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| Fundación El Libro | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fundación El Libro |
| Formation | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Type | Nonprofit foundation |
| Purpose | Promotion of reading and publishing |
| Leader title | Director |
| Region served | Argentina, Latin America, Spain |
Fundación El Libro is an Argentine nonprofit cultural foundation dedicated to the promotion of books, reading, publishing and bibliodiversity across Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world. Founded by a coalition of publishers and cultural figures in Buenos Aires, it organizes major fairs, produces research, supports libraries and mediates between authors, editors and educational institutions. The foundation operates at the intersection of publishing networks, literary festivals and public policy debates involving cultural institutions.
The foundation was established in 1976 amid debates involving Sociedad Argentina de Escritores, Federación de Editores de España, Cámara Argentina del Libro and influential publishers such as Emecé Editores, Editorial Losada, Editorial Sudamericana and Alfaguara. Early years saw collaboration with cultural venues like Teatro Colón, Biblioteca Nacional de la República Argentina, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, and municipal authorities of Buenos Aires. During the 1980s the foundation engaged with international partners including UNESCO, International Publishers Association, Feria del Libro de Guadalajara, and ministries such as the Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación (Argentina), while attracting authors associated with Julio Cortázar, Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares and visiting delegations from Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Chile. In the 1990s and 2000s it expanded ties to institutions like Universidad de Buenos Aires, Fundación Konex, Instituto Cervantes, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Alliance Française and private cultural foundations such as Fundación Telefónica and Fundación Carolina. Institutional milestones include partnerships with the Ministerio de Educación (Argentina), participation in regional networks with Mercosur Cultural and exchanges with fairs such as Frankfurt Book Fair, London Book Fair, BOOKEXPO America and Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá.
The foundation's mission articulates promotion of reading and support for the publishing industry through events, research, grants and programs linked to libraries and schools. It liaises with organizations such as UNICEF, PEN International, Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno, Consejo Nacional de las Artes, and professional associations like Colegio de Traductores de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires and Asociación Argentina de Editores Independientes. Activities include cultural diplomacy with embassies such as the Embassy of Spain in Argentina, Embassy of France in Argentina, Embassy of the United States in Argentina and regional bodies including Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos and Asociación de Editores de América Latina. The foundation convenes panels featuring figures linked to Pablo Neruda, Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Isabel Allende, Carlos Fuentes and contemporary voices like Martín Caparrós, María Dueñas, Claudia Piñeiro, Sergio Ramírez.
Fundación El Libro organizes the annual Buenos Aires International Book Fair in collaboration with the Municipality of Buenos Aires, the Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires organizing committee and venues including the Predio de La Rural and La Rural Feria de Buenos Aires. The fair features national and international exhibitors such as Planeta Group, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Grupo SM, Anagrama, Económica Editorial, and institutional stands from Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación (Argentina), Ministerio de Turismo (Argentina), Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales, and regional representatives from Córdoba (Argentina), Santa Fe Province, Mendoza Province. Programming has included tributes to writers like Ricardo Piglia, Silvina Ocampo, Antonio di Benedetto, and international guests from Argentina, Chile, Perú, Uruguay, Venezuela, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Japan, China.
Programs encompass literacy campaigns, school visits, workshops for editors and translators, seminars with representatives from Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE), Asociación Internacional de Traductores de Literatura, and training linked to institutions like Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Events include prize ceremonies, book launches and forums on copyright involving actors such as Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Dirección Nacional del Derecho de Autor, and conferences with publishers from México, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Perú, and the European Union cultural delegations. The foundation runs editions of professional development programs that have hosted speakers from José Saramago, Octavio Paz, Camilo José Cela, Assia Djebar, Orhan Pamuk, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and more recent panelists like Eduardo Sacheri and Samanta Schweblin.
The foundation produces catalogues, statistical reports, bibliographies and studies on the publishing sector, often referencing datasets from INDEC, Observatorio de la Lectura y el Libro de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Federación de Gremios de Editores and comparative analyses with markets tracked by Federación Internacional de Editores and fairs such as Frankfurt Book Fair and Feria del Libro de Guadalajara. It publishes proceedings, essays and monographs featuring contributions from scholars affiliated with CONICET, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Universidad de San Andrés, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and think tanks like CIPPEC and FLACSO. Research topics include market trends, translation flows involving works from Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and studies of readership associated with authors like Leopoldo Marechal, Victoria Ocampo, León Gieco (in cultural studies), and historiographies tied to Martín Fierro and colonial-era texts.
The foundation is governed by a board that traditionally includes representatives from major publishing houses, academic institutions and cultural organizations such as Cámara Argentina del Libro, Federación de Editores de España, Asociación de Libreros Argentinos, and municipal bodies like the Buenos Aires City Legislature. Leadership has interacted with public officials from Ministerio de Cultura de la Nación (Argentina) and intellectual figures from Academia Nacional de Letras and Sociedad Argentina de Escritores. Oversight includes collaborations with auditing entities, grant partners such as Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and project-specific funding from cultural institutes including Instituto Goethe, Instituto Cervantes and corporate sponsors like YPF and Banco de la Nación Argentina.
The foundation's activities have shaped publishing circuits, festival programming and public debates on reading policies, drawing commentary from critics and scholars associated with Página/12, Clarín, La Nación, El País (Spain), New York Review of Books, and academic journals published by Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Its fairs and reports are cited in studies by organizations such as UNESCO, World Bank cultural programs, Mercosur Cultural evaluations and analyses by think tanks like Brookings Institution and Council on Foreign Relations when discussing Latin American cultural industries. Reception has included awards and recognitions linked to partners like Fundación Konex and inter-institutional acknowledgments from the Asamblea Legislativa de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.
Category:Organizations based in Buenos Aires Category:Publishing organizations Category:Culture of Argentina