Verónica Mendoza

Director of the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore at the University of Guadalajara, with over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. During this time, she was part of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL Guadalajara) as Director of Exhibitors and Professionals, where she contributed significantly to the fair’s growth and led the revitalization and consolidation of professional development programs for the sector.

In 2015, she founded Base Tres, a company dedicated to developing the publishing industry. Through this initiative, she has contributed to numerous projects, including the creation of the UNAM International University Book Fair (FILUNI), the management and expansion of the business center at the Panama International Book Fair, advising foreign publishing companies on establishing businesses in Latin America, and the development of publications, growth programs, and consolidation strategies for the University of Guadalajara Press as well as the EULAC Secretariat.

Other activities involving the participant:

Bookstores that transform the region, city, or neighborhood, with more than books.

Armando Montes de Santiago

He has been a member of the organizing committee of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) for 20 years. For several years, he led the International Sales department. He currently serves as General Coordinator of Exhibitors and Professionals and leads key projects for the fair, including the Comic + Graphic Novel Hall and Libros al Gusto.

Other activities involving the participant:

Inauguration
Inauguration
Opening Talk

Éric del Arco

Invitado de Honor

Born in Barcelona, he is a technical engineer and humanist, as well as a traveler and occasional missionary. He became a bookseller in 2014 under the guidance of Josep Cots, who founded Librería Documenta in 1975. Cots chose him to oversee the relocation of the bookstore from Barcelona’s historic Gothic Quarter to a more central location in l’Eixample, and later to lead a new project: modernizing an iconic space without losing its identity. Today, it can be said that they have succeeded. In 2022, he was appointed President of the Booksellers’ Guild, part of a highly collaborative board dedicated to promoting respect for the book industry chain.

Other activities involving the participant:

Cities that celebrate books and readers: Sant Jordi, orchids, spring, and more…

Éric del Arco

Invitado de Honor

Born in Barcelona, he is a technical engineer and humanist, as well as a traveler and occasional missionary. He became a bookseller in 2014 under the guidance of Josep Cots, who founded Librería Documenta in 1975. Cots chose him to oversee the relocation of the bookstore from Barcelona’s historic Gothic Quarter to a more central location in l’Eixample, and later to lead a new project: modernizing an iconic space without losing its identity. Today, it can be said that they have succeeded. In 2022, he was appointed President of the Booksellers’ Guild, part of a highly collaborative board dedicated to promoting respect for the book industry chain.

Other activities involving the participant:

Inauguration

Manuel Retamal

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Hispanic Language and Literature, with postgraduate studies in Publishing and LGBTIQA+ Studies. He currently serves as Assistant Director at Editoriales de Chile, a trade association for independent publishers, and as Editorial Director of Invertido Ediciones, a publishing house specializing in literature and LGBTIQA+ authors.

Imelda Martorell

A leading promoter of reading in Mexico, she directed the International Children’s and Young Adult Book Fair (FILIJ) for thirteen years and contributed to the creation of the National Reading Rooms Program, bringing books to communities beyond libraries and classrooms. Since 2009, she has worked in the Cultural Outreach Coordination at UNAM, where she currently serves as Coordinator for the Promotion of Reading and Written Culture. She leads the José Emilio Pacheco Reading Chair, the University Reading System Universo de Letras, and the Fiesta del Libro y la Rosa, fostering reading and writing among young people. She has also promoted Aquí Tú Cuentas +50, an oral storytelling program for older adults. Her work has been key in developing readers across different sectors and generations. She has served as a jury member for the Gran Angular Young Adult Literature Award and has given lectures and reading mediation workshops with teachers and parents at various national and international book fairs.

Other activities involving the participant:

Dialogue: “Machines that read, voices that resist”

Alejandra Soriano

She is a professional in Literary Studies, a Social Communicator, and holds a Master’s Degree in Social Policy, with experience in public policy design as well as in the production and execution of communication and management projects in the cultural sector. Her research interests focus on reading and library policies, reception studies of written culture, and gender studies related to literature. She currently serves as Literature Manager at the Instituto Distrital de las Artes (IDARTES).

