At Liber (Madrid) 2021. Image: Liber
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
A Professional Program Focus on Children’s Literature
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the Liber series of book fairs and trade shows in Spain—Feria internacional del libro—is the program that alternates its venue each year between Barcelona and Madrid.
This year, the show is to be held in Madrid, and the Federación de Gremios de Editores de España (the Federation of Publishers’ Guilds of Spain, FGEE) has announced that its dates are set for October 4 to 6, be staged by Ifema Madrid.
Today (May 24), the program has announced that Poland will be guest of honor in the 2023 event, with Spain’s Book Institute and the Polish Institute of Culture collaborating on “a special joint initiative to disseminate and promote Polish publishing in Spain.”
As part of the effort, the Polish pavilion is to feature as many as 20 Polish publishers’ participation, along with a professional program of presentations and debates focused on children’s literature.
The Polish Book Institute will, of course, play a role in the programming, in collaboration with the Polish Institute of Culture in Madrid.
In its media messaging today, the Spanish association says, “This tribute to Poland is part of the joint efforts of the fair and the Federation of Publishers’ Guilds to strengthen the internationalization of the book sector and to establish closer cultural and commercial relations with markets of great potential for our country.”
Poland is to have a stand of some 120 square meters (1,291 square feet), to have the space needed to show the work of the participating publishers. Space will also be on the stand for meetings, of course.
Among topics—including discussions of issues faced by publishers in both Latin America and Spain—there also will be an emphasis on the development of children’s literature, “bookstart” educational programs, and new developments in the pertinent markets. There will also be a tour of new Polish books.
Liber will also be presenting its offer for translators and publishers at this, the 41st edition of the show.
Organizers expect to create what they describe as “a complete representation of publishing companies and entities, distributors, literary agents, multimedia, suppliers, professional associations, service companies, etc., becoming a complete showcase of current publishing production and a focus of attraction for authors, booksellers, illustrators, and other actors in the sector.”
We’ll have more information as it becomes available from Madrid.
One-on-one meetings at Liber Madrid in 2021. Image: Liber
More from Publishing Perspectives on Feria international del Libro is here, more on the Spanish market is here, while more on the international Spanish-language markets is here. and more from Publishing Perspectives on book-to-film and words-to-screen adaptation development is here.