Tonatiuh Bravo Padilla General Rector
Miguel Ángel Navarro Navarro Executive Vicerector
José Alfredo Peña Ramos General Secretary
Héctor Raúl Solís Gadea Rector of the University Center for Social Sciences and Humanities
Alberto Castellanos Gutiérrez Rector of the University Center for Economics and Administrative Sciences
Ángel Igor Lozada Rivera Melo Secretary of Linking and Cultural Diffusion of the University Center for Arts, Architecture and Design
FIL Guadalajara Organizing Committee
Raúl Padilla López Chairman
Mariño González Press and Marketing Division
Marisol Shulz General Director
María del Socorro González General Administration Division
Tania Guerrero Operations Management
Verónica Mendoza Exhibitors and Professionals Division
Laura Niembro Contents Management
Bertha Mejía Sponsorships
Gonzalo Celorio Literary Advisor
Dania Guzmán Editing and Design
directory
2
Index presentation
5
guadalajara´s book fair
6
literature, culture and thought
8
business at fil
20
fil and readers
24
being part of fil guadalajara
30
GUADALAJARA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR Av. Alemania 1370 Col. Moderna cp
44190
Tel.: (52 33) 3810-0331 Fax: (52 33) 3268-0905 www.fil.com.mx
Guadalajara International Book Fair, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this brochure may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Guadalajara International Book Fair. Free distribution – Not for sale The information and photographs contained herein are property of the Guadalajara International Book Fair.
3
guadalajara international book fair
4
The Guadalajara International Book Fair, in its first quarter of a century, has gained the position of the largest market of the book in Spanish in the world. But its most meaningful achievement is, without a doubt, becoming the space par excellence for the genuine encounter between readers, books and authors. The editorial platform that gives the Fair its strength is a delicate equation, involving over 1,900 publishing houses from 40 countries; the presence of nearly 18,000 passionate advocates of books among authors, translators, literary agents, publishers, distributors, booksellers, librarians and promoters of reading, and the participation of over 600,000 readers. All of them giving life to this annual gathering making it unique in its kind. We reach this moment in times of extraordinary challenges, a moment marked by change and the influence of fear and hope set forth by the moment. Technological advancements open uncharted roads in the relationship of humanity with the written word. In the years to come, the possibility of reading not only on paper, but on screens and other platforms, will require that we reinvent a good part of the craft of publishing, as well as reevaluate the pressing need of its art and knowledge. At FIL we are not foreign to the spirit of the times and we will strive, as we have since our conception, to be a beacon for widening the horizons of the book in Spanish, a place that gives strength to the chain of life of our industry, an open space, attentive to the needs of readers. 25 years after its creation, FIL Guadalajara is an essential source of income for Jalisco, and a cultural reference in Mexico and Ibero-America. But above all, it is a place for reflection that brings together the voices of the most outstanding players in universal thought. We celebrate a quarter of a century of bringing books closer to readers, giving voice to words, believing firmly that education, culture and intercontinental dialogue are essential for the building of peace and social understanding– today, needed more than ever. Raúl Padilla López Chairman Guadalajara International Book Fair
Guadalajara’s Book Fair FIL’s hosting city embraces the Book Fair as one of its most joyful activities of the year. Museums, art centers, restaurants, coffe houses, bars and the streets embrace the literary celebration of the Spanish world as their own, allowing visitors to enjoy the experience
The building of the General Rectory of the University of Guadalajara is home to the Museum of the Arts and the Auditorium, site of FIL’s cultural program.
