The Cuban capital will host this festival of the island’s literature until February 23. Nearly 2.4 million printed books and 1,200 new titles in digital format will be on display, and more than 40 nations and 400 foreign guests from different continents will participate.

South Africa is the third country on the African continent to receive such status, after Angola and Algeria.

Cultural prominent figures, authors, publishers, promoters, and booksellers from several continents will gather at the main venue of the San Carlos de la Cabaña fortress which will share activities with other places in Havana until February 23, when the literary festival will move to other provinces.

Juan Rodriguez, president of the Cuban Book Institute (ICL) and the event’s organizing committee, said that despite adversities and shortages, the Cuban Government supports the Fair, produces books, and subsidizes publications, reaffirming its commitment to developing national culture.

This year’s edition will recognize the career of two outstanding cultural figures in Cuba: researcher and professor Francisca Lopez Civeira, winner of the National History Prize in 2008 and the National Prize for Social and Human Sciences in 2022; and poet, essayist, researcher, and literary critic Virgilio Lopez Lemus. The Fair also expects to reach neighborhoods, hospitals, education centers, and libraries, with an outstanding participation of provincial publishers and will end in Santiago de Cuba province on March 23.

The theme is “Todo Un Pais En Libros” (A Whole Country In Books), commemorating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Territorial Publishing System. The multifaceted literary event is also dedicated to the 130th anniversary of Cuban National Hero Jose Marti’s fall in combat.

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