The Guadalajara International Book Fair, a spotlight for the negotiation and sale of publishing rights

By Goodrich, Riquelme y Asociados

The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), known in Spanish as Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, is the second-largest book fair globally and the preeminent literary festival in the Spanish-speaking world. In 2023 the FIL was attended by over 857.000 members of the public, 17.000 professionals, and 2.400 publishing houses, with a further 189.000 members of the public attending the dedicated children’s events.

This prominence was recently recognized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in a case study published on July 9, 2024. The OECD highlighted FIL's role as a platform promoting Mexican and other Latin American authors to an international audience. The fair's dedicated space, the Rights Centre, further facilitates this mission by providing a space for negotiation and sale of publishing rights.

"It serves as a hub for literary agents, publishers, and other industry professionals to network, exchange ideas, and conduct business. The Rights Centre provides resources such as meeting spaces, promotional opportunities, and support services to facilitate these transactions. It plays a crucial role in promoting the global reach of literature, helping authors and publishers expand their works into new markets and languages," part of the Case Study states.

The rights market in Spanish is continually growing and FIL Guadalajara is the largest forum in Latin America for these type of negotiations. The huge presence of publishing houses, rights agents, literary scouts and the writers bring together all parties involved in this market.

-It facilitates the negotiation and sale of publishing rights between publishers, literary agents, and rights holders.
-It helps promote Mexican and Latin American authors to a wider international audience.
-It has dedicated areas for rights holders and interested parties to connect and discuss potential deals.
-It has resources listing available rights for books, authors and literary properties.

The world of publishing revolves around a complex web of rights associated with a book. These rights, rooted in copyright law, dictate how a copyrighted work can be used, distributed, or adapted.

From the fundamental right to reproduce the work (printing books, ebooks) to derivative rights like translations or film adaptations, understanding these permissions is crucial for both authors and publishers.

Authors inherently own all rights to their work upon creation.  However, they can choose to license or sell some or all rights to a publisher for a specific edition or territory.