One defining characteristic of Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara, is its cultural spirit. The city has always been an open space for creation. As the capital of the Viceroyalty of Nueva Galicia, it was a place where colonial architecture reached its splendor leading to an architectural tradition that was taken to its peak in the work of Luis Barragán, regarded as one of the 20th century’s most influential architects. It was in Guadalajara that El Despertador Americano, Latin America’s first insurgent newspaper, was published. This city has also witnessed the creative commitment of authors such as Agustín Yáñez, Juan Rulfo and Juan José Arreola. As México’s second most important city commercially and economically, Guadalajara is settled in the Atemajac Valley. Together with the municipalities of Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá and Tlajomulco, it forms an
guadalajara´s book fair
6
urban blanket inhabited by nearly 4.5 million people. Its exceptional geographic location has turned it into a fertile economic and intellectual ground for Western Mexico. Two hours from the Pacific Ocean and 500 kilometers from the country’s capital, it has the most important airport to the United States outside of Mexico City. It is a few hours away from the main tourist destinations in Western México, such as Puerto Vallarta, Morelia, Zacatecas and Guanajuato. Guadalajara is also home to the second most important public university in our country. The University of Guadalajara founded the city’s International Book Fair in 1987 in an effort to decentralize and promote the publishing industry in Mexico. At present, this project is one of the main cultural attractions in Guadalajara, not only for bringing together the entire publishing industry in Spanish, but also because it generates one of the year’s greatest influxes of tourism thanks to its vast literary and cultural programs. During its 25 years of existence, the Fair and its cultural expansion have stimulated the growth of spaces dedicated to art in Guadalajara, which have benefited enormously from the increasing public and the participation of internationally recognized artists. FIL injects a dose of cosmopolitan spirit to the already traditionally dynamic cultural life of Guadalajara. Its effects are felt throughout both the historic neighborhoods and the most modern areas of the city. Having Guadalajara hosting the Fair allows people to experience traditional Mexican culture to the fullest in the municipalities of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá. At the same time, one can also enjoy the life and rhythms of a modern city, framed in a colonial past that coexists with the avant-garde. Guadalajara opens its doors to the largest Spanish-language book fair in the world, reasserting the literary and cultural devotion for which it has been known throughout its history.
7
guadalajara international book fair
Literature, Culture and Thought FIL Guadalajara brings together authors, intellectuals and artists, giving this grand event the flavor that sets it apart from other book fairs in the world
Being a book fair for professionals as well as for the general public is one characteristic that sets the Guadalajara International Book Fair apart from other fairs around the world. Although it is a commercially minded venue, it is essentially a literary cultural event. All other art forms that take place in it emerge from this literary core. For nine days people willingly stand in long lines to see and listen to their favorite authors. Meanwhile the city is overflowed with music, films, visual arts and theater from Mexico and the world, and scholars and intellectuals debate ideas with students and specialized audiences.
Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel laureate, is a frequent visitor to FIL
Literature From Around the Globe The Fair is an open forum. For over two decades, more than 3,000 writers have walked through its doors. FIL has welcomed internationally acclaimed authors –such as Nobel Prize winners, William Golding, Toni Morrison, José Saramago, Gabriel García Márquez, Nadine Gordimer, Mario Vargas Llosa and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio–, as well as young and promising new authors.
literature, culture and thought
8
The voices of Carlos Fuentes, Eliseo Diego, Jaime Sabines, Álvaro Mutis, Juan José Arreola, José Emilio Pacheco, Fernando Savater, Isabel Allende, and Elena Poniatowska have energized sessions that are now part of the history of Latin American literature, emotionally written in the hand of a receptive and enthusiastic public open to new literary ideas. Reciprocally, this public has nurtured the voices of new generations of writers each year and has also been host to practically all writers in Spanish that have acquired international stature. Above, from left to right: José Saramago, Carlos Monsiváis, Gabriel Garcia Márquez and Nadine Gordimer Orhan Pamuk, Literature Nobel Prize, visited the fair in 2009
FIL is also a multilingual gathering that welcomes authors from every continent. Most recent visitors include Alessandro Baricco and Claudio Magris from Italy, Chimamanda Gnozi Adichie from Nigeria, Martin Amis from the United Kingdom, Jabbar Yassin Hussin from Iraq, António Lobo Antunes from Portugal, Goran Petrovic from Serbia, Gisbert Haefs from Germany, Cees Nooteboom from The Netherlands, Etgar Keret from Israel, and André Brink from South Africa. For publishers and writers, presenting a book during FIL translates into bringing the literary year to a closure in the best way possible. Each year, publishers schedule over 480 book presentations, adding to the already heavy calendar of activities, including discussion forums, public debates, conferences, lectures and performances that give life to the Fair.
