Frankfurt Book Fair: Guest of Honour 2010 Argentina

06 to 10 October 2010. Argentina will present itself as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2010. In the same year the country celebrates the bicentennial of their declaration of independence.

Juergen Boos, the director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said he was very glad to have a South American country as Guest of Honour once again after Mexico in 1992 and Brazil in 1994.

Argentina has a long literary tradition and a fascinating, lively cultural scene. The international figureheads of Argentinian literature are Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) and Julio Cortázar (1914–1984), and many great literary talents can be found in contemporary literature. Argentina’s literary scene is currently known as the most vibrant in Latin America.

Argentina in Leipzig:

This year´s Guest of Honour Argentina starts its programme at the Book Fair in Leipzig. Be our guest at the readings and further events!

THURSDAY, 18th MARCH

1) Press Conference: “Argentina Guest of Honour in Frankfurt Book Fair”
Place: Argentine stand
Time: 10.30 to 11.30 a.m.

2) Round table: “Fiction: an inquest into the present”
Place: Bookfair Forum
Time: 4.00 to 5.00 p.m.
Participants: Tununa Mercado & Carlos Gamerro

3) Reading event: “New Argentine Poetry”
Place: Café Rico
Time: 8.00 to 9.00 p.m.
Organisers: COFRA & CHRISTIAN LUX publisher

FRIDAY, 19th MARCH

1) Round Table: “Stories from the Exile”
Place: Argentine stand
Time: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
Participants: Tununa Mercado & Laura Alcoba

2) “Argentina reads: Pablo Ramos”
Place: Latin American stand
Time: 3.00 to 4.00 p.m.
Introduced by: Carlos Gamerro

3) “Argentine Evening: Music & Literature”
Place: Tangomanie
Time: 9.00 p.m.
• Readings of some Argentine authors hosted by Wagenbach Publisher
• Luis Stazo´s introduction

SATURDAY, 20th MARCH

1) “Reading event: Félix Bruzzone”
Place: Argentine stand
Time: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
Participant: Félix Bruzzone
Introduced by: Pablo Ramos

2) “Argentina reads: Laura Alcoba”
Place: Latin American stand
Time: 1.00 to 2.00 p.m.
Introduced by: Carlos Gamerro

3) “Reading event: Selection of Borges poems”
Place: Café Rico
Time: 8.00 to 9.00 p.m.

SUNDAY, 21st MARCH

1) “Reading event: Norah Lange”
Place: Argentine stand
Time: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
Introduced by: Carlos Gamerro
Together with LILIENFEL Verlag

2) Round Table: Memory and fiction in Argentine literature
Place: Bookfair Forum
Time: 2.00 to 3.00 p.m.
Participants: Laura Alcoba and Félix Bruzzone

3) “Reading event: Carlos Gamerro”
Place: Café Rico
Time: 8.00 to 9.00 p.m.

Translation funding: from Buenos Aires out into the world

With growing stability both economically and politically, the Argentineans are becoming more self-confident. A new cosmopolitan openness is also apparent in the book industry, and no crisis in the world is likely to interfere with that.

2010 sees the 200th anniversary of Argentina’s independence from Spain. It is no accident that Argentina’s Guest of Honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair coincides with the national anniversary. The presentation guarantees international attention, making it an ideal opportunity to introduce Argentina’s culture and the way it sees itself within the world.

In this context, the Argentinean foreign ministry (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Commercio Internacional y Culto) has launched a funding programme for translations. The “programma SUR” sets out to support the translation of 100 titles by the time of the Guest of Honour appearance in 2010, for which the government has made available a budget equivalent to 250,000 euros.
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SOURCE:
“The Portal of the Frankfurt Book Fair”
http://www.buchmesse.de
http://www.buchmesse.de/en/