The Book Fair, reading Festival

Buenos Aires Dresses Up

All lovers of literature know that the Book Fair, as it has come to be popularly called, gets hold of Buenos Aires during April.

Like every year, the International Book Fair becomes a small city within the big city, fully dressed in books, colors, publishing houses, old and new writers, fanatic readers and many other beginners who come along to see what this is about.

Even if the essence of the Fair does not change, in this opportunity, unlike previous issues, more exhibition rooms will be presented. Specifically, a new wing called “ocher” has enlarged the total surface of the venue, which includes five rooms for conferences and lectures. Thus, the ocher wing joins the blue, yellow, white and red wings.

Books without Frontiers

In addition to being a cultural event, the Fair is also a good business opportunity for publishing houses and, in this case, both purposes are perfectly combined.

The idea of reaching the heart of the readers by the publishing houses present at the event is experienced at every minute, as ever since the first issues of the Fair, authors and writers have contact with the public.

An encounter between translators and editors from America and Europe, under the name of “Editors’ Week in Buenos Aires”, is one of the alternatives of this event. Likewise, there is a cycle of courses and seminars on various national and international writers, such as: J.R.Tolkien, Juan José Saer and Mujica Láinez. And poetry will also have its own role in its Second International Festival.

New and old authors, in addition to the classics, such as Borges, García Márquez (who turned 80 this year) and Cortázar, who are also present, will take care of the spirit of good literature. A word that in April is breathed at every stall, at every corridor and even at every coffee-shop near Italia Square, when the books have arrived in the famous Rural venue.


The Fair Motto

From the very start, in 1975, the Fair has had various mottos to focus on discussions and topics.

In this 42th issue, the motto of the fair will be ’A Future with Books’ and, in addition to lecturers, exhibitors, writers and readers, books will be signed in one of the most typical rituals in the Fair, in which the authors themselves turn up at the stands to sign their work and make contact with readers.