9
guadalajara international book fair
The Guadalajara International Book Fair is a collective happening that celebrates reading and the existence of books and authors in an inclusive space where everyone, not only professionals, can take part in the experience.
From left to right: Gonzalo Celorio, Álvaro Mutis, Carlos Fuentes, Fernando del Paso and Gabriel García Márquez
Awards and Recognitions FIL Guadalajara awards a series of prizes as part of its cultural activities. These acknowledgements are of great importance in the international literary world and are granted to writers, publishers, bibliophiles, librarians, journalists, urbanists and architects. The FIL Literature Award in Romances Languages, granted by the Civil Association of the Juan Rulfo Latin American and Caribbean Literature Prize, is regarded as one of the foremost lifetime achievement awards given to a living writer. The prize consists of $150,000 USD and is awarded during the Fair’s inauguration ceremony. Accompanying this recognition, other acts paying tribute to the winner are held. Recipients of this award include poets such as Nicanor Parra from Chile, Eliseo Diego from Cuba, Rafael Cadenas from Venezuela, Olga Orozco and Juan Gelman from Argentina; authors such as Juan José Arreola from
Our awards FIL Literary Award
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize
António Lobo Antunes (2008)
Gioconda Belli (2008)
Publishing Merit Award
Fernando Benítez National Cultural Journalism Tribute
Beatriz de Moura (1999) José Emilio Pacheco (1995)
literature, culture and thought
10
Mexico, Augusto Monterroso from Guatemala, Rubem Fonseca from Brazil, and Juan Goytisolo from Spain; Peruvian Julio Ramón Ribeyro, Brazilian Nélida Piñón, Spaniards Juan Marsé and Tomás Segovia, Cuban Cintio Vitier and Mexicans Sergio Pitol, Juan García Ponce, Carlos Monsiváis and Margo Glantz; who have all left their mark in contemporary universal literature. The Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize recognizes literary works by female writers in Spanish, acknowledging each year one novel of recent publication. With a purse of $10,000 USD, recipients of this prize include important women authors like Marcela Serrano, Elena Garro, Laura Restrepo, Gioconda Belli, Cristina Rivera Garza and Margo Glantz, among others. Another major recognition presented at FIL is the Publishing Merit Award. It was created to highlight the crucial role publishers play in the world of books, and has been granted to personalities such as Inge Feltrinelli, Morgan Entrekin, Roberto Calasso, Francisco Porrúa, Jorge Herralde, Antoine Gallimard, Jaume Vallcorba, Beatriz de Moura and Neus Espresate.
