The 78th edition of the Frankfurt Book Fair, taking place from October 7 to 11, will showcase a substantial Catalan presence at a stand themed "Catalonia, Land of Books; Barcelona, City of Literature." This initiative aims to represent Catalan literature and its publishing sector.
The stand is organized by the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC) under the internationalization brand Catalan Arts, in collaboration with the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL) and the Barcelona City Council. It also includes participation from the Associació d'Editors en Llengua Catalana, the Gremi d’Editors de Catalunya, and the Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics. The stand provides a unified image of the sector and offers professionals a business space to conduct their activities during the fair.
This year, a total of 40 publishers will be represented at the Catalan stand, including:
- Alba Editorial
- Angle Editorial
- Animallibres
- Blackie Books
- BMC Edicions
- Cossetània Edicions
- Deleste
- Edicions Bromera
- Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona
- Editorial Base
- Editorial Flamboyant
- Editorial GG
- Editorial Sat Nam
- Editorial Sentir
- Editorial Stenella
- Editorial Vicens Vives
- Flor Edicions
- Folioscopio
- Grup62
- Iceberg Editorial
- Inclusive Reading
- Libros del Asteroide
- Manifest Llibres
- Mosquito Books Barcelona
- MTM Editores
- Norma Editorial
- Obrador Editorial
- Open Books
- Pagès Editors
- Raig Verd Editorial
- Shackleton Books
- Símbol Editors
- Takatuka
- Tibidabo Edicions
- Verso Libros
- Veles i Vents Edicions
- Vibop Edicions
- Zahorí Books
In addition to the publishers at the Catalan stand, up to 20 other publishing groups will have their own stands, including notable names such as Anagrama, Editorial Casals, Edebé Educación, Grup Planeta, and Penguin Random House. Other Catalan publishers will also operate from the stand of the Federation of Spanish Publishing Guilds.
The ICEC has published a booklet containing information about the participating publishers, which will be distributed to accredited international professionals. On October 7, a trip organized by the Gremi d’Editors de Catalunya will bring 24 representatives from other Catalan publishers to the fair for meetings. That same day, the Government Delegation in Germany will host a reception at the stand, featuring Meritxell Marsà, the delegate, alongside Oriol Magrinyà, president of the Associació d'Editors en Llengua Catalana, and Anna Guitart, director of the IRL.
Internationalization of Catalan Literature
Once again, the Institut Ramon Llull will participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year, it has arranged over 120 meetings with editors worldwide to promote the translation of Catalan literature into other languages, strengthen its presence in stable markets, and explore new opportunities in strategic and emerging countries. The IRL supports international publishing projects through its funding programs for translation, promotion, and the publication of illustrated works. In the past five years, more than 1,900 translations of original literary works in Catalan have been published.
The IRL will also take part in the professional event "Translating Europe: The ENLit Network and its Support for Literary Translation and Translators," scheduled for October 7 in the Czech Pavilion. Izaskun Arretxe, director of the Literature Area, will participate in a panel discussion on European support programs for literary translation, alongside representatives from Flanders Literature and the Frankfurt Book Fair. This session will present the work of the ENLit network, which brings together European organizations dedicated to promoting literary translation and the internationalization of literature, and will highlight support opportunities for editors and translators working with European works in translation.
Additionally, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the international catalog The White Ravens, four titles by Catalan authors and illustrators have been selected for the 2026 edition of this prestigious catalog, which this year recommends 216 works of children's and youth literature from 62 countries and written in 46 languages. The catalog, produced by the Internationale Jugendbibliothek in Munich, annually identifies the most outstanding books in the international landscape of children's and youth literature and is traditionally presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The selected titles include:
- Coreografies animals, by Núria Solsona (Zahorí Books)
- Què estan mirant?, by Salvador Comelles with illustrations by Gusti (El Cep i la Nansa)
- El cor del Bosc Negre, by Laia Longan with illustrations by Jordi Vila Delclòs (Animallibres)
- Érase una vez... los Récords de cuento, by Laura Ortega Vesga with illustrations by Anna Aparicio Català (Flamboyant)
About the Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair is a key event in the annual calendar for Catalan publishers and other stakeholders in the book production chain. Each year, the fair attracts over 7,000 companies showcasing their latest offerings, and it is estimated that 80% of annual international copyright contracts in the publishing sector are signed during this event. In recent years, the participation of Catalan professionals has been increasing. It is noteworthy that Barcelona accounts for over 50% of the production and revenue of the publishing industry in Spain. Over the past 24 years, the ICEC and the IRL have organized and promoted the presence of Catalan editors and literature at major international literary events, including the Guadalajara Book Fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Paris Book Festival, the Göteborg Book Fair, the Turin Book Fair, the Bologna Book Fair, the Buenos Aires Book Fair, and the London Book Fair.
