36th annual Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) opens Nov. 26

After it had to go virtual in 2020 and put on a reduced in-person event in 2021, both due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) is finally returning to its normal programming this year, beginning Saturday in the Expo Guadalajara.

Founded 36 years ago by the University of Guadalajara, the FIL is considered the most important fair of its type in Ibero-America.

For this year’s edition, which will run until Dec. 4, FIL’s program will include more than 3,000 activities, featuring the participation of 600 authors from around the globe and academic discussions of the most relevant current events and literary activities for both children and adults.

The 2022 edition will also feature the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, a neighboring emirate to Dubai and the cultural capital of the UAE. With activities ranging from music to visual arts and movies, attendees in Guadalajara will get a glimpse of Middle Eastern culture.

Among other countries and regions around the world with a literary presence at the fair will be several countries of Latin America, as well as of Israel, Norway, Italy, Quebec, Catalonia and Galicia.

The FIL will also present a number of author awards and tributes — including the 2022 FIL Prize for Literature in Romance Languages, to be given to Romanian storyteller and poet Mircea Cărtărescu, and the prestigious Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz award to Mexican writer Daniela Tarazona.