cinema featured from the annual guest of honor, which this year is the United Kingdom.
Headlining FIL are extensive literary programs from the United Kingdom, Mexico and other Iberoamerican nations and the presentation of several annual awards, including the prestigious, 150,000-dollar FIL Literary Award in Romantic Languages, which this year goes to Spanish author Enrique Vila-Matas.
In the academic realm, the FIL will summon many of today’s top thinkers to take part in forums and conferences on migration, international relations, humanism, democratic culture, inequality, cultural journalism, border security, human rights, educational reform and other issues.
Annual academic meetings are held on the teaching of foreign languages, gender studies, indigenous language writing, geographic information technology, philological research and tequila, among other topics.
The FIL also offers an extensive variety of activities for children, including daily workshops in three age categories, storytelling, puppets, theater, music, clowns and more.
The FIL is open from Saturday, November 28 through Sunday, December 6, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The general public is admitted at all times except on the “professional days” of Monday, November 30 through Wednesday, December 2, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. On these days the public is admitted from 5 to 9 p.m.
Expo Guadalajara is at the corner of Av. Mariano Otero and Av. de las Rosas. General admission is 30 pesos.