More than a book sale, the International Book Fair in Guatemala (Filgua) has become a meeting space between readers, bookstores and publishers, but also a platform for writers who find there the ideal place to present their works.
Just as the number of visitors to the fair increases each year, reflecting a growing interest in reading, so does the number of writers who respond to the internal call to write and publish.
César Medina, president of the Guild of Editors of Guatemala, the organizing entity of Filgua, explained that this year they received around 240 requests for book presentations and that, thanks to the special room for national authors that the fair will have, they have managed to include more than 200.
“Sometimes it is difficult to find a bookstore or a cultural center where you can make a presentation, either because of costs or because, in the midst of so many titles, one more book is not always attractive. But the fair gives them that opportunity to make their work visible. Many people hope to have their book ready to present it at Filgua, because it is the most important cultural and book event in Guatemala,” he adds.
In this line of promotion of national literature, each year the fair presents a list of special guests, among whom are prominent national authors:
- Adolfo Mendez Vides
- Francisco Pérez de Anton
- Edgar Ortiz
- Jay Sandoval
- Negma Coy
- Denise Phe-Funchal
- Nicté Serra
- Brenda Solis-Fong
- Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj
- Guisela Lopez
- Vania Vargas
- Carolina Escobar Sarti
“For around 12 years I participated in Filgua as a book seller, because I worked at Editorial Cultura as a proofreader and editor. So, during those two weeks we also had to sell books. Therefore, Filgua has been an inevitable place for me for many years and I have had a constant relationship with the fair in many ways,” says Vania Vargas, one of the national authors invited this year.
The writer also recalled that she has presented some of her works in different editions and that this year she will also do so with By compass a clockan illustrated poetry book, as well as with Gossip around the life and work of Alfonso Quijada Uríasa Salvadoran author whom Vargas addresses along with Alfonso Fajardo.
“Many publishing projects, large and small, or those that manage to make room for themselves, have the possibility of exhibiting their work. (…) For me, Filgua represents a celebration of books, and it seems important to me because it gives its place to this object that is still strange within a society like ours,” he adds.
For her part, Carolina Escobar Sarti, who is also on the list of special guests at Filgua 2026, has not presented her books at the fair, but she has participated in activities that promote, precisely, the works of her Guatemalan colleagues.
“I’m going to be at various activities: tributes, talks, congresses within the framework of the fair and interviews. One of the ones that excites me most is the presentation of the book by Inés, a young woman who started writing at the age of nine. I love encouraging young people who write. I have always thought that you have to pass the baton, continue chaining words and thoughts. The new avant-gardes have to break with the previous and find their own voice,” says Escobar.
The writer also makes an analogy of what Filgua represents for the authors with what Tibet conceives as “prayer mills.”
“I feel that Filgua is like one of those windmills: a wheel that turns our words and our intention to build ourselves from there, to write about our worlds and, in my case, my commitment to a Guatemala that still has a long way to go, especially thinking about the new generations,” he explains.
Publishers have also witnessed the boost that Filgua has given to national authors in its almost 23 editions. Irene Piedrasanta, director of Editorial Piedra Santa, says that they have participated since the first edition of the fair and assures that the dates on which it is held are ideal for launches.
“International fairs are the most important moments for launches. For us, as editors, and also for the authors we publish, Filgua works as a driving platform,” he adds.
Like every year, they will present new books and relaunch already published texts. Among them stands out Umbrellaa bilingual Kaqchikel edition by Elena Arévalo Melville, a Guatemalan who emigrated from Guatemala around the age of 23 and has developed in England as an author and illustrator of children’s literature.
“Book presentations have grown year after year in Filgua: in 2023 there were 98 presentations; in 2024, 120; in 2025, 159; and in 2026, there will be 219. (…) It is an interesting opportunity not only for bookstores, but also for authors, because they can make themselves known and keep their work current,” concludes Piedrasanta.
And, speaking of bookstores, they also find in the fair an important space to promote works by national and foreign authors, even those that are out of the ordinary, such as comics.
“For us it represents something very exciting, because all kinds of people visit us at Filgua: we have had clients from the age of four, whose parents want them to start reading something appropriate for their age, to 70-year-old people who are surprised to see that comics are still produced,” says Josué Méndez, from the Kirby Store, where he offers comics and graphic novels.
Although Guatemalan production in this area is small, there are some comics that have stood out, such as Mayacanby Érick Valéz, and Yun Yun and Nuki, Paranormal Exterminatorsby Frobeg.
“We try to offer comics at Filgua as cheaply as possible, at Q5, although sometimes we lose; but the important thing is that all children can take something. It’s not just about selling, but about people being able to leave the fair with a book or comic,” says Méndez.
The International Book Fair in Guatemala will be held from July 7 to 19, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., at Fórum Majadas, zone 11 of Guatemala City, where 667 activities for all ages will take place.
Tickets can be purchased through Eticket at a cost of Q5 per person. Children under 12 years old will enter for free.