Jorge Carrión

He is a writer, cultural critic, and co-director of the Master’s in Literary Creation at UPF-BSM in Barcelona. In the field of books, he has published the essays Librerías and Contra Amazon (both with Galaxia Gutenberg) and the graphic novel Warburg & Beach (Salamandra Graphic). He is the creator of the Booklovers series (CaixaForum+) and has curated the exhibitions El infierno y las maravillas (National Library of Spain) and Atlánticas. A History of Bookstores, Books, and Booksellers, which, after Barcelona and La Paz, will be on display later this year at the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore.

Other activities involving the participant:

Exhibition inauguration – Atlánticas: a history of bookstores, books, and booksellers

Fernanda Trías

Fernanda Trías is a writer and teacher. She has published *Cuaderno para un solo ojo* (Notebook for a Single Eye), *La azotea* (The Rooftop), *La ciudad invencible* (The Invincible City), *No soñarás flores* (You Will Not Dream of Flowers), *Mugre rosa* (Pink Filth), and *El monte de las furias* (The Mountain of Furies). For *Mugre rosa*, she received the National Literature Prize (Uruguay, 2020), the Bartolomé Hidalgo Prize (Uruguay, 2021), and the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize (Mexico, 2021). In 2024, *Mugre rosa* was nominated for the National Book Awards in the United States. Both *La azotea* and *Mugre rosa* received the British PEN Translates Award (2020 and 2022). In 2025, she again received the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize for her novel *El monte de las furias*. Her novels have been translated into twenty languages. Since 2015, she has lived in Colombia, where she teaches in the Creative Writing Master's Program at the Caro y Cuervo Institute.

Other activities involving the participant:

Award Ceremony Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize 2025

Jorge Carrión

He is a writer, cultural critic, and co-director of the Master’s in Literary Creation at UPF-BSM in Barcelona. In the field of books, he has published the essays Librerías and Contra Amazon (both with Galaxia Gutenberg) and the graphic novel Warburg & Beach (Salamandra Graphic). He is the creator of the Booklovers series (CaixaForum+) and has curated the exhibitions El infierno y las maravillas (National Library of Spain) and Atlánticas. A History of Bookstores, Books, and Booksellers, which, after Barcelona and La Paz, will be on display later this year at the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore.

Other activities involving the participant:

Opening talk: among streets, books, bookstores, and loves

Oblit Baseiria

Invitado de Honor

She resides in Barcelona, where in 2004 she founded Casa Anita, a bookstore recognized for its focus on children’s, young adult literature, and illustration. She holds a degree in Philology from the University of Barcelona and has worked at Columna Edicions and Grupo Planeta as an editorial director.

She has served as a jury member for literary awards, been a guest lecturer in master’s programs and specialized forums, and collaborated with magazines and schools. She currently works as a curator of children’s publications for the Barcelona City Council and in 2024 received the Marta Mata Award for her contributions to promoting reading and children’s literature.

Other activities involving the participant:

Barcelona Llibres: a public-private collaborative publishing model

Santiago Mora

He is a sociologist by training with extensive experience as a bookseller, curator, and reading promoter, linked for over a decade to the book industry and literacy initiatives. He currently works at Babel Libros, where he serves as bookseller and sales director, while also managing curation and participation in national and international book fairs.

His work focuses on the ion, display, and recommendation of children’s and young adult books, as well as engaging diverse audiences in bookstores, schools, libraries, cultural centers, and social programs. He has collaborated on reading promotion projects with organizations such as Fundalectura and Corpoeducación, integrating his experience in the book world with cultural mediation processes.

In academia, he has taught courses including Latin American Sociological Thought, Epistemology, and Theories of Knowledge and Culture.

Judith Wilhelm

She is an editor and bookseller specializing in children’s and illustrated books. She studied Literature and Publishing at the University of Buenos Aires, where she lives and works. In 1997, she founded the itinerant book fair project El Libro de Arena, which, later in partnership with Walter Binder, traveled to schools, conferences, and public libraries across the country.

