Nearly 200 authors will represent Spain at the 2022 Frankfurt Book Fair
Madrid. -
09 june 2022
The curator of the project, Elvira Marco, has been in charge of presenting the literary and professional program of our country for the current edition of the Fair and has advanced the program that will be displayed in the 2,000 m2 of the Spanish Pavilion in Frankfurt. “It is time to show the results of 4 years of work. We present ourselves with the fulfilled objective of promoting the translation of our authors and the internationalization of the publishing sector, with more than 300 new titles published since 2019 and 150 releases in Germany in 2022”, detailed.
Marco has highlighted the diversity in terms of genres —from narrative, to non-fiction, poetry, or the graphic novel— and the fact that both contemporary and classic authors of the Spanish language have been taken into account for this appointment so marked. "The program has worked together with the sector to show literary creativity and the strength of the Spanish publishing industry."
Pillars of the project
The project is based on the pillars of linguistic plurality, bibliodiversity, the value of Spanish as a bridge with Latin America, and the values of equality and diversity of Spanish society. On these foundations the literary program is inspired, elaborated with the support of an Advisory Committee. There will be novels, essays, poetry, dramaturgy, children's and youth literature, comics, illustrated albums.
For his part, Daniel Fernández, president of the Federation of the Publishers Guild of Spain, has emphasized the importance of the Spain Project, Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Fair: “It will allow us to show internationally the strength of creation and the Spanish edition. We are a country that stands out for its rich editorial production, both in Spanish and in the rest of the State's languages, and the program presented is a reflection of it”.
Fernández added that being Guest of Honor 31 years later will allow showing the changes that Spain has experienced in these years. "Then he reflected that our country had rejoined Europe and, in addition, the great publishing potential that today is more than confirmed" was discovered.
Irene Vallejo, author of the literary phenomenon El infinity en un reed, with 400,000 copies sold in Spain and published and translated in more than 35 countries, has spoken on behalf of the dozens of writers and illustrators who will be part of the powerful and diverse program writer from Spain Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
“We have reason for hope. We universally agree that reading is a healthy and recommended activity. Moreover, if the desire to read survives the continuous enumeration of its virtues and benefits, it means that it is a truly invincible appetite”, she stressed.
Vallejo has valued the work of male and female translators. "It paves the way for us to get to know each other and read each other without borders," she stressed. She has also valued the work of literary fairs, "invitations to be more cosmopolitan."
For his part, the director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Juergen Boos, stressed that Spain, as Guest of Honour, "will reflect the multilingual and vibrant literature and culture of today's Spain and will offer the fair's public a current approach of 'Overflowing Creativity'. Visitors to the fair will be able to discover the varied Spanish publishing scene in October”.
Institutional presence
The general director of Books and the Promotion of Reading, María Jose Gálvez, the president of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), José Andrés Torres Mora, and the minister counselor of the German embassy in Spain, Christoph Wolfrum, have also been present at the event.
The press conference highlighted the importance of this event for Spanish literature and the book industry, and its potential to cross borders and strengthen ties between an international community of readers and professionals.
Being Guest of Honor at the largest international book fair will allow the Spanish book sector to break into new markets. Since 2019, the Ministry of Culture and Sport and AC/E have invested a total of 800,000 euros each year in translations, prioritizing the German market.
The Spain Guest of Honor project at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022 is directed by the Ministry of Culture and Sports through the General Directorate of Books and Reading Promotion, together with Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the Federation of the Publishers Guild of Spain.
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For more information about the Spain Guest of Honor project at the Frankfurt Book Fair visit spainfrankfurt2022.com/es/
