By Helen Gregg

The Frankfurt Book Fair announced today that Brazil will be the fair’s Guest of Honor in 2013.

The Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest publishing trade show in the world, selects a Guest of Honor for each year’s fair to bring worldwide attention to publishing in that country. About the selection, Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, cited the many classic and contemporary Brazilian authors who had not been published enough in Germany, and that there was some definite catching up to do. While influential authors like Patricia Melo, Bernardo Carvalho, Milton Hatoum, and Paulo Lins have been translated into German, other classic writers like Adriana Lisboa, Joao Paulo Cuenca, and Santiago Nazarian remain undiscovered.

Brazilian Cultural Minister Juca Ferreira was very pleased with the announcement. He said that his country’s selection was not only an important opportunity for the Brazilian publishing industry, but an opportunity for cultural dialogue between Brazil and the rest of the world.

The Brazilian publishing industry is characterized by a high degree of professionalism and translation activity. Around 45,000 titles are published annually. The Brazilian book market is also special in its high degree of autonomy -– while Latin America seems to be influenced by the Spanish book market, the Brazilian book market is by and large independent of the Portuguese publishing houses.

Brazil was also the Guest of Honor in 1994. This year’s fair, held on October 6-10, will honor Argentina.

Image: Flickr gaby_bra