Liber celebrates its 40th edition by projecting the export potential of Spanish publishing

This year Liber is celebrating its anniversary. From 5 to 7 October, the International Book Fair promoted by the Federation of Spanish Publishers’ Guilds (FGEE) will celebrate its 40th edition in Barcelona, internationally consolidated as the major professional event for books in Spanish. True to its objectives, Liber 2022 will bring together all sectors of the publishing industry with the expected participation of some 350 exhibitors, and will project the bibliodiversity and export potential of Spanish publishing. The event will promote commercial opportunities, business meetings and knowledge of the book sector in order to boost the publishing market and boost sales, especially abroad.

Organised by Fira de Barcelona, Liber returns to the Gran Vía exhibition centre to showcase the wide range of publishers and service companies for the book industry, as well as public institutions and entities, several collective participations by guilds and associations of publishers from Spanish regions, and companies from a dozen countries interested in buying and selling publishing rights. The organisers expect more than 7,000 professionals to attend.

The president of the FGEE and of the Liber Organising Committee, Daniel Fernández, emphasises that “we are returning to Barcelona with pre-pandemic levels of participation and good expectations that will ensure that the fair will help to continue to make progress in supporting the internationalisation of Spanish publishing companies. Liber is an effective tool, as it has demonstrated during its 40 editions, to open up and explore potential markets for the bibliodiversity of Spanish publishing”.

An appointment with the entire book value chain
In the stand area, the different participating companies will present their catalogue of novelties and bibliographic collections to the professional public. In this sense, Liber is the best international showcase for exhibiting the wealth and variety of Spanish publishing: from large groups to small and medium-sized publishing, as well as independent publishing, academic or specialised technical publishing in areas such as religious and scientific books, didactic and educational books, and children’s and young people’s literature, among others.

This year, Liber is launching the New Publishers area to encourage, with an agile and economical format, the presence of small publishers who have been on the market for less than three years. At the same time, the Services for the Book Industries area will include graphic arts companies, literary agencies, translation, illustration, digitalisation of content, apps, audiobooks and podcasts, marketing and distribution platforms, video games, self-publishing tools, digital marketing and book-related start-ups, among other specialities.

Guest programmes underway
To attract the best demand, the FGEE is already working on the international guest programmes in collaboration with member publishers and companies, who are the ones who propose the names of the buyers and specifiers to be selected based on specific markets of interest and prioritising small and new importers.

Through the Buyers’ Programme, promoted in collaboration with the Spanish Economic and Commercial Offices and ICEX Spain Exports and Investments, more than 600 buyers, booksellers, distributors and librarians from 70 countries are expected to be invited.

Similarly, through the Prescribers of Priority Interest Programme, carried out in collaboration with Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and its programme for the Internationalisation of Spanish Culture (PICE), some 70 professionals from more than 20 countries will be directly invited, including librarians, literary agents, university professors, publishers and heads of public bodies with the capacity to prescribe or decide to buy Spanish books. At the same time, Liber will set up a specific programme of invited national buyers to promote business meetings with exhibitors.

As a complement, Liber will once again set up the virtual platform, introduced as a result of the pandemic in its last two editions, to promote the greatest possible number of business contacts and interviews between buyers and participating companies. This tool will continue to function once the fair is over in order to facilitate the closing of operations. It is worth remembering that Liber generates almost a third of the Spanish publishing industry’s foreign sales.

Activities
In addition to its commercial offer, Liber has a programme of professional and cultural conferences and activities with experts and personalities from the world of books to exchange information, ideas and experiences on the most topical issues in the sector, with the aim of helping the entire book value chain to face up to technological, economic and consumer changes.

The traditional Liber Party, which follows the opening of the event, will be the central moment of the 40th anniversary celebrations, bringing together the main representatives of the Spanish publishing industry and professionals from the world of books, as well as the authorities and other members of the city’s social and economic life. It is also worth highlighting the Liber 2022 Awards Ceremony for people and institutions linked to the book sector.

Liber 2002 is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council and the Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos (CEDRO). It also enjoys the collaboration of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the Gremi d’Editors de Catalunya.

Barcelona, May 2022

Download images (liber 2018) here

Maria Dolores Herranz / Gloria Dilluvio
Prensa Fira de Barcelona
Tel. 93 233 25 41 – 21 72
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com
gdilluvio@firabarcelona.com

Gerardo Miguel
Prensa FGEE
Tel: 915765250
prensa@fge.es