Chile is the guest of honor at the LIBER book fair: literature exports increased by 103%
Chile was the guest of honor at the LIBER book fair, celebrating the 80th anniversary of Gabriela Mistral's Nobel Prize and presenting contemporary Chilean literature, including publishers from the ecological region of Valparaíso.
This year, Chile is the guest of honor at the LIBER book fair. And this is a special year, as it marks the 80th anniversary of Gabriela Mistral receiving the Nobel Prize. According to Chilean Minister of Culture Carolina Arredondo, Mistral was the first author from Latin America to receive this award, and is still the only woman to have received it for works in Spanish. So the anniversary is being celebrated all over the world.
Gabriel Guggisberg from ProChile in Spain says that Chile has brought many children's and youth books to the fair. But interestingly, Chilean publishers combine modern digital technologies with traditional crafts and graphics. Also, according to him, Chile has always been famous for poetry and prose, and now there are many essays on society and history, where authors consider different perspectives, including the stories and voices of indigenous peoples.
Four publishing houses from the Valparaíso region, which is considered one of the most literary in the country, were especially noted. These are Humita diseño, Kindberg Editorial, Planeta Sostenible and Una casa de cartón. They all care about the environment, use environmentally friendly materials and raise important environmental topics. Also, these publishing houses have many female authors who often live in the same region. They are discovering new names in Chilean and Spanish-language literature, and their books are already being sold even in Asia.
Valparaíso is such a literary region that there is even a special tourist route called "The Littoral of Poets", which leads to the homes of famous poets such as Pablo Neruda and Vicente Huidobro.
The fair features both well-known publishing houses with a history, such as Zig-Zag (founded in 1905), and new independent publishing houses, such as Banda Propia, Calcetines Animados, Descontexto Editores, Dudo Ediciones, Ebooks Patagonia, Ediciones UC Escrito con Tiza, Minilupa, Nauta Colecciones Editores. The delegation also includes VLP Agency, publisher María de los Ángeles Quinteros, and representative of the Chilean Book Chamber Eduardo Castillo.
Chilean literature is now on the rise. Over the past four years, Chilean book exports have increased by 103%! From $4.8 million to $9.8 million. Raúl Vilches from ProChile says that this is why Chile is the guest of honor at LIBER this year, and will be the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2027.
From October 7 to 9, at the Chilean stand at LIBER, you can listen to Chilean authors reading Gabriela Mistral's poems, combine music with poetry, and participate in round tables on fiction and the creative region of Valparaíso.
The organizers of the LIBER fair received support from the Chilean Ministry of Culture, the Chilean Embassy in Spain, ProChile, the Valparaíso Regional Government, and other organizations.