With an investment of twelve million euros and 400 publishers, Cultuur invites 200 authors in all languages of the state to the fair
Bibliodiversity is the key word to define Spain’s participation in the Frankfurter Fair, the world book summit of which we are the host country. Culture will invest 12 million euros in this meeting where 80% of the copyrights on the world market are negotiated and in which Spain was already the protagonist 31 years ago. ‘Creativity overflowing’ is the motto of the program that will bring almost 200 authors to Germany from October 19 to 23, 75% in Spanish and the rest in the other official languages of the state.
The pillars of the project are linguistic plurality, editorial diversity, the value of Spanish as a bridge with Latin America, the plurality of the egalitarian Spanish society and the variety of its extensive editorial offer, with novels, essays, poetry, dramaturgy, children’s literature and youth, comics, illustrated novels and audiobooks.
“The motto shows how we are and what we want to be,” said Miquel Iceta, culture minister for whom “we are faced with a project for the country and not for the government.” “We want to demonstrate the richness of our culture and we are going to give everything and teach everything, because in culture ambition is not a sin, it is an obligation,” explained Iceta at the headquarters of the Goethe Institute in Madrid. He was accompanied by the curator of the project, Elvira Marco, the president of the Federation of the Publishers’ Guild of Spain, Daniel Fernández, the writer Irene Vallejo, who will open the Spanish program with Antonio Muñoz Molina, and the director of the stock exchange, Jürgen Boos.
Of the 12 million euros that Spain “invests” in its bibliodiverse and multilingual program, one million will be spent on the Spanish pavilion where authors, publishers, booksellers and literary agents and readers will pass. A 2,000-square-foot space that will be called “The theory of cherries” in tribute to Carmen Martín Gaite. There will be more than 50 conversations on a wide variety of topics and there will be a tribute to Carmen Balcells and Jorge Herralde, and to two of the most eminent writers of the past decades, the deceased, Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Almudena Grandes.
“We want to showcase our bibliodiversity and help small publishers,” Iceta insisted, confirming that the two major Spanish publishing groups -Planeta and Random House- will be present in the Spanish pavilion, along with 63 independent publishers. The guest writers represent all movements, languages and generations. In Spanish, these include Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Enrique Vila-Matas, Rosa Montero, Fernando Aramburu, Kiko Amat, Najat El Hachmi, Marta Sanz, Javier Cercas, Sara Mesa, Manuel Vilas, Isaac Rosa, Elvira Lindo, Sergio Vila -Sanjuán, Jesús Carrasco, Elena Medel, Cristina Fernández Cubas, Juan José Millás, Julia Navarro, Santiago Posteguillo, Sergio del Molino, María Dueñas, Ray Loriga, Dolores Redondo, Elia Barceló, María Sánchez, Elisabeth Duval, Miqui Otero, Cristina Morales , Jose Carlos Llop or Vicente Molina Foix. In Catalan, Marta Orriols, Sergi Pàmies, Carme Riera, Marina Garcés, Maria Barbal and Anna Ballbona. In Basque, Bernardo Atxaga. In Galician, Manuel Rivas or Xesús Fraga. And, in Asturian, Xuan Bello.
More than 400 Spanish publishers will participate in the event, which will “promote the Spanish publishing industry internationally and publicize the vibrancy of our cultural industry,” said Elvira Marco. He emphasized the diversity in terms of genres -from narrative to non-fiction, poetry or the graphic novel-, respect for parity and the presence of contemporary and classical authors in a program “designed together with the sector to show the literary creativity and the strength of our publishing industry.
“We are a country that stands out for its rich editorial output, both in Spanish and in the other languages of the state, and the program reflects this,” said Daniel Fernández of the Editors’ Guild.
“We have reason to hope. We generally agree that reading is a healthy and recommended activity. If the desire to read survives the constant enumeration of its virtues and benefits, it means that it is a truly invincible appetite,” emphasized Irene Vallejo, author of “El infinity en un reed”, a phenomenon that has 400,000 copies in Spain alone. have been sold and published in more than 35 countries.
“Spain will be a reflection of the vibrant and multilingual literature and culture and will also offer its diverse publishing scene,” concluded Juergen Boos, director of the fair.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