In 2005, they launched Calibroscopio, a publishing house dedicated to exploring new worlds through books, which received the Diploma of Merit 2014 from Fundación Kónex in the category of Editorial Work of the Decade, and has been a repeated finalist for the BOP Award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

Throughout her career, she has been invited to participate in panels, seminars, and international book fairs to share her professional experience in editing and promoting children’s books. Today, Calibroscopio co-edits and distributes works from prestigious publishers in Latin America and Spain, while El Libro de Arena, recognized with the Pregonero Award for Bookstores by Fundación El Libro, remains a specialized bookstore visited daily by families, teachers, librarians, and researchers.

Pablo Larraguibel

He was born in Santiago de Chile. At the age of 12, his life took a dramatic turn when he and his family went into exile in Venezuela following the military coup against Chilean democracy. In Caracas, he studied Economics at the Central University, though he never worked professionally as an economist.

While still a student, he had the opportunity to edit an economic bulletin while working at a forecasting office—and he volunteered to take it on. From that moment, he has remained closely connected to the world of publications. Over the years, he has worked in newspapers, cultural and leisure magazines, book editing, and between 2002 and 2017, in radio production and hosting.

He has lived in Barcelona since 1998, and shortly after, in 2001, Ediciones Ekaré opened an office there. Since then, he has had the privilege of leading the new phase of this prestigious Caracas-born publisher, founded in 1978 and a pioneer in the production of picture books in Latin America. His work has led him to participate in international panels, talks, and conferences on children’s and young adult literature.

Carlos E. Díaz

General Director of Siglo XXI Editores since 2021. He opened Siglo XXI in Argentina in 2000 and served as its Director until 2021. He holds a degree in Sociology from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and has participated in various professional development courses in Germany, the USA, France, the UK, and Israel. He has served as a board member of the Argentine Book Chamber and the Fundación El Libro. In 2011, he received the “Editor of the Year” award from Fundación El Libro, and in 2014, the “Entrepreneurial Style” award from the University of Palermo. His work at Siglo XXI has also been recognized with the “Design as an Innovation Strategy” award (2014) and the “Good Design Seal” (2017), granted by the Metropolitan Design Center and the Ministry of Production of Argentina, respectively. In 2019, he was named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture for his “contribution to the exchange of ideas and the publication of the social and human sciences.” He has published articles and conducted professional training courses, always within the field of publishing.

Helena Bernadas

Invitado de Honor

Director of Altaïr Bookstore in Barcelona, the largest travel bookstore in Europe and an international reference in global thought and culture. His work fosters dialogue between readers, places, and ideas through literature and the experience of travel.

Jhonmer Hinestroza

Jhonmer Hinestroza Ramírez was born on the banks of the Atrato River, in the Arenal district of the municipality of Atrato, Chocó – Colombia. He earned his Normalista Superior diploma in 2006, a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Literature from the Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó Diego Luis Córdoba (2010), a Master’s in Linguistics from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2015), a Specialist degree in Social Services Management from the Fundación Universitaria Claretiana (2018), and a Doctorate in Social Sciences from the Universidad Bolivariana de Medellín (2023).

He has served as a teacher, researcher, and coordinator in educational institutions in Chocó. Currently, he is a professor at the Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó, affiliated with the Social Sciences Program. He has expertise in pedagogical support for teachers and serves as advisor and evaluator of research projects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

As a cultural manager, he promotes Afro, Indigenous, and Chocoan literature. He founded and directs the Afro and Indigenous Art and Literature Festival of Chocó – IndiAfro (2012), the Cuenta Chocó – Rogerio Velásquez Murillo Corporation (2014), and the Cesar E. Rivas Lara Library (2015). In 2024, he established Librería Bagatá in Quibdó, an independent bookstore specializing in critical social sciences and Afro, Indigenous, and Chocoan literatures—a unique curation in Colombia.

Jhonmer is an experienced researcher, workshop leader, and speaker at national and international conferences on topics including racism, epistemologies of the manigua, epistemic plurality, ethnoeducation, interculturality, literature, language, and Afro, Indigenous, and Chocoan culture. He is a scholar and promoter of the thought of Chocoan intellectual Rogerio Velásquez Murillo, a pioneer of social sciences in Colombia.