Arpafil
Tribute to a Bibliophile
Eusebio Leal (2002)
Andrés Henestrosa (2003)
Tribute to a Librarian
La Catrina Cartoon Prize
Ana María Magaloni
Roberto Fontanarrosa
(2008)
(2006)
11
guadalajara international book fair
Personalities at FIL
José Agustín
Maram Al- Masri
Isabel Allende
Martin Amis
Juan José Arreola
Margaret Atwood
Alessandro Baricco
Mario Benedetti
Ernesto Cardenal
Alfredo Bryce Echenique
Jorge Edwards
Rodrigo Fresàn
Cornelia Funke
Jostein Gaarder
Luis García Montero
Juan Gelman
Margo Glantz
Juan Goytisolo
Hugo Gutiérrez Vega
Gisbert Haefs
David Huerta
Nancy Huston
Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
Vicente Leñero
Paulo Lins
Claudio Magris
Ángeles Mastretta
Élmer Mendoza
literature, culture and thought
12
Juan José Millás
Rosa Montero
Augusto Monterroso
Toni Morrison
Chimamanda Ngozi
Cees Noteboom
Ignacio Padilla
Nicanor Parra
Alan Pauls
Arturo Pérez- Reverte
Ricardo Piglia
Sergio Pitol
Elena Poniatowska
Sergio Ramírez
Laura Restrepo
Cristina Rivera Garza
Gonzalo Rojas
Salman Rushdie
Jaime Sabines
Fernando Savater
Marcela Serrano
Antonio Skármeta
Paco Ignacio Taibo II
Luisa Valenzuela
Fernando Vallejo
Enrique Vila-Matas
Juan Villoro
Jorge Volpi
13
guadalajara international book fair
Cultures Honoring Us With Their Presence Since the beginning, FIL has been a welcoming space for other art forms different to literature, such as music and visual arts. However, it was through the creation of the Guest of Honor in 1993 that the direction and intensity of the Fair’s cultural activities changed. Guest of Honor activities have consolidated the Fair’s international and multicultural character. Their addition has brought an extensive array of artistic expressions from rich and diverse cultures such as those of Colombia, New Mexico, Venezuela, Canada, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Chile, Spain, Brazil, Cuba, Quebec, Catalonia, Peru, Andalusia, Italy, Los Angeles-USA, and Castilla y León. This delegation not only brings its publishing and literary presence to Guadalajara, it also showcases the best its culture has to offer, including music, visual arts, films, gastronomy and regional folklore. Several performance spaces throughout the city house these events in an effort to display each group’s aesthetic sensitivity and to achieve a transforming sensorial experience in the public. The Arts Museum (musa) of the University of Guadalajara has hosted internationally renowned exhibitions such as El Lugar Sin Límite: plástica chilena contemporánea (The Limitless Place: Contemporary Visual Art of Chile), La Divina Comedia (The Divine Comedy) by Catalán Miquel Barceló, a selection of works by Peruvian artist Fernando Szyszlo, and the wonderful Siglo XX en la Málaga de Picasso (The 20th Century in Picass o’s Malaga), an exhibit that brought to our city the genius of this Andalusian master.
literatura, cultura y pensamiento
The Art Museum of Zapopan (maz) is another venue that has generously showcased other important exhibitions, including Escuela de La Habana. Tradición y Modernidad (The Havana School. Tradition and Modernity), a retrospective of the avant-garde movement in Cuba; works by Catalán artist Antoni Tàpies, the largest exhibit of this abstract expressionist painter outside his country and his first in Mexico, and a collection of works by Spanish artists Luis Gordillo and Manolo Quejido, two of the most influential contemporary artists from Southern Spain. The Cabañas Cultural Institute, a building designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has received significant exhibitions during FIL, like the one from the Gold Museum in Colombia La venganza de la fantasmagoría (Revenge of the Phantasmagoria) by American artist Mark Dean Veca, or La fuerza de la palabra (The Strength of Words), a collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Castilla y León. The cultural program of the Fair has allowed the participation of venues like Casa Vallarta and Casa Escorza –cultural centers of the University of Guadalajara that have received samples of renowned photographers and young promises from different latitudes–, the famous Teatro Degollado, Teatro Diana and Auditorio Telmex, forums that have given way to diverse performances during or in the days prior to the Fair. It is not without significance that participation in the Fair represents to the majority of regions and countries involved the best opportunity to display their work outside their homeland. They know they have found a unique showcase from which to amaze the rest of the world.
