Guadalajara Reporter

In fact, visiting the fair can be more than a little daunting. There’s so much buzz and so much to do, it’s hard to know where to start.

If you’re just a casual reader looking to pick up volume or two, then simply stroll down the many aisles and browse to your heart’s content. Be warned: it may take you several hours to cover the entire floor of the fair but you’ll certainly find something you like. If you’re short of time and not too interested in Spanish-language books, head over to the international area, where you will find most of the English-language volumes.

As you stroll around the FIL, you’ll notice many people wearing multicolored ID tags. Among these will be more than 17,000 professionals from 40 countries, including librarians, translators, publishers, illustrators, literary agents and scouts, who meet up each year during the FIL – the world’s largest Spanish-language book fair.

Away from the stands there’s another world of activity going on. Here’s just a smattering of what you can find:

•  A literary festival features some 500 participating authors, academics and intellectuals, as well as 460 book presentations.

•  Eight literary awards will be given out during the festival; the prestigious FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages this year goes to Venezuelan writer Rafael Cardenas.

•  Guest of honor Los Angeles not only hosts a huge and creative book pavilion, but will present close to 60 activities and bring down 50 authors (see schedule page 9).

•  A Reading Promoters Conference will explore “Reading and Quality of Life,” and feature Moussa Ag Assarid, the Tuareg writer who heads an association that schools the nomads of the Sahara Desert.

•  The Spanish newspaper El Pais is organizing the table “Are We Understanding What Is Happening? A Conversation about Journalism in the Global Era” and the 5th International Journalists Meeting will explore the challenges of Latin American journalism.

•  The International Librarians Colloquium will discuss the need to find meeting points between libraries and their users, and includes a master conference by Martin Gomez, city librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library

•  A Children’s Pavilion will offer activities in 17 workshops centered around books and reading, accessible either through school visits or individually, and divided into three age groups, from 3 to 6, 7 to 9, and 10 to 12.

•  Writers will sign their books at a book-signing module located in the new lobby of the international area.

If that list isn’t enough, and it won’t be for many, then you should pick up a copy of the FIL’s daily schedule in the foyer when you arrive or previously go online to the fair’s website at www.fil.com.mx. There, you will find an English version with every one of the hundreds of events listed, including the time and location.

FIL opens its doors on Saturday, November 28, 9 a.m. at Expo Guadalajara (Av. Mariano Otero 1499, corner of Av. de Las Rosas). It will be open daily through Sunday, December 6, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Only book professionals will be admitted on Monday, November 30; Tuesday, December 1 and Wednesday, December 2 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The fair will be open to the general public on these three days from 5-9 p.m.

For the first time, FIL will hold a one-night sale on Friday, December 4, when doors will stay open until 11 p.m. Participating publishers will offer discount prices.

The cost to enter the FIL is 20 pesos. FIL offers several parking options, with the Expo lot charging 40 pesos a day.