Overview

• At a press conference in the University of Guadalajara’s Paraninfo, organizers presented the 39th FIL program, set for November 29 to December 7 with Barcelona as guest city under the banner “Vindran les flors.”
• Eduardo Mendoza will open the Salón Literario Carlos Fuentes and receive its medal, while Barcelona’s delegation features 70 writers across genres and generations, with Joan Manuel Serrat slated for a youth conversation event.
• FIL leaders detailed a nine‑day schedule with more than 3,000 activities, around 800 authors from 34 countries, 2,800 publishing houses and 18,000 professionals, including 635 book presentations and 32 prizes and tributes.
• Delegation choices follow stated criteria that excluded last year’s Spanish delegation authors and required Spanish translations for Catalan‑language work, with new versions supported by the Institut Ramon Llull.
• Debate over the roster continues, with writer Ildefonso Falcones alleging political exclusion and the reported withdrawal of Cristina Fernández Cubas, as notable guests such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Amin Maalouf headline the wider program.