The Festival 42 aims to delve into contemporary fears, possible futures, and the capacity of fiction to challenge reality. Curated by Karen Madrid Ribas and Susana Vallejo, the festival will bring together authors from around the globe for 71 activities, including two exhibitions, a literary tour, workshops, and performance proposals, involving more than 160 participants. Last year, the festival attracted 8,500 attendees.
This sixth edition will explore issues such as artificial intelligence, the construction of imaginary worlds, environmental collapse, and the relationships between art, politics, and power. The programming will examine how science fiction, fantasy, and horror can interpret current social and technological transformations, envision alternative ways of living, and interrogate the futures we are creating.
Notable international guests include Ken Liu, who will reflect on artificial intelligence and artistic creation; Sequoia Nagamatsu, author of Al final de la oscuridad; Naomi Ishiguro, Mahmud El Sayed, Laila Lalami, Charles Stross, Lisa Tuttle, Christopher Buehlman, and Jorge Volpi. Catalan literature will also feature prominently, with contributions from Olga Xirinacs, Maite Carranza, Laia Aguilar, Alicia Kopf, Iván Ledesma, Ada Castells, and Martí Gironell, among others.
Scheduled discussions will cover new narrative territories, romantic fantasy, conceptual horror, and the increasingly permeable boundaries between genres. Major round tables, such as “The great constellation of fantastic voices” and “The great table of 42: International cartography of fantastic genres,” will bring together authors from diverse backgrounds to debate the plurality of styles, traditions, and current trends.
Other proposals will delve into contemporary fears, dystopias, and the connections between literature, technology, and power. Concurrently, LovecraftCon will revisit the origins of cosmic horror and the influence of H. P. Lovecraft, while EspectreCon will trace the evolution of literary ghosts from Victorian traditions to contemporary reinterpretations and Catalan folklore.
The festival will pay tribute to Richard Matheson on the centenary of his birth and to Stephen King, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Carrie. It will also dedicate an event to Olga Xirinacs, who is celebrating her 90th birthday, and feature an exhibition by illustrator Albert Monteys, who has critically reinterpreted reality through fantasy and science fiction.
In addition to the exhibition dedicated to Monteys, attendees can view “Other worlds: An extraordinary journey through the imaginary worlds of Catalan literature,” which will showcase over a century of creation through twelve types of fantastic universes, featuring both classic and contemporary works alongside original illustrations.
The programming will also include a literary tour titled “An ideal future: Modernists - nature, fables, and architecture,” which will explore the links between Barcelona's modernism and literary imagination, coinciding with the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death. The festival will conclude with the presentation of the 42 Awards, activities for secondary school students, and a cosplay competition.
