Bogotá International Book Fair: Epicenter of World Reading

• Place: Bogotá, Cundinamarca
• Region: Andes
• Date: from late April to early May, every year
• Duration: 2 weeks

There is no cultural and industrial event in the entire Latin American region as large and important as the Bogotá International Book Fair. Since its creation in 1988, it has been the most relevant editorial and cultural event in Colombia.

This enormous event is geared toward many interested people: authors, publishers, distributors and representatives of the graphic industry, national and international readers, intellectuals, and friends of books who hail mostly from the Andean region, Central America, the Caribbean region, and the United States. The Fair turns Colombia into the largest library in the world and a magical place where everyone finds what he or she is after. Every year, a different country is invited to be the principal character of the event.

History of the Fair

Since its birth in 1988, the Fair has been the most significant publishing and cultural event in Colombia.

The first Bogotá International Book Fair was held in Bogotá in April 1988, when publishers, distributors, booksellers, writers, and other related professionals met for the first time in the capital of Colombia.

Ever since, the Fair has been the most relevant annual encounter for the fostering of reading and the development of the publishing industry. Year after year, the Fair has been in charge of promoting the development of the publishing industry, as well as a motor for the reading, promotion, and marketing of books in the rest of Hispanic-American countries.

The International Book Fair in Numbers (data for 2007)

• Ninety five percent of the Colombian publishing industry was represented
• Over 500 national and foreign exhibitors
• Close to 100,000 titles exhibited
• Over 300,000 visitors
• 30.000 square meters of space (16,548 for trade exhibitions; the rest, for cultural activities)
• Over 100 national and foreign guest authors
• 400 cultural and academic acts (music, dance, painting, photography, movies and documentaries, gastronomic sampling, etc.)
• 2,400 workshops for children and youths
• Creation of 750 direct and 4,500 indirect jobs

For additional information, we invite you to visit the official website of the Bogotá Book Fair.