A total of 850 authors and more than 50 countries with their respective catalogues will be in the different areas of the event, where 650 book presentations will take place from this Saturday until December 8, said the event’s director, Marisol Schulz, at the opening.

According to what she said during the ceremony held at Expo Guadalajara, in the western state of Jalisco, the event is reaffirming itself as a reference epicenter of the book industry, with the attendance of more than two thousand publishing houses and 18 thousand industry professionals.

“Beyond the numbers, the most valuable thing is the impact left on readers, who are an essential part of the heart” of the event, he said.

In addition to the usual spaces, he mentioned the reinforcement this year of FIL Ciencia, which will be attended by figures such as the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Morten Peter Meldal, with his conference From the molecule to medicine, and the Catalan chef Ferran Adrià, who will talk about culinary revolution and innovation.

“Once again we want to give you a vibrant FIL, with content that is not only interesting, but essential to observe the world from very diverse angles,” he added.

Schulz alluded at another point to the guest country of honor, Spain, whose Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, was present at the inauguration.

Likewise, he mentioned that other manifestations such as music, visual arts, cinema and gastronomy will also spice up the 38th edition of the event.

During the ceremony, Mozambican writer Mia Couto received the 2024 FIL Prize for Literature in Romance Languages.

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