2010 book fair highlights: Frankfurt, New York, Guadalajara

(AFP PHOTO DDP / TORSTEN SILZ)

Mark your calendars with 2010 dates for some of the world's biggest book fairs. Among those that offer the most for readers are BookExpo America in May, the Frankfurt Fair in October, and FIL Guadalajara in November.

London Book Fair
April 19-21, 2010
London, UK
The London Book Fair is the leading spring book event in Europe, with the Frankfurt Fair dominating the second half of the year. While the event spotlights the UK publishing industry - the second-largest in the world for English-language books - it also attracts up to 23,000 industry professionals from more than 100 countries around the world.
http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk

BookExpo America
May 25-27, 2010
New York, NY
BookExpo America is the premiere book fair in North America and the largest English-language book fair in the world. More than 1,500 exhibitors and 500 authors are expended to attend the 2010 event, as well as up to 30,000 visitors who come to attend conferences, book presentations, and autograph sessions. Among the new books revealed in 2009 was Colum McCann's National Book Award-winning Let the Great World Spin.
http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/

Beijing International Book Fair
August 30 - September 3, 2010
Beijing, China
The Beijing Book Fair has been gaining in importance in recent years as publishers set their sights on the Chinese market - what some can the "final frontier" in publishing. China has one of the largest publishing industries in the world and its demand for English-language titles is growing. The fair is back in Beijing in 2010, having moved outside the city in 2009 after the Olympic Games. An estimated 1,000 publishers and 200,000 visitors from 55 countries attended the 2009 event. The fourth day of the fair is historically open to the public.
http://www.bibf.net

Frankfurt Book Fair
October 6-10
Frankfurt, Germany
The world's largest book fair, the Frankfurt fair offers more than 2,900 events, organized by publishers, cultural organizations, and other groups. More than 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries and nearly 300,000 visitors attended the 2009 event, which featured Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, Swedish crime-writer Håkan Nesser, and Australian singer, author, and screenwriter Nick Cave. Argentina will be the Guest of Honor at the 2010 fair.
http://www.buchmesse.de/en/

Guadalajara International Book Fair
November 27 - December 5
Guadalajara, Mexico
The Guadalajara International Book Fair, known as the "FIL" (Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara) is one of the largest book fairs in the world. It is the principal book fair for Spanish-language publishing worldwide. An estimated 500,000 readers attend the event each year, as well as 1,600 publishers from 40 countries. In 2009, the fair featured speeches and events with Orhan Pamuk, Ray Bradbury, Carlos Fuentes, and Mario Vargas Llosa. Los Angeles was the 2009 Guest of Honor.
http://www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_index.asp