Guadalajara International Book Fair

The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL (from its Spanish name: Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara) is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt's. It is also considered the most important cultural annual event of its kind in the Spanish-speaking world.[1] 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.

Guadalajara International Book Fair
XXI Book Fair 2007
StatusActive
GenreMulti-genre
VenueExpo Guadalajara convention center
Location(s)Guadalajara, Jalisco
CountryMexico
Inaugurated1987
Attendance525,000 (2006)
Organized byUniversity of Guadalajara
Websitehttp://www.fil.com.mx/ingles/

Created in 1987, the FIL is put on by the University of Guadalajara and is held at the Expo Guadalajara convention center, which has 40,000 m2 (430,000 sq ft) of floor space. FIL is held every year, starting on the last Saturday in November and continuing for nine days, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

The current managing director of the Guadalajara International Book Fair is Marisol Schulz, and its president from its inception until his death in 2023 was Raúl Padilla López. The book fair won the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities in 2020.[2]

Prizes and honours
Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez, and Pasqual Maragall awarding the Juan Rulfo Prize to Juan Goytisolo, FIL 2004

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 (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 (Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize) (1993)
  • ArpaFIL (1995)
  • Homenaje al Bibliófilo (Homage to Bibliophiles) (2001)
  • Homenaje al Bibliotecario (Homage to Librarians) (2002)

Invited countries or cultural regions
Marisol Schulz, managing director of the Guadalajara International Book Fair
Interior FIL 2008
Popular Italian Orchestra in the esplanade of the FIL 2008

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:

Year Guest of Honor Country or Region[3]
1993 ColombiaColombia
1994 New Mexico New Mexico
1995 Venezuela Venezuela
1996 Canada Canada
1997 Argentina Argentina
1998 Puerto Rico Puerto Rico
1999 Chile Chile
2000 Spain Spain
2001 Brazil Brazil
2002 Cuba Cuba
2003 Quebec Quebec
2004 Catalonia Catalonia
2005 Peru Peru
2006 Andalusia
2007 Colombia Colombia
2008 Italy Italy
2009 Los Angeles
2010 Castile and León
2011 Germany Germany
2012 Chile Chile
2013 Israel Israel
2014 Argentina Argentina
2015 United Kingdom United Kingdom
2016 Latin America
2017 Madrid
2018 Portugal Portugal
2019 India India
2021 Peru Peru
2022 Emirate of Sharjah Sharjah and Arab Culture
2023 European Union European Union

History
Main entrance during the 2002 Guadalajara International Book Fair

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

References
  1. "The Guadalajara International Book Fair 2017". SuperMemo. November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  2. "Guadalajara International Book Fair wins 2020 Princess of Asturias Award". El Universal (in Spanish). 10 June 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. FIL: A Cultural Bridge
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