The Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurt Buchmesse) returns with a new edition from October 18 to 22. Catalan literature will participate with a stand under the slogan Catalonia, Land of Books; Barcelona, City of Literature. This space to host a representation of the publishing and institutional sector is part of the line of actions by the Department of Culture to promote Catalan literature and the internationalization of the publishing sector.
The stand, organized by Catalan Arts, the brand that impulses the internationalization of the Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies, is shared by the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), the Guild of Publishers of Catalonia, and Barcelona City Council to provide a space to facilitate the visibility and the networking to the Catalan professionals attending the event. The collective pavilion is a meeting point for delegates of the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia, the Institut Ramon Llull, the Barcelona City Council, the Guild of Publishers of Catalonia, the Association of Catalan Language Publishers, and the Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics.
The 37 publishing houses present at the Catalan pavilion at Frankfurt Book Fair 2023 are: 9 Grup Editorial, l’Agulla Daurada, Ara Llibres, Amsterdam, Arcàdia Editorial, Barcanova Editorial, Bellaterra Edicions, Blackie Books, Club Editor, Edicions Bromera, Coco Books, Ediciones La Cúpula, Editorial Flamboyant, Editorial GG, Galaxia Gutenberg, Grup Enciclopèdia, Grup 62, Libros del Asteroide, Libros del Zorro Rojo, La Llibreta Vermella, Manifest Editorial, Ned Ediciones, Norma Editorial, Open Books, Obrador Editorial, Pagès Editors, Raig Verd Editorial, Símbol Editors, Somnins, Tibidado Edicions, Tigre de Paper, La Topera Editorial, El Transbordador, Vegueta Edicions, Vibop Edicions, Voliana Edicions, and Zahorí Books.
The ICEC has published a brochure to provide all the information of the participating publishers to the registered professionals.
Besides the Catalan collective pavilion, 20 publishing groups will participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair with their stand such as Anagrama, Editorial Casals, ECC Ediciones, Edebé Educación, Gemser Publications, Grup Planeta, Hoaki Books, Juanito Books, Lecta, Larousse Editorial, editorial minúscula, Penguin Random House, Quaderns Crema-Acantilado, RBA, and Tusquets Editores, among others. Other Catalan publishers will participate at the Spanish Association of Publishers Guilds (FGEE) pavilion. Also, on October 19, 11 Catalan publishers will attend the Fair on a trip organized by the Editors' Guild of Catalonia. That same day, an institutional reception for the Catalan publishers present as well as foreign representatives will be held at the collective pavilion by the director of the ICEC, Edgar Garcia, the director of the IRL, Pere Almeda, and the President of the Publishers' Guild, Patrici Tixis.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is considered the world's largest trade fair for books and the place to launch the latest news. Taking advantage of this powerful commercial platform, The Ramon Llull Institute has arranged meetings with editors and agents from all over the world to continue its efforts to promote the translation of Catalan literature. Each year, approximately 300 translations of Catalan literature (including literature for children and youth) come out. The IRL supports the international publishing projects through its funding programs for the translation, promotion and publication of illustrated works. IRL also designs specific support programs for literary translators and illustrators and promotes the cooperation between Catalan and international publishers and literary agencies with the Llull Fellowship.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is an indispensable date for Catalan publishers and other actors involved in the book industry. Every year, the Fair reunites over 7,000 companies that present their latest works, and over 80% of the annual licensing rights in the international publishing field signs during these days. In recent years, the presence of Catalan professionals has increased. To be noted that Barcelona represents more than 50% of the production and turnover of the publishing industry in Spain.
For 21 years now, the Institut Ramon Llull and the Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies have been arranging and promoting the representation of the Catalan literature and book industry at the main literary events worldwide, such as Feria del Libro de Guadalajara 2004, Frankfurt Book Fair 2007, Salon du Livre de Paris 2013, Göteborg Book Fair 2014, Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2017, Feria del Libro de Buenos Aires 2019 and recently the Spotlight, Books in Catalan at the London Book Fair last April.