As a pioneer of a new epistemic field in the social sciences—epistemologies of the manigua—he received the distinction Summa Cum Laude for his doctoral work. He is the author of Epistemologías de la manigua: genealogía de su esclavización en el Chocó, Colombia (2025).

Chelsea Pérez

Holds a degree in Modern English Language and Literature. By day, she is a bookseller at Casa Bosques; by night, a translator and cultural manager. She has collaborated with PlayStation and Louis Vuitton as a copywriter, coordinated the Index Art Book Fair for several years, and translated children’s literature titles such as El ataque de los bebés alienígenas and Hacer o no hacer pipí (Larousse). For the past year, she has been co-founder and director of Editable Art Book Fair.

Mario Hinojos

(Mazatlán, Mexico, 1982) is a Mexican cultural manager, writer, and communicator, living in Spain since 2007. He has developed his professional career in the cultural sector, focusing on conceptualization, communication, art direction, management, and production, with a strong interest in literature and the publishing world. “I imagine, design, manage, produce, and communicate cultural project ideas linked to thought, creation, research, storytelling, and experiences among people, communities, territories, creators, and audiences.”

He holds a degree in Communication Sciences (Tecnológico de Monterrey) and a Master’s in Historical Culture and Communication (University of Barcelona, 2009). He pursued postgraduate studies in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies (Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2010).

He is the author of the novels Animal doméstico (Penguin Random House / Caballo de Troya, Spain, 2017) and Round de sombra, winner of the Fifth Valladolid National Novel Award of Letters, Mexico (Horson, Mexico, 2009). He has worked as a cultural journalist, producer, and curator.

Currently, he is responsible for content at the cultural management company Trànsit Projectes in Barcelona and oversees the curatorial project #PLANTAUNO, a research center for culture based in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, where he coordinates initiatives including La Universidad des_conocida, the center’s informal academic program. He has also taught in the Master’s program in Cultural Institutions and Business Management at the University of Barcelona IL3.

He has developed various projects related to literature and the book world, including content curation, audiovisual communication, and production. Notable works include Las Bibliotecas, created in collaboration with writer Jorge Carrión for the exhibition A=A, B=B at the Fundación Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, and the documentation and audiovisual production for the exhibition Atlánticas. Una historia de librerías, libros y libreras (Spain and Latin America) at Casa América de Cataluña.

He coordinates and manages El vuelto. Revista, the periodic publication of Mexican writer Juan Pablo Villalobos’ literary workshop. In 2016, he coordinated SEBALDIANA, the magazine for the exhibition Las Variaciones Sebald, in honor of German writer W.G. Sebald, within the Kosmopolis16 Literature Festival. In 2011, he collaborated on the programming of i+C+I at the Lab of the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB).

He was awarded the Montserrat Roig Creation Grant, Barcelona UNESCO City of Literature, in 2022 for completing the forthcoming story collection Dog Women. He was also a finalist for the Cosecha Eñe Prize of the renowned Revista Eñe (La Fábrica, Spain) in 2018 for the story Cosas mudas and received a grant from the Sinaloa State Fund for Art Creators (FOECA, 2011). In 2021, he was ed for the 8th Independent Studies Program at the MACBA (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art).

His texts have appeared in various print and digital magazines, including Revista Otra Parte (Argentina), Revista Mercurio, Revista Eñe, Revista Quimera (Spain), and Noroeste (Mexico).

Àurea Perelló

She holds a degree in Art History and a postgraduate degree in Philosophy and Aesthetics of Contemporary Art. She began working in bookstores during her university years at the Proa Bookstore in the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, an experience that later became her vocation. As an art historian, she has worked as an independent curator in several civic centers in Barcelona and for the Barcelona City Council. Since 2005, she has worked in various bookstores and book-related projects, including Alibri, Bertrand, Casa del Libro, Gremi de Llibreters de Catalunya, Nórdica Libros, and Libelista. She is one of the founding members of the Finestres project and, for the past five years, has served as director of its two Barcelona locations and a third in Palamós, Costa Brava. She is convinced that bookstores are the best spaces to let time pass, to get lost among books, and that they are indispensable in any city that wants to remain vibrant.

