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 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Multi-genre |
| Venue | Expo Guadalajara convention center |
| Location(s) | Guadalajara, Jalisco |
| Country | Mexico |
| Inaugurated | 1987 |
| Attendance | 525,000 (2006) |
| Organized by | University of Guadalajara |
| Website | http://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
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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
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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 |  Colombia
|
| 1994 |  New Mexico
|
| 1995 |  Venezuela
|
| 1996 |  Canada
|
| 1997 |  Argentina
|
| 1998 |  Puerto Rico
|
| 1999 |  Chile
|
| 2000 |  Spain
|
| 2001 |  Brazil
|
| 2002 |  Cuba
|
| 2003 |  Quebec
|
| 2004 |  Catalonia
|
| 2005 |  Peru
|
| 2006 |  Andalusia
|
| 2007 | Colombia
|
| 2008 |  Italy
|
| 2009 |  Los Angeles
|
| 2010 |  Castile and León
|
| 2011 |  Germany
|
| 2012 | Chile
|
| 2013 |  Israel
|
| 2014 | Argentina
|
| 2015 |  United Kingdom
|
| 2016 | .svg){kind=small} Latin America
|
| 2017 |  Madrid
|
| 2018 |  Portugal
|
| 2019 |  India
|
| 2021 | Peru
|
| 2022 |  Sharjah and Arab Culture
|
| 2023 |  European Union
|
History
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2005
edit- 15,357 exhibitors from 45 countries
- Visitor attendance at the fair was 494,388
- 2,899 cultural activities
2006
edit- 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
edit- 1,935 publishing houses from 43 countries
- Visitor attendance at the fair was 1,000,000
2016
edit- The acclaimed author George R. R. Martin was a key speaker here where the author provided hints about the next two books in the series A Song of Ice and Fire.
2023
edit- 2,469 publishing houses from 61 countries
- Visitor attendance was 857,315[4]
References
edit- ^ "The Guadalajara International Book Fair 2017". SuperMemo. November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ^ "Guadalajara International Book Fair wins 2020 Princess of Asturias Award". El Universal (in Spanish). 10 June 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ FIL: A Cultural Bridge
- ^ "Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara".