Publishers Weekly - Frankfurt Show Daily October 15, 2015

The international round of book fairs and festivals is an increasingly important platform for international cultural relations work, writes Harriet Williams of the British Council.

The British Council was founded to create “a friendly knowledge and understanding” between the people of the UK and the wider world, by making a positive contribution to the countries we work with using the cultural resources of the UK including literature, publishing and English-language teaching.

Engagement with book fairs and festivals is a valuable part of the overall cultural relations programme.

We work closely with the Publishers Association (PA), UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the London Book Fair (LBF) to engage with strategically important markets. Cultural programmes organised by the British Council complement the work of the PA and UKTI, which supports UK businesses in developing international markets, whether through providing financial aid to exporters or tailored support to small and medium businesses.

We have a regular partnership with the PA and the London Book Fair in the LBF Market Focus Programme, and we have also recently co-operated with the PA and UKTI in Doha. This year we’re engaging on a much bigger scale by programming the UK as Guest of Honour at Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) in Mexico, and we are excited to see its impact.

Promoting empathy

Literature is perhaps uniquely well placed for use in cultural relations, encouraging knowledge and understanding of other people’s points of view, and promoting empathy. Book fairs are effective commercially because they bring together publishers with writers and translators, and because doing business in person is still easier than digitally. Less obvious is the effect of book fairs and festivals on cultural relations. Translation deals are brokered, giving international readers an insight into cultures different from their own. The Guest of Honour country is also given a bump in press coverage, which reaches yet more readers.

So why Mexico, and why FIL? Mexico is emerging economically, politically and with a keen interest in learning English as a foreign language–an important market for the UK.

This year, 2015, has been designated a dual year of celebration of the two countries, with a shared programme of cultural, academic and trade projects. The ongoing bilateral exchange has been supported at a high level, with a visit by Prince Charles to Mexico to launch the year in November 2014 and a State Visit to the UK by President Nieto in March 2015. Mexico was Market Focus country at LBF in April 2015, where we worked with the Mexican Council for Arts and Culture, Conaculta, to bring 11 writers to the UK to take part in conversations at the Fair, and across London and the rest of the UK. This Market Focus Programme also involved a series of bilateral exchanges, with Mexican writers visiting festivals in Hay-on-Wye, Norwich and Edinburgh, and UK editors, press and writers travelling to Mexico for events there. The UK Guest of Honour at FIL (from 28 November) is the culmination of this dual year.