From October 16th to 20th, the Frankfurt Book Fair's 76th edition will include a stand showcasing Catalan literature under the slogan Catalonia, Land of Books; Barcelona, City of Literature, and hosting representatives from the publishing and institutional sectors. The stand is one of the initiatives undertaken by the Department of Culture to support the promotion of Catalan literature and advance the internationalisation of the publishing industry.

Next Wednesday, October 16, at 4:00 p.m., the Minister of Culture, Sonia Hernández Almodóvar, will attend a meeting at the stand where she will engage with Catalan publishers and authors who are present at the Fair. Representatives from various organising institutions of the stand and a wide range of international book agents will also participate. The director of the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), Pere Almeda, as well as the director of the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies (ICEC)), Edgar Garcia, will also be attending the meeting.

The stand, organised by Catalan Arts, ICEC’s brand for internationalising Catalan culture, is shared with the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), the Gremi d’Editors de Catalunya (Guild of Editors of Catalonia) and the City of Barcelona. It offers a unified image of the sector and provides professionals with a business space and all the necessary facilities to conduct their activities at the Fair. In addition, it will also bring together representatives of the Associació d’Editors en Llengua Catalana i de l’Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics (Association of Publishers in Catalan Language and the Institute of Balearic Studies).

There are a total of 38 publishers attending the Catalan stand this year, including 9 Grup Editorial, Afaret Editorial, Animallibres, Blackie Books, Club Editor, Edicions Bromera, Editorial Albada, Editorial Base, Editorial Flamboyant, Editorial GG, Editorial Sentir, Editorial Vicens Vives, Eumo Editorial, Flor Edicions, Grup62, La Topera Editorial, L'Art de la Memòria Edicions, Libros del Asteroide, Manifest Llibres, Mosquito Books Barcelona, Moztros Producciones, Norma Editorial, Obrador Editorial, Open Books, Pagès Editors, Plutón Ediciones, Raig Verd Editorial, Shackleton Books, Símbol Editors, Somnins, Takatuka, Tibidabo Edicions, Triangle Books, Vegueta Ediciones, Verso Libros, Vibop Edicions, Voliana Edicions i Zahorí Books.

To increase public awareness during the Fair, ICEC has published a booklet containing all the information of the participating publishers, which will be distributed to accredited professionals.

Besides the publishers accredited to the Catalan stand, up to 20 Catalan publishing groups with their own stand will also attend in Frankfurt, including Editorial Casals, ECC Ediciones, Edebé Educación, Gemser Publications, Grup Planeta, Hoaki Books, Juanito Books, Lecta, Libros del Zorro Rojo, Larousse Editorial, Penguin Random House, Quaderns Crema-Acantilado, RBA, Tusquets Editores and Universitat de Barcelona Edicions among others. Some publishers from Catalonia will also be operating from the Federació de Gremis Editorials d’Espanya's stand (Federation of Spanish Editorial Guilds).

On October 16th, representatives from various Catalan publishers are scheduled to visit the Fair on a trip organised by the Guild of Editors of Catalonia. The purpose of the trip is to provide a space for a series of meetings. On the same day at the stand, the Honourable Minister of Culture, Sonia Hernández, the director of the ICEC, Edgar Garcia, the director of the IRL, Pere Almeda and the President of the Editors' Guild, Patrici Tixis, will hold an institutional reception to the Catalan publishers and foreign representatives in attendance.

Internationalisation of Catalan literature

The Institut Ramon Llull has organised meetings with publishers worldwide to further advance the translation of Catalan literature into different languages, strengthening its position in established markets while also exploring new opportunities in key and emerging countries. The IRL programme supports various international publishing projects by facilitating translation, promotion, and publication of illustrated works. Over the past five years, more than 1,500 translations of original literary works written in Catalan have been published.

In addition to the aforementioned meetings, the IRL collaborates in two events that are part of the programme of parallel activities of the Fair:

• Wednesday, 16 October, at 2.30 p.m., in Hall 3.1. (F122) of the fairgrounds, Kirsten Brandt, a Catalan translator, will participate in the Pro Helvetia cultural foundation's round table event (dubbed “Being part of a large linguistic family – on writing in and translating into/from languages with few speakers”), held in collaboration with the IRL.
• Friday, 18 October, at 6:00 p.m., at the Romanfabrik (Hanauer Landstraße 186, 60314 Frankfurt), the Catalan researcher and writer Ennatu Domingo will talk with her German translator, Michael Ebmeyer, in an event entitled "Wer bist du, wenn du aus zwei Welten kommst?" ("Who are you when you come from two worlds?" The events that promote this translation have received support from the IRL.

The Fair

The Frankfurt Book Fair is an essential event in the annual work calendar of Catalan publishers and other agents in the book production chain. Every year, the Fair attracts over 7,000 companies who showcase their latest publications, and around 80% of all international copyright agreements in the publishing industry are signed during this event. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of professionals from Catalonia. Barcelona accounts for more than 50% of the production and turnover of the publishing industry in Spain.

In the past 22 years, ICEC and IRL have arranged and advertised the participation of our publishers and literature in major international literary events, such as the Guadalajara Book Fair (where Barcelona will be the guest of honour in 2025), the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Salon du Livre in Paris, the Gothenburg Book Fair, the Bologna Book Fair, the Buenos Aires Book Fair, and the London Book Fair. In addition, the Fira d 'Angoulême where Catalan Arts will have a stand from 2025.