feria internacional del libro de guadalajara
The Esplanade If there is one iconic space at the Fair, it is the Esplanade. More than 200 concerts and shows have been enjoyed by thousands of people at this modern forum. Every event is open to the public and free of charge. What had been a modest wooden platform in the early years has become one of Mexico’s state-of-the-art stages. Here, Carlos Vives ignited the crowds with the rhythms of the Colombian Vallenato, and La Maldita Vecindad performed their first mass concert outside of Mexico City. Brazilian Lenine played a surprise concert and Cuban Silvio Rodríguez raised his voice with his song Te doy una canción accompanied by the Cuba National Symphony Orchestra and the voices of 14,000 spectators singing in unison. This is also the same place where the Andalusian singer Joaquín Sabina generated huge lines of excited fans that waited up to six hours before the beginning of his show. At the Esplanade, Los Lobos made La Bamba a massive choir. It has also been a privileged place to listen and see some of the greatest rock bands in Spanish, like Los Tres, Danza Invisible, Café Quijano and Aterciopelados. Very diverse artistic performances take place at this monumental venue. From the Ballet Flamenco of Andalusia, to the contemporary dance company of choreographer Sol Picó, who brought us Amor Diesel, a postmodern choreography of dancers on rhythmic excavators; to the first rave organized by the Fair, where electronic music from Quebec’s MUTEK festival played until nearly five in the morning.
literature, culture and thought
16
Above, general view of the forum Shows at the Esplanade: Sol Pic贸 Dance Company, Los Lobos and Corella Ballet Castilla y Le贸n
17
guadalajara international book fair
Academic program As a part of the University of Guadalajara, FIL is an ever-evolving forum whose trademarks are reflection, analysis and sharing ideas. The academic program it promotes each year includes different university departments that set the grounds for the meeting of distinguished professors, researchers and intellectuals from Mexico and abroad. The nearly 20 different forums that form the academic program are a great opportunity for the students of the University of Guadalajara. Conferences, seminars and roundtables allow students to debate specific academic subjects with historians, political scientists, sociologists, jurists, anthropologists, economists, communicators, philosophers, ecologists, and many other intellectuals visiting from several universities from around the world.
From left to right: Felipe GonzĂĄlez, Roger Chartier, Enrique Iglesias, Eduardo Subirats, Jean Meyer, Sergio Fajardo, Joseph Stiglitz, Adolfo Aguilar ZĂnser
literature, culture and thought
18
In the international arena, it is considered essential among humanistic disciplines. It has become also a fundamental space for dialogue between the University of Guadalajara and the most important academic and research centers in the world. Its professional meetings, seminars and forums are a reference in each discipline, not only because the quality of its organization, but also because of the reputation and importance of the participants and the number of attendants. To this very attractive venue, where current issues converge, intellectuals have come from every corner of the globe. Edgar Morin, Felipe González, Norma Fuller, Roberto Mangebeira, François Houtart, Carlos Castresana, Jean Meyer, Pierre Salama, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Joseph Stiglitz and Baltasar Garzón are a few of the many respected intellectuals that have participated in its encounters. Some of the more reputable academic forums at the Book Fair include the Social Sciences International Meeting, the International Seminar on Communication and Society, the History Colloquium and the International Reading and Development Conference.
19
guadalajara international book fair
Business at FIL Core of the Ibero-American publishing industry, the Book Fair dedicates three of its nine days to the attention of more than 17,000 professionals visiting each year
Publishing Houses Enveloped in the warmth of an expectant public, under the intense whispers of hundreds of writers and their books and behind the passion of a cultural festival, lies the heart of a business that promotes the Spanish-language publishing industry. Within a modern and efficient space of 34,000 square meters (366,000 square feet), FIL brings together more than 1,900 publishing houses and approximately 300,000 titles from 43 countries. There are 600 Mexican companies among participating publishers, including the large international groups established in the country. Publishing groups from Spain are the second largest group, followed by Latin American countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. Thanks to Guadalajara’s optimal geographic location, the Fair generates many types of business opportunities for these and other Latin American nations, the United States and Canada. The participation of Europe increases each year, including countries like Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
business at fil
20
Rights Center FIL Guadalajara is the only book fair in Ibero-America that offers attending professionals the opportunity to carry out business for rights acquisitions and sales in a space designed especially for them. Created in 2004, FIL’s Rights Center is the only one in Ibero-America and has grown to become the ideal space to meet publishers and agents from non Spanish-speaking countries who are interested in this publishing market. It is a comfortable and private space that hosts the four most important Spanish-language publishing industries: Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. In 2010, the Rights Center received 103 publishing houses and agencies from 12 countries. Literature, children’s book, arts and leisure and social sciences are the subjects with the most presence during negotiations. And English is the second language in importance, with representatives from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The Book Fair also offers other options for the author rights market. Each year, the Rights Workshop is a space of professional training for those responsible for rights acquisitions and sales. FIL Rights Exchange, on the other hand, is a fellowship program for publishers and agents from non Spanish-speaking countries with the aim of promoting and favoring rights trade through pre-arranged meetings with their counterparts from IberoAmerica.