Rodnei Casares

Born in Caracas, he is a bookseller, editor, and cultural manager. He started working in a bookstore at the age of 21, almost by chance, and since then has developed a deep passion for the profession. He is co-founder, together with Alberto Sáez, of Libros del Fuego, an independent publishing house originating in Venezuela with a presence in Colombia.

He has promoted projects that strengthen Medellín’s book ecosystem, such as the city’s Bookstore Map, the Bookstore Tour, and the first Antioquia Booksellers School, carried out in collaboration with Marcela Fernández. For several years, he has also directed a bookstore in Medellín that functions as a space for conversation and community. For him, the role of the bookseller is to listen and recommend, to build a bridge between books and readers, and to keep the bookstore alive as a vibrant space in the city.

Carmen Lucía Alvarado

Poet and editor. She was part of the organization of the Quetzaltenango International Poetry Festival with the collectives Ritual and Metáfora. She served as deputy editor of the electronic magazine Luna Park and is the founder of the project Catafixia Editorial. She coordinated the critical anthology El futuro empezó ayer, which highlights new Guatemalan writing (UNESCO–Catafixia Editorial). She has participated in poetry festivals and creative gatherings in Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Spain. Her poems have been included in anthologies and magazines in several countries, in both English and Spanish. In 2020, she was nominated for the Rhysling Award, granted annually by the Science Fiction Poetry Association in the United States. She has published the poetry books Imagen y semejanza (2010), Poetas astronautas (2012), and Edad geológica del miedo (2018), while her books Pangea Muerte and Los seres intermedios are forthcoming. She is the founder of the bookstores Santiaguito Libros in Quetzaltenango and Catafixia Centro in Guatemala City, as well as the Asociación 32 Volcanes.

Verónica Mendoza

Director of the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore at the University of Guadalajara, with over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. During this time, she was part of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL Guadalajara) as Director of Exhibitors and Professionals, where she contributed significantly to the fair’s growth and led the revitalization and consolidation of professional development programs for the sector.

In 2015, she founded Base Tres, a company dedicated to developing the publishing industry. Through this initiative, she has contributed to numerous projects, including the creation of the UNAM International University Book Fair (FILUNI), the management and expansion of the business center at the Panama International Book Fair, advising foreign publishing companies on establishing businesses in Latin America, and the development of publications, growth programs, and consolidation strategies for the University of Guadalajara Press as well as the EULAC Secretariat.

Other activities involving the participant:

Inauguration

Nacho Borraz

Nacho Borraz Fernández (Zaragoza, 1966) holds a degree in Contemporary History from the University of Zaragoza. He began his career as a bookseller at Cálamo Bookstore in Zaragoza and has worked in bookstores for 35 years. He is currently the director of La Central del Raval in Barcelona, part of the La Central bookstore group.

Lluís Agustí Ruiz

Lluís Agustí holds a PhD in Information and Documentation and is an Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona, where he directs the School of Librarianship and coordinates the postgraduate program in Reader Advisory. He is co-principal investigator, together with Professor Pedro Rueda, of the project “Cultural Interferences: Publishing Policies and Book Circulation in the Hispanic Atlantic (1492–1834)”. He is the creator, director, and coordinator of PolDoc Hispánico, an online directory of development policies and management of documentary collections in Spain and Latin America. He has served as library director in Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris, Brussels, and New York. His most recent publications include book chapters: “Exile and Censorship in Catalan Literature after 1939: Some Cases of Rewriting” (with Lluís Quintana, Valencia: Alfons el Magnànim, forthcoming) and “The Publishing Production of Spanish Republican Refugees in Mexico (1936–1956): Reflections on the Characteristics of Their Output and Other Methodological Issues,” in Seminario Interdisciplinario de Bibliología (SIB-IIB-UNAM), Mexico City, 2023. Journal articles include: “The Work of Ernest Guasp and the Mexican Exile,” Migraciones & Exilios. Cuadernos de la Asociación para el Estudio de los Exilios y Migraciones Ibéricos Contemporáneos, 2021; and “Bartomeu Costa-Amic: Between Commitment, Adventure, and Publishing,” Laberintos. Revista de Estudios sobre los Exilios Culturales Españoles, 2021.