Starting this April 19 and until May 2, the Bogotá International Book Fair (Filbo) returns in person, after a long pause due to the pandemic.
In an interview with Portafolio, Emiro Aristizábal, executive president of the Colombian Book Chamber, He pointed out that for this year they expect to receive more than 600,000 visitors, and exceed the number reported during 2019.
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“After two years of absence, we are sure that the readers are waiting for this reunion, that is why we are going to live a fair as we remembered it, the 53,000 square meters of the fairgrounds will be occupied with more than 500 exhibitors, including publishers, distributors and booksellers to offer their catalogs with the novelties of the sector”, said Aristizábal.
As for the cultural, professional and academic agenda, Aristizábal specified that it will be made up of more than 1,600 events that will take place inside and outside the fairgrounds. In addition, the Filbo will have 30 invited countries for this year in which South Korea, guest of honor, stands out.
“For 14 days, in addition to meeting with the authors in talks, workshops and book signings, they will be able to learn about and get closer to the culture of the Republic of Korea, a country recognized as an economic and technological power, which will present its culture and editorial production, thanks to joint work with Colombian publishers. For the publishing sector, the presence of Korean books and authors is an opportunity to open this market to the other side of the world”, added Aristizábal.
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Among the participants that the guest of honor country will bring are: the former Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon; Professor Guho Cho, who translated literature books from Latin America into Korean such as ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ and ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’; Chung Kwanghoon, GNSM Scientific Exploration Team Leader; the painting teacher Dulce Olivia Ferreira Santiago; among other personalities.
Industry overview
Although the fair constitutes a boost for distributors and booksellers, who welcome the arrival of new literary proposals and best sellers for this year, the truth is that the panorama of the sector in terms of its sales begins to reflect increases in books of up to 20%.
According to Tomás David Rubio, president of the Board of Directors of the Colombian Association of Booksellers (Acli), on average there have been increases in the price of copies of between 10% and 20%.
“The beginning of the year is slow in sales, and this year has not been the exception. However, there are suppliers that have raised the prices of books, which has led to them increasing by 10%, 15% and in many cases up to 20%. This has been seen above all in the books that are imported from Spain, Argentina and Mexico, as they state that increases in the exchange rate, whether it is the dollar or the euro, affect final prices,” Rubio said.
Likewise, Rubio highlighted that the pandemic helped many independent bookstores in the country open up to sell through digital channels, such as social networks and even WhatsApp, “which has continued to be maintained.”
“Let’s say that there is currently a positive stabilization of sales, the reactivation has allowed bookstores to welcome their customers again, while digital channels continue to be an important complement to sales,” he said.
For his part, Juan José Daza, regional director of the Buscalibre platform for Latin America, stressed that inflation would be another factor that has influenced the rise in book prices.
“Definitely, the production of physical books has been impacted by inflation and by the shortage of raw materials and logistical problems worldwide. Particularly in Colombia, books have had an increase in prices that can even exceed 20%, in some cases. In fact, the costs have grown even more, causing some publishers, and even bookstores, to assume part of these costs to ensure that the impact on the final reader is as little as possible”, Daza pointed out.
Frente a date, the Buscalibre platform highlighted that Colombians currently read 2.7 books a year, a figure that has increased compared to previous years. “From the platform we sell around 72,000 books per month. We closed 2021 with almost 900,000 copies sold, 28% more than in 2020, a growth that we also expect for this year,” added Daza.
The expected talks
Among the most anticipated conversations, the following stand out:
– Writing, dreams and reality: the Cartarescu universe. Mircea Cartarescu talks with Santiago Gamboa. Saturday April 23; 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
From literature to theater: Camila Sosa and Gabriela Wiener. Moderator: Giuseppe Caputo. Thursday, April 21, 6:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
– Conversation with JJ Benítez and his biographer, Antonio Erazo. They talk with Camilo Hoyos. Saturday April 23.
JOHANA LORDUY
Journalist Portfolio
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