21
guadalajara international book fair
The Public Each year, FIL receives more than 600,000 visitors who buy retail, ensuring the return on the investment of participating exhibitors. Sales opportunities for publishers are high: five out of 10 visitors fall into the 26 to 55 consumer-age-group, guaranteeing the purchasing power of the public. Aside from direct sales profits, participating in FIL allows exhibitors to position their brand among a faithful and trusting reading public (47% have visited the event at least five times), as well as giving access to young people in their formative years.
Professionals The different forums that take place during FIL allow the players of the publishing world to share experiences, stay up-to-date with current trends and get information to improve their performance in the business world.
Reading Promoters Conference: Governmental, educational and cultural institutions attend this conference to develop subjects that will provide on-going training, with the aim of acknowledging the person of the reading promoter and their professionalization, as well as addressing the challenges of bringing together books and readers. Each year, close to 700 reading promoters attend the conference.
International Publishers and Professionals Forum (FIE): Brings together close to 200 professionals from 10 countries that discuss and propose subjects and issues related to the development of the publishing industry. Rights, book distribution and bookstores have been the focus in the latest editions.
business at fil
International Librarians Colloquium: A space where librarians can find educational and information sources, learn about new technologies
22
Services The Fair offers services and tools that allow attending professionals to focus successfully on their activities. • Business Center. A working space exclusively for professionals attending the Book Fair. It includes many worktables, a service desk for exhibitors, Internet access, coffee and shipping services, among others. • On-line Catalogs. An essential tool to set meeting schedules and a priceless reference tool throughout the year. The catalogs for exhibitors, professionals and rights are available on-line at FIL’s webpage (www.fil.com.mx). • Salón de Novedades (New publications). A space where buyers of Spanish-language materials can easily find the latest titles present at FIL. It is comprised of 5,000 titles selected by expert librarians where their colleagues responsible for acquisitions can choose from for their institutions. • Books Catalog. This database is available on-line throughout the year and includes over 300,000 titles from participating publishing houses.
leagues. The program includes conferences and promotional sessions between the creators and publishing houses that include illustrated books in their catalogs.
and the development of logistic systems of operations. This event is organized by the Coordination of Libraries of the University of Guadalajara. University Press International Forum (FIEU): FIEU takes place every other year. The Forum has addressed issues such the future of university publishing, how to professionalize it, distribution and academic politics, among others.
International Translation and Interpretation Congress “San Jerónimo”: Dedicated to the on-going training and professional growth of translators and interpreters. It is also a space for reflection on practical and cultural issues of translation.
Illustrators Program: A platform for illustrators to showcase their work, negotiate rights and share their experiences with the public and col-
23
guadalajara international book fair
FIL and Readers 25 years and eight million visitors confirm the Book Fair’s identity as a place where books and reading find their reason of existence
The Guadalajara International Book Fair has overcome the apathy that threatens the future of the written word. The Fair began with only 150,000 visitors in its first year. Today, more than 600,000 people fill its halls and auditoriums, thus confirming its original purpose: to be an event devoted to readers. In its 25 years, over eight million people have visited FIL. These visitors have evolved into an eclectic group that have changed along with the Fair and have turned it into the core of the region, and into a socially cohesive meeting place. FIL brings books to the forefront of Guadalajara’s consciousness. It is a highly anticipated event, as a national holiday would be; it awakens the city’s imagination and infuses energy into its cultural life. It is also a cultural destination for people coming from all over the country, particularly from Mexico’s Western region, to experience literature and the arts.
