Chile to be Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2027
Official agreement signed today in Santiago, Chile / “Through the clear skies of literature” will be the motto of the Guest of Honour presentation
Santiago / Frankfurt, 1 December 2023 – The Guest of Honour for Frankfurter Buchmesse 2027 has been decided: Chile will present its literature and culture as the guest country of the 79th book fair (6-10 October 2027). Today, Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Director Juergen Boos and the Chilean Minister of Culture Carolina Arredondo Marzán signed the official agreement in the country’s capital Santiago.
The first market focus of Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour programme in 1976 was “Latin America”. Chile will be the fourth Latin American country to showcase its literature and culture as the book fair’s guest country, following the Guest of Honour presentations by Mexico (1992), Brazil (1994 and 2013) and Argentina (2010).
“I am very much looking forward to Chile being Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour”, said Juergen Boos. “We will not only learn more about Chile’s vivid and young publishing scene and discover new literary voices, but also delve into the literary worlds of renowned writers such as Pablo Neruda, Isabel Allende and Roberto Bolaño. Chilean book illustrations, which have been internationally recognised with numerous awards, will also be highlighted.” Regarding the motto of the Guest of Honour presentation Boos added: “Those who have already been to Chile will be familiar with the breathtaking, wide and clear star-strewn sky, as we can see it over the Atacama desert. I am very excited that the Guest of Honour will be taking up this image, showing us how the sky and the stars tell their own stories and have an influence on and can be connected to Chilean creativity and literature.”
Carolina Arredondo Marzán said: “We are deeply thankful to have been chosen as the Guest of Honour for the 2027 edition of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the most storied, influential and reputable of its kind in the world. Headlining the fair is a great opportunity to show the world the vitality, originality and beauty of Chile's literature, as well as the resourcefulness of the many publishing houses that help the new literary voices find their audiences. As President Gabriel Boric said, to invest in culture is to invest in a better world. He took it upon himself to make this happen, and we thank him for it”.
About Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour programme
Since 1976 Frankfurter Buchmesse has hosted Guest of Honour presentations. Initially, they took place every two years and alternated with thematic focuses. Since 1988, a different country or region has presented its literature and culture in Frankfurt each year. For the Guest of Honour the presentation is important on two levels: in addition to the great attention paid to its literature and culture, which are presented in exhibitions and a wide-ranging programme of cultural events, its publishing and creative industries have the opportunity to present themselves to an international audience at the world’s largest book fair.
An important aim of the Guest of Honour programme is to increase the number of translations from the guest country into German and other languages. The great public interest shown in the Guest of Honour at the book fair is also an incentive for publishers worldwide to publish titles from the respective host country. In this way, Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Guest of Honour programme promotes the international trade in licenses and the international transfer of literature.
The Guest of Honour of the upcoming Frankfurter Buchmesse (16-20 October 2024) is Italy. In 2025, the Philippines will be Guest of Honour, followed by the Czech Republic in 2026. The spectrum of previous guests ranges from regions and countries such as New Zealand, Flanders and the Netherlands, Norway, Lithuania, India and Indonesia.
More information about the Guest of Honour programme: https://www.buchmesse.de/en/highlights/guest-honour