
The University of Guadalajara, through a project created by the Environmental Sciences Museum as part of the University’s Cultural Center, and with the support of the Guadalajara International Book Fair, has established the José Emilio Pacheco City and Nature Award. The prize, which will be given for the first time this year, will be dedicated to poetry. The winning author, who must write in Spanish and have at least ten unpublished poems or poems published in the last five years that are related to nature, urban sustainability, socio-ecological harmony and environmental conservation, will be given a purse of US $10,000. The award is dedicated to poet José Emilio Pacheco, whose work explores the duality between cities and nature.

Created by the University of Guadalajara, and with the collaboration of the National Institute for Indigenous Languages, the Culture Ministry, the National Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Cultures and Jalisco’s Department of Education, the American Indigenous Literature Award is granted to enrich, protect and promote the legacy and richness of Mexico’s indigenous peoples through literature in all its forms, and to and acknowledge and further develop the careers and works of indigenous authors. The award, which carries a purse of US $25,000, will be given for the fourth time at the 2016 FIL Guadalajara.

The SM Ibero-American Award for Literature for Children and Young People was implemented in 2005, the year of Ibero-American literature, with the goal of promoting literature for children and young people throughout Ibero-America. The award is given out each year during the Guadalajara International Book Fair to recognize writers of literature for children and young people and carries a purse of US $30,000.

With the goal of creating a network that helps to encourage the work of illustrators of books for children and young people in Ibero-America, the SM Foundation and the FIL Guadalajara invites illustrators to submit their work to be included in the Annual Ibero-American Illustration Catalog. The 45 works selected will be displayed in an exposition at the Guadalajara International Book Fair. In addition, illustrators will have the opportunity to work on an illustrated book with Ediciones SM and the winner will be given US $5,000. You can find more information at: www.iberoamericailustra.com
Program Search
Annual International Booksellers Forum
FIL Professionals
Annual International Booksellers Forum
Cities that celebrate books and readers: Sant Jordi, orchids, spring, and more…
FIL Professionals
Annual International Booksellers Forum
Cities that celebrate books and readers: Sant Jordi, orchids, spring, and more…
There are cities we cannot imagine without picturing a silhouette on the subway holding a book, or streets filled with people carrying bags overflowing with books, or lines of children and adults visiting a library, and families spending the day in the park surrounded by books. This panel presents various cases and approaches (from bookselling, to public, private, or community management) of what, for many of us, can be considered paradise.
Participants: Éric del Arco, Manuel Retamal, Imelda Martorell
Moderator: Alejandra Soriano

Éric del Arco
Invitado de HonorBorn 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).
Sunday November 30
18:00 to 19:00
Librería Carlos Fuentes, Centro Cultural Universitario