fil and readers
24
The FIL generation (FIL Children) There is a generation of people between the ages of 20 and 40 who consider FIL an essential part of their formative years. Today, the children of these men and women listen with open eyes to storytellers, hanging onto their every word in the workshops for children. Since its first year, the space devoted to children became an essential part of the Book Fair. In 1988, the Children’s Playground was conceived with the help of the Department of Public Education. It offered workshops and adaptations of some of the works by Juan Rulfo, along with dance and music events to a slim public of 3,000 children. It was not until the fifth edition of FIL that this program truly took off –with 60,000 children crowding its activities– becoming the important event it is today. In 2010, more than 100,000 young readers visited this space. Today, attending the children’s events has become a tradition in the city, one that is sought after by parents and schools alike. Words, books and reading are the foundations of a program that consists of more than 1,000 activities that instill in children a love for books.
25
guadalajara international book fair
Not to miss FIL has successfully brought a target audience into the world of books through the Fair’s programs for young children and high school students. However, another of its challenges is to do the same for the everyday reader, one that needs help to navigate across the sea of books. One of the Book Fair’s successes, the possibility to concentrate a universe of hundreds of thousands of titles in the same exhibition space, is a double-edged sword as diversity can be overwhelming for those who read only a few books a year. In order to meet this challenge, FIL created The Pleasure of Reading program. The Pleasure of Reading began from the idea that every good writer is, before anything else, a good reader. The authors that have participated in the program insist that literature and language are not the result of spontaneous creation. Words lead to words, and books inspire books. In The Pleasure of Reading hall, authors address a public that may or may not be familiar with their works, but who inevitably are interested in learning how a reader comes into being. Each of the 180 authors that have taken part in this forum have had the opportunity to talk openly and carefree about the first books they ever read, the literature that inspires them today, the most comfortable places to read, or the way they go about choosing a book in a bookstore. After ten editions, we are glad to discover a year-after-year recurrence of visitors to The Pleasure of Reading. Plus, they have taken over the event as they actively participate in directing the conversation towards topics of their own interest. The event has spawned surprising and productive results.
Three authors who have shared the joy of reading: Tomás Eloy Martínez, Antonio Muñoz Molina and Almudena Grandes
fil and readers
26
Inside High Schools FIL Youth brings together authors and students on a two-way street. From one direction, there is Echoes of FIL, a program in which writers visit local and regional high schools in the state of Jalisco to converse with students.
This is without a doubt one of the Fair’s most authentic spaces for dialogue. Only in the past few years, important authors have gained unprecedented access to their younger readers through Echoes of FIL, among them Almudena Grandes, Sergio Ramírez, Rosa Regás, Arturo Arango, Eduardo Parra, Miguel Mejides, Juan José Millás, Germán Dehesa, José Manuel Fajardo, Rafael Heredia, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Enrique Vila-Matas, Élmer Mendoza, Fernando Iwasaki, Thomas Brussig and Juan Villoro. They have shared with students their enthusiasm for the creative strength of the written word. To be set apart from their intellectual circles, and by landing in the middle of the everyday life of young people, have these authors been able to live a unique experience. In the other direction are Thursday and Friday visits that students make to the Fair. Some of them visit the Fair on their own, while others are part of a school trip. It is during this time that another event called A Thousand Young People With… takes place. This is another essential program of FIL for creating new readers. Carlos Fuentes opened this space to a crowded audience in 1997. That same year marked the beginning of the tradition of having young people meet with the winner of the Juan Rulfo Award (today’s FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages). Since then, thousands of young people have had the opportunity to meet the likes of Cintio Vitier, Juan Goytisolo, Tomás Segovia, Carlos Monsiváis, Silvio Rodríguez, Eusebio Leal Spengler, Hugo Gutiérrez Vega, Álvaro Mutis, Alí Chumacero, Ricardo Chávez Castañeda, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Isabel Allende, Rubem Fonseca, Etgar Keret, Jaime Sabines Quino, Vicente Leñero and Juan José Millás, among others.
