The Guadalajara International Book Fair, known as Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (FIL), is the largest Spanish-language book fair in the world. Held every year in Mexico, it begins at the end of November and runs for nine days into early December. Book industry professionals, such as publishers, distributors, and librarians, participate in the commercial and cultural activities of the book trade (it’s not just buying and selling books). FIL is also open to the public.
I attended the Guadalajara International Book Fair in both 2024 and 2023 as a professional librarian through the American Library Association (ALA). Therefore, this guide will largely be through the lens of a librarian from the United States.
A Brief History of the Guadalajara International Book Fair
The book fair was founded in 1987 by the University of Guadalajara and Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (FIL). It’s held in Expo Guadalajara, an exposition center of over 117,000 square meters.
Since 1993, FIL has named a country or region as a Guest of Honor. This provides the Guest of Honor an opportunity to showcase its literary and cultural achievements through programs, exhibitions, and activities. Spain was this year’s honoree.
FIL also presents literary awards each year:
- FIL Literary Award in Roman Languages (founded in 1991, recognizes the lifetime achievement of an author)
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Literary Prize (created in 1993, recognizes an important novel written in Spanish by a female author)
- Publishing Merit Award (founded 1993, awarded to editors)
- Fernando Benitez National Cultural Journalism Tribute
- ArpaFIL Prize (recognizes a young architect’s contribution to architecture and urban planning)
- Tribute to a Bibliophile (created 2001)
- Tribute to a Librarian (created 2002)
What’s It Like at the Guadalajara International Book Fair?
Set-up
The Guadalajara International Book Fair is massive. Publishers and distributors are exhibitors, meaning they have booths set up throughout the expo center. There are so many booths, each filled with so many books. They’re arranged into several areas:
- Área de editoriales independientes / Independent Publishers Area
- Área de editoriales universitarias / University Presses Area
- Libro académico y especializado / Academic and Specialized Books
- Área de libro infantil y juvenil / Children’s Books Area
- Área internacional / International Area (publishers from Latin America, Spain, and non-Spanish-speaking countries)
- Área nacional / National Area (Mexico)
Other spaces of note include:
- Centro de Negocios para Profesionales / Professionals’ Business Center – 1,700 square feet area reserved for professionals to conduct business meetings, get access to wi-fi, and store materials.
- FIL Niños / FIL Children – an area specifically set aside for children between the ages of 3-12. When the kiddos are in there, no adults allowed.
The Expo also has several places to eat, including a couple of restaurants as well as small cafes for beverages and snacks. This is muy importante because you will get hungry if you’re buying books all day. Just walking around the extensive fair is enough to work up an appetite.
Who Attends?
Book industry professionals attend FIL, but the fair is also open to the public for a small fee. So, if you happen to be in Guadalajara in late November/early December, I highly recommend it. You don’t have to be a librarian or in the book industry to attend.
FIL is an amazing example of “build it and they will come.” It’s wonderful to witness what feels like all of Guadalajara descending on the fair. Books fly off the shelves. Long lines form at the checkout. Children plead with their parents to buy them just one more book. It’s a beautiful thing.
Since this year’s fair ended in early December, the stats are in. The numbers clearly show how popular the Guadalajara International Book Fair is.
In 2024, there were 2,763 publishers and 64 countries represented.1 The publishers ranged from large publishing houses like Grupo Planeta, Penguin Random House Grupo, and Océano de México to smaller groups like Artes de México. Many of the countries represented were from Latin America, but also non-Spanish speaking countries like Italy and Turkey.
This year, 18,100 book professionals attended FIL, as well as 907,300 members of the public. 194, 239 children participated in FIL Niño. There were also 849 registered media outlets and 2,714 registered journalists.2
Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Things to Do at the Guadalajara International Book Fair
The primary thing to do at the Guadalajara International Book Fair is to buy books! You can buy right then and there. In addition to cash, most exhibitors take credit cards and purchase orders. If you’re a librarian buying large quantities, see my tips and tricks below.
There are also a lot of activities at FIL. In 2024, there were 632 book presentations, 263 literary forums, 106 academic forums, 92 artistic and musical events, 210 professional activities, and 21 prizes and tributes.3 Additionally, if you’re a professional librarian, you may be invited to FIL-related breakfasts, brunches, cocktails, and dinners.
With so much going on, you have to be choosy in what you attend. In almost every booth, multiple times a day, the workers informed me that so-and-so author was going to be presenting their book with a signing. There was no way I could attend most of them, so if that’s something that interests you, prioritize your time.
Types of Books
You may be wondering what kinds of books are for sale at FIL.
The answer is all kinds of books.
