The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL (from its Spanish name: ) is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

's. It is also considered the most important cultural annual event of its kind in the

Spanish-speaking world Hispanophone refers to anything related to the Spanish language. In a cultural, rather than merely linguistic sense, the notion of "Hispanophone" goes further than the above definition. The Hispanic culture is the legacy of the vast and prolonge ...

. The purpose of the FIL is to provide an optimal business environment for the book-industry professionals and exhibitors who attend the fair, and for the reading public eager to meet authors and pick up the latest entries in the market. Created in 1987, the FIL is put on by the

University of Guadalajara The University of Guadalajara () is a public university, public research university located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was originally established in 1586 and officially founded on 12 February 1791 as the Royal and Pontifical University of Gu ...

and is held at the Expo Guadalajara convention center, which has of floor space. FIL is held every year, starting on the last Saturday in November and continuing for nine days, in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The current managing director of the Guadalajara International Book Fair is

Marisol Schulz Marisol is a Spanish name. It is a shortened form of '' María de la Soledad'' (literally "Mary of the solitude"), a title given to the Virgin Mary, corresponding to English " Our Lady of Solitude". Coincidentally, Marisol sounds like "mar y so ...

, and its president from its inception until his death in 2023 was

Raúl Padilla López Raúl Padilla López (3 May 1954 – 2 April 2023) was a Mexican professor and academic. He was the rector of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) from 1989 to 1995. He was also president of the Guadalajara International Book Fair, the Guadalaja ...

. The book fair won the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities in 2020.

Prizes and honours

As a way of rewarding and honouring literary publishing, the FIL awards the following annual prizes and honours: * Premio FIL de Literatura en Lenguas Romances (FIL Award for Literature in Romance Languages; previously known as the ''Premio de Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe Juan Rulfo'') (1991) *

Premio y Homenaje Nacional de Periodismo Cultural Fernando Benítez The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other ve ...

(Fernando Benítez Prize and National Homage to Cultural Journalism) (1992) * Reconocimiento al Mérito Editorial (Publishing Merit Award) (1993) *

Premio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other ve ...

(Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize) (1993) * ArpaFIL (1995) *

Homenaje al Bibliófilo ''Homenaje'' () is a 1996 live album, recorded during the "Metal Rock Festival" at Obras Sanitarias. The concert was a reunion of the first line-up of the Argentine heavy metal band V8, with the exception of its original bass player Ricardo Iori ...

(Homage to Bibliophiles) (2001) * Homenaje al Bibliotecario (Homage to Librarians) (2002)

Invited countries or cultural regions

Since 1993, the FIL has invited a country or region to be the guest of honor, providing each an opportunity to display the best of its cultural and literary heritage, as listed in the following table:

History

2005

* 15,357 exhibitors from 45 countries *Visitor attendance at the fair was 494,388 *2,899 cultural activities

2006

*1,307,002 visits were made to the FIL website *Visitor attendance was 525,000 *84,495 children at activities for children *16,740 exhibitors *1,523 journalists and 439 communications media accredited from 60 countries *296 book presentations with their respective authors *110 literary agents *94 artistic and musical activities

2013

* 1,935 publishing houses from 43 countries * Visitor attendance at the fair was 1,000,000

2016

* The acclaimed author

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...

was a key speaker here where the author provided hints about the next two books in the series ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the first volume, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and published it in 1996. Martin, who originally envisioned the ser ...

''.

2023

* 2,469 publishing houses from 61 countries * Visitor attendance was 857,315

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Trade fairs in Mexico Culture of Mexico