27
guadalajara international book fair
fil and readers
28
Readers Speak Up Author Rosa Montero put her readers in the driver’s seat when presenting her novel The Crazed Woman Inside Me (La loca de la Casa) in 2003. Months earlier, she had helped conceptualize the Readers Present program, where five anonymous readers unified be the sole reason of having read the work and had something to say about it, presented her book to the public. The success of the presentation led to more presentation under the same format. Books as diverse as Delirium (Delirio), by Laura Restrepo and winner of the 2004 Alfaguara Prize; The Shadow of the Wind (La Sombra del Viento), by Carlos Ruiz Zafón; El Actor Se Prepara, by Hugo Hiriart; Lila Goes to School (Lila Va al Cole), by Eduard Estivill; Cathedral of the Sea (La Catedral del Mar), by Ildefonso Falcones; Los Esclavos, by Alberto Chimal, and Le froid modifie la trajectoire des poissons, by Pierre Szalowski, have played a part in transforming the traditional book presentation. This venue not only works by giving a voice to the public, but it also allows authors to view their work through the lens of a reader. Readers Present gives authors the opportunity of finding out if in fact there is someone listening at the other end. For the general public the program is also a special occasion for listening to the opinions of four or five readers from different cultural, social and economic backgrounds who belong to different age groups with diverse academic backgrounds. There is a lot of common ground to be found between the public and these book presenters, whose reading experiences are more likely to hit home with the public.
29
guadalajara international book fair
Being a Part of FIL Guadalajara A growing and faithful public, its solid international reputation and an essential reference in the Ibero-American cultural landscape, are the features that make of FIL a brand worth being associated to
The diversity of the public that each year attends FIL Guadalajara is the best guarantee of success for companies and organizations that associate their brands to this cultural event. The quantity and quality of the different publics add to the benefit of perception of the Fair, recognized the world over as one of the main cultural and literary festivals in Ibero-America.
FIL offers great exposure for its sponsors
being a part of fil guadalajara
30
This significance is reflected in the national and international press coverage that FIL Guadalajara receives each year. It is the most internationally covered cultural event in Mexico. More than 1,700 journalists representing 487 media corporations from 15 countries gather to cover the event each year. From its privileged position as one of the cultural engines in Western Mexico, FIL is constantly seeking innovative strategies linked to cultural consumption that will offer its sponsors an exposure that nearly no other event can. Apart from the tangible benefits, it also offers its sponsors the opportunity to participate in a social investment. Being involved with FIL is to embrace the cause of books. It is also a way for companies to reach the public through imaginative approaches in new and unexpected ways that are not possible by mere commercial interaction. Some companies that can attest to this include Banamex, Fundación Televisa, Grupo Modelo, El País, FaberCastell, Discovery Kids, Coca-Cola, Ferrero and Telmex, among many others. In fact, participating sponsors have made efforts to look for ways of getting involved with FIL’s objectives of promoting reading and books. A result of this is FILantropía, a program sponsored by companies that took off in 2006 with the purpose of favoring children from Guadalajara by sponsoring their visits to FIL. Being a part of the Guadalajara International Book Fair is to be a part of a select group of individuals who understand the transforming power that culture and the written word have on our lives.
31
guadalajara international book fair
FIL GUADLAJARA-INSTITUTIONAL BROCHURE Printed August, 2011 at Coloristas y Asociados, Calzada de los HĂŠroes 315 37000 Leon, Guanajuato. Mexico. Print run: 1,500 copies Font family: Rotis Editorial supervisor: Myriam Vidriales English translation: Luis Albores