As I mentioned above, the fair is divided into several areas, which give you an idea of the types of books available. There are children’s books for all ages, including board and pop-up books. There are Young Adult (YA) and adult books. You’ve got academic books, fiction, non-fiction, classics, historical fiction, romance, self-help, graphic novels, horror (they love Stephen King in Mexico!), true crime, and the list goes on.
There are books originally written in Spanish, books that have been translated into Spanish from other languages, and bilingual books. There are books in other languages in the international area, such as Turkish, Italian, English, and German.
There are books galore for every age group and interest.
Tips and Tricks for Librarians
If you’re a fellow librarian, here are some tips and tricks to help you navigate FIL.
1. Prepare to be overwhelmed
There are so many publishers, so many booths, so many books, so many events, so many people. It’s just the nature of FIL.
The expo is huge, and you will get lost. The exhibitors’ map is your friend.
2. Prioritize your time
Exhibitor/publisher catalogs are available to browse before you get there, so you can form a game plan of which booths to check out. You can even peruse the latest titles from these catalogs to form a “hit list” of books to acquire. As a member of ALA (more on that below), you get a lot of swag and informational materials to help you prepare.
If you’re interested in attending any of the events, be sure to pick up the program listing everything happening at FIL. You can also ask the workers at each booth for any scheduled book presentations.
3. Staff in the booths are your friends
Can’t find a book on your list? Want to see the newest titles? Or just want some recommendations? Ask the workers in the booths, they’re very knowledgeable, especially about best sellers.
4. Do your buying on professional days
There are 3 days when the fair is open exclusively to professionals. This is the time to buy. When the fair is open to the public, it‘s very crowded and becomes difficult to work. Staff are less available to help you because they’re serving the public.
There’s one upside to working when FIL is open to the public. You can observe what people are buying. I’m not kidding when I say that books fly off the shelves. If you see teens all going for one display, that’s a popular book, and you should probably consider buying it for your YA collection.
5. Buying and Shipping
The following depends on your library’s budget, method of payment, and whether you’re working with a distributor or dealer.
- In addition to cash, most vendors accept credit cards and purchase orders. If you’re using a distributor, you’ll be placing orders through their system.
- You can buy books on the spot. To get them back home, bring an extra suitcase or backpack with you. If you’re buying large quantities, there’s a shipping service located inside the Expo. Boxes are available.
- If you’re working with a distributor or dealer, they will order the materials for you and deliver them to your library after the fair.
6. Take a cab
I highly recommend taking a cab to and from the Expo as a safety precaution. Ask one of the hotel employees to get you a cab to FIL. When you’re done for the day, there is usually a line of cabs waiting outside the Expo to take you back. You can also use Uber in Guadalajara – it’s a safe alternative.
7. Do I need to speak Spanish?
As a library professional, you may be wondering if you have to speak Spanish to attend the Guadalajara International Book Fair. While I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary, it’s very beneficial to have at least some basic Spanish under your belt.
While a lot of the professionals and publishers speak English, many don’t. Many of the workers in the booths, as well as cab drivers, also don’t speak English. Your experience will be easier and more enriching if you can converse, even brokenly, in Spanish. With that said, I’ve encountered a few American librarians over the past 2 years who don’t speak Spanish, and I think they fared just fine.
Guadalajara International Book Fair FIL-ALA Free Pass Program
If you’re a librarian based in the United States and would like to attend the Guadalajara International Book Fair, I recommend applying to the FIL-ALA Free Pass Program.
The FIL-ALA Free Pass program provides support to 150 librarians who work in Spanish language collection development. Public, academic, and school librarians are encouraged to apply. Applicants must have a personal membership through ALA.
The program provides you with 3 nights of hotel accommodation for singles and 5 nights for doubles, free breakfast, FIL registration, $100 towards airfare, and an additional $100 or 1800 pesos of spending money to the first 100 applicants who submit a copy of their airfare confirmation.
ALA also provides you with swag and informational materials. They have an ALA Orientation on the first night and a lovely gala dinner with mariachi music.
The Guadalajara International Book Fair is an amazing professional experience. Even if you aren’t a librarian, I highly recommend a visit if you’re traveling to Guadalajara because it’s truly a book lover’s dream.
Footnotes
- Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, “La FIL en números.” ↩︎
- Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, “La FIL en números.” ↩︎
- Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, “La FIL en números.” ↩︎
Bibliography & Further Reading
American Library Association. “Celebrate the Guadalajara International Book Fair with ALA-FIL FREE PASS Program.” American Library Association. Accessed December 14, 2024.
Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara y Universidad de Guadalajara. Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara. Accessed December 16, 2024.
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