Guadalajara International Book Fair

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Annual International Booksellers Forum - Meeting of Ibero-American Independent Bookstores and Publishers: “Otra Mirada”

Activities for Professionals
Annual International Booksellers Forum - Meeting of Ibero-American Independent Bookstores and Publishers: “Otra Mirada”
Opening Ceremony

Activities for Professionals
Annual International Booksellers Forum - Meeting of Ibero-American Independent Bookstores and Publishers: “Otra Mirada”

Two Shores, One Ocean, Multiple Accents

On the occasion of Spain being the Guest of Honor at the Guadalajara International Book Fair 2024, the 5th International Booksellers Forum and the 6th Meeting of Ibero-American Independent Bookstores and Publishers, "Another Perspective," will be held jointly. These two internationally renowned professional events are key references for the book sector in Spain and Latin America.

The dual event, organized by Librería Carlos Fuentes, the Guadalajara International Book Fair, the University of Guadalajara Press, and Librería Cálamo, is sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. It aims to analyze the current state of editorial relationships between Mexico, Spain, and Latin America, glimpse their future, and contribute to the creation of permanent networks for cultural, social, and economic collaboration.

The events will take place from December 1 to 3, 2024, as part of the FIL Guadalajara professional program, and will feature debate panels, conferences, workshops, and networking opportunities.

Participants: Verónica Mendoza, Armando Montes de Santiago, María José Gálvez

Verónica Mendoza

She is the director of the Carlos Fuentes Library at the University of Guadalajara, with over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. During this time, she was part of the FIL Guadalajara as the director of exhibitors and professionals. In this role, she significantly contributed to the growth of the fair, especially in the international arena, and led the consolidation of various programs for the professional development of the sector.

In 2015, she founded Base Tres, a company dedicated to developing book-related projects, from which she has contributed to various areas of the sector. Her work includes the creation of the International University Book Fair of UNAM (FILUNI), managing the business center of the International Book Fair of Panama, and advising foreign publishing companies on entering the Latin American market. She has also participated in coordinating several publications and collaborating on growth programs for the University of Guadalajara Publishing House and the Association of University Publishers of Latin America.

Since 2020, she has been involved in different initiatives to enhance the visibility and role of bookstores, such as the creation of the Latin American Network of Independent Bookstores.

Other activities involving the participant:
Innovation and success: How digital books impact bookstore sales

Armando Montes de Santiago

For the past 18 years, she has worked on the organizing committee of the FIL, where she was responsible for international sales for many years. She is currently in charge of the General Coordination of Exhibitors and Professionals, as well as other important projects for the FIL, such as the Comic + Graphic Novel Hall and Books to Taste.

Other activities involving the participant:
Opening Ceremony
Opening Ceremony
Opening Ceremony
Presentation of: Foráneo
Presentation of the Pura Pinche Fortaleza Graphic Novel Award

María José Gálvez

Invitado de Honor

(Valencia, 1975) She is currently the general director of Books, Comics, and Reading at the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Government of Spain, where she has the following duties: develop and implement plans, programs, and actions to promote and disseminate literary creation and translation, with specific measures for the comic medium; enhance the development of the publishing industry and the preservation of bibliodiversity and linguistic plurality; and foster the promotion of reading in all areas, particularly through library coordination, contributing to the balanced and innovative development of libraries in their public role.

Among other roles, she is a member of the boards of the National Library of Spain, the Max Aub Foundation, the Francisco Brines Foundation, and the María Zambrano Foundation. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Cervantes Institute.

She has a PhD in Law from the Universidad de Valencia (with predoctoral research stays at Harvard University, the University of Pisa, and the Free University of Brussels), and she is an expert in Constitutional Law, having completed a specialization course at the Center for Political and Constitutional Studies in Madrid. She has been an associate professor of Constitutional Law at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and a tutor-professor at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC).

She was the editorial director of Tirant lo Blanch Publishing for several years, and also coordinated the editorial production of the Tirant group in various Spanish-speaking countries.

In the institutional field, she served as deputy director of the Office of the President of the Congress of Deputies and as an advisor in various offices of the First Vice Presidency of the Government.