The Department of Culture, through the Catalan Institute for Cultural Enterprises (Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals ICEC) and the Ramon Llull Institute (IRL), will once again be present at the London Book Fair, with an institutional stand hosting a total of 18 Catalan publishing houses.
Under the theme 'Catalonia, Land of Books, Barcelona, City of Literature', and with the internationalisation brand of ICEC, Catalan Arts – Books, and the IRL, the stand aims to provide a unified image of the sector and offer professionals a business space where they can carry out their activities at the fair with maximum ease.
In this regard, and for the third consecutive year, the IRL and ICEC are organising a professional match-making programme aimed at bringing Catalan publishers and literary agents together with British and North American publishers to foster new opportunities for the translation of Catalan literature into English. The eight Catalan companies participating this year are: Asterisc Agents, Club Editor, Galaxia Gutenberg, Grup 62, L’Altra Editorial, MB Agencia Literaria, The Foreign Office, and Tigre de Paper.
For the fourth consecutive year, the IRL is hosting a round table on translation: How to Introduce a Classic European Author to the British Publishing Market will take place on 13 March at the Literary Translation Centre. The event will feature contributions from two British publishers, Marigold Atkey (Daunt Books – El temps de les cireres by Montserrat Roig and Viatges i flors and Mirall trencat by Mercè Rodoreda) and Nick Skidmore (Vintage Classics), literary translator Mara Faye Lethem (who has translated key works of modern Catalan literature into English), and writer and translator Daniel Hahn.
The IRL’s Literature Area team will also hold an extensive agenda of meetings with international publishers, during which they will share updates on Catalan literature and available grants for translation and the promotion of translated works.
The 18 Catalan publishing houses present at the stand will be: Ara Llibres / Amsterdam; Barcanova Editorial; Edicions Bromera; Ediciones Minotauro; Editorial Anagrama; Editorial GG; Eva Prenafeta; Galaxia Gutenberg; Grup 62; Hoaki Books; L’Altra editorial; Larousse Editorial; Manifest Llibres / Verso Libros; Obrador Editorial; Quaderns Crema; Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial; Tigre de Paper and Vegueta Ediciones.
The ICEC has prepared an informative leaflet detailing the participating publishers, associations, and institutions, which will be distributed to accredited professionals. Additionally, the Catalan Illustrators Catalogue (Catàleg d’Ilustradores i Il·lustradors de Catalunya) will be available.
On Tuesday, 11 March, at 1:00 p.m., the Government Delegation to the United Kingdom and Ireland, together with ICEC and IRL, will host a networking reception to foster exchanges between the Catalan delegation and international delegates at the fair.
One of the world’s most important publishing events
The London Book Fair is considered the most important spring publishing event on the international editorial calendar. The fair is exclusively professional and specialises in rights sales and content distribution across multiple formats: print, audio, TV, film, and digital. It presents a unique opportunity to explore, understand, and capitalise on the innovations shaping the future of the publishing industry, offering attendees an extensive programme of discussions on key issues affecting the book industry.
The participation of Catalan publishers and literary agents at the fair aligns with the Department of Culture’s efforts to promote Catalan literature and internationalise Catalan publishers. With this objective, the ICEC and IRL regularly attend major professional events in the publishing sector, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair (Germany), the Guadalajara International Book Fair (Mexico), the Bologna Children's Book Fair (Italy), the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, and the London Book Fair (United Kingdom).
The IRL supports the global expansion of Catalan literature by funding translations of Catalan works into other languages. In 2024, the Literature Area achieved a record 579 grants awarded for translation, illustrated works, promotion, editorial production, author mobility, promotional materials, and translator residencies.
Among the priority objectives for 2025 is the increase in both the quantity and quality of translations, with a special focus on poetry, dramatic texts, and classic literature, through specific programmes and funding schemes. Additionally, ongoing training and support for Catalan literary translators will be reinforced. Another key focus will be boosting the number of translations of Catalan literature into different varieties of Spanish, particularly through Latin American publishers, in a crucial year when Barcelona will be the official guest city at the Guadalajara International Book Fair.
