WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 3off the program, India will present three exhibits: Tangible
Words: Preserving the Intellectual Heritage of India, an exhibit of
rare and unique manuscripts from India, at the Regional
Museum of Guadalajara; Modernism in India: Through NID
Archives, at the Cabañas Cultural Institute; and Stree Drishti:
Women Engravers from India, at the Museum of Arts at the
University of Guadalajara.BEYOND INDIA
David Huerta, Mexican poet, essayist and translator, will be
awarded the FIL Prize for Literature in Roman Languages
during the opening of the fair. Argentinian novelist Luisa
Valenzuela will open the Literary Hall and receive the Carlos
Fuentes Medal, granted by FIL and presented by Silvia
Lemus, Fuentes’s widow. The French professor and writer
Annie Ernaux, recent winner of the Formentor de las Letras
Award, will be at FIL to meet her readers. In addition, the
Tribute for Editorial Merit will be dedicated posthumously
to the Spanish editor Claudio López Lamadrid, who died in
January at age 59.
FIL is also introducing new initiatives. To tend to the needs
of booksellers, the fair will hold the first International Bookstore
Forum, in conjunction with the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore
(owned by the University of Guadalajara) and the University
Publishing House. In this space, bookstore owners and book-
sellers can discuss trends in the marketplace and exchange ideas
about how to deal with new opportunities and challenges. The
fair is also expanding its selection of books in braille and the
Electronic Book Area will grow as well
More than 20,000 book professionals are expected at the 2019
FIL, as well as more than 2,350 publishers, exhibiting 400,000
titles from 47 countries in 27 languages. The FIL Rights Hall
will have 131 tables from 27 countries. Among the 800 authors
set to attend are Mario Vargas Llosa, Siri Hustvedt, Antonio
Muñoz Molina, Luisa Valenzuela, Markus Zusak, Amin Maalouf,
Marcela Serrano, Alessandro Baricco, Vandana Shiva, Dacre
Stoker, Elena Poniatowska, and Frank Miller.
FIL Children will host more than 1,500 sessions of 15 work-
shops to promote creative reading and writing. Young adults
are an important group of readers in Mexico; this year’s theme
for the YA area is “the use of poison in literature.” One of the
most exciting events will be the sixth annual Somos BooktubersT
he colors of India—its music, art, theater, food, and
books—will be the backdrop to the 33rd edition of
the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). The
second largest book fair after Frankfurt, this year it
will run from November 30 through December 8.
More than 800 writers from 37 countries will
attend, and more than a million people are expected to visit
the fair. With India as the guest of honor, the theme, “May
our lives be open books,” pays homage to. In celebration of
the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, his great-grandson,
Arun Gandhi, will offer a keynote, “Gandhi and Civil
Disobedience.”
With a delegation of 215 people, India is bringing an exten-
sive program to Guadalajara, according to Marisol Schulz, FIL
director. “I am so excited to
be hosting such a fasci-
nating and diverse country.
There are many things
that unite our cultures,
such as our strong family
values and an appreciation
and celebration of our rich
and complex histories,”
Schulz says. “And let’s not
forget the amazing varieties
of hot peppers both of our
cultures have,” she jokes.
One focus of India’s program is on contemporary literature,
including the participation of 35 authors who live in India and
represent the many different languages spoken there.
In addition to showcasing some of its best writers, India will
present performances of traditional and contemporary Indian
dances and instrumental and fusion music, as well as film
screenings in theaters of the University of Guadalajara. ToppingFIL, AN OPEN BOOK FOR
GUADALAJARA AND THE WORLD
With India as the guest of
honor, organizers expect a
lively 2019 fair
BY LEYLHA AHUILE
© josué nando
Marisol Schulzcontinued on p. 6