Mapping Brazil - Literature: Main Events

Rio Book Fair
The Rio Book Fair is held every other year in Riocentro, the city’s main national and international conference centre. It is the country’s biggest literary event, lasting 11 days, during which time visitors can take part in debates and discussions with public figures and writers. There are also cultural activities designed to encourage reading. The event receives funding from the Ministry of Culture.

São Paulo International Book Biennial
The São Paulo biennial takes place in the Anhembi Exhibition Pavilion. With a diverse line-up, it provides a blend of literature, entertainment, business, gastronomy and culture. The country’s leading publishing houses, bookshops and distributors are always present. There are normally around 480 exhibitors in an exhibition space of 60,000 m², attracting a visiting public of around 80,000.

Minas Book Fair (Bienal do Livro de Minas)This is the most important literary event in the state of Minas Gerais. For ten days, visitors have the chance to meet authors, buy books and take part in cultural activities. It takes place in Expominas, one of the biggest event venues in Belo Horizonte, with 12,000 m² floor space and 2,230 parking spaces. It is just 10 minutes from the city centre.

Bahia Book Fair (Bienal do Livro da Bahia)This biennial is held in the Bahia Convention Centre. The 12^th fair was set to take place in 2015, but had to be postponed to 2016 because of renovations being done at the convention centre. One of the biggest literary events in Bahia, the last biennial attracted around 375 exhibitors.

Ceará Book Fair (Bienal do Livro do Ceará)
This event is held every other year in the Fortaleza Events Centre. The last one was held in 2014.

Porto Alegre Book Fair (Feira do Livro de Porto Alegre)
This book fair has been held every year for 60 years. In 2014, it attracted over 1.4 million visitors who bought 400,000 books in the 17 days of the event. In 2010 it was inscribed as intangible heritage of the city by the Porto Alegre Municipal Department of Culture.

Ribeirão Preto National Book Fair (Feira Nacional do Livro de Ribeirão Preto)
This annual book fair is one of the most important cultural events in São Paulo state, and one of the seven biggest book fairs in Latin America. The 15^th fair was held in 2015.

São João del Rei Literary Festival (Festival de Literatura de São João del Rei)
This festival takes place in September in the historic town of São João del Rei in the state of Minas Gerais. Eight festivals have so far been held.

Mantiqueira Festival – encounters with literature
The 2015 Mantiqueira Festival was the eighth to be held in the São Francisco Xavier district of São José dos Campos, São Paulo. Along with the opportunity to meet writers, visitors could also take part in theoretical activities for students and librarians and enjoy children’s theatre productions and music.

Bonito Book Fair (Feira Literária de Bonito)
This is a new event held in Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul. Special tribute will be paid to Brazilian poet Manoel de Barros. As well as roundtable discussions, there will be workshops for teachers and secondary school pupils, as well as fun activities for children (linking literature and the environment), book launches, chats with authors, film showings, performances, interventions, installations, readings, drama and music.

Belo Horizonte International Literary Festival (Festival Literário Internacional de Belo Horizonte)
This is the first year of the event. The main venues are the Municipal Park and Francisco Nunes Theatre, but the festival will also be held in cultural centres and other venues in different parts of the city as part of the local government’s BH Cidadania social programme. The local authority is keen to ensure that the activities are put on in multiple venues. The programme of events includes talks, debates, concerts, exhibitions, storytelling, performances, drama productions and film screenings. The focus is on Brazilian and Spanish speaking authors, especially from Latin America, and special tribute will be paid to Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade.

Natal Literary Festival (Festival Literário de Natal)
Run by FUNCARTE, the Natal government’s arts and culture foundation, the third festival will be held in 2015. A marquee erected in a square in the historical centre of the city will play host to Brazilian and foreign writers and musical attractions.

Paraty International Literary Festival (FLIP)
Celebrating its 13^th edition in 2015, FLIP has become the leading literary event in Brazil. The town – three hours by car from both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – is an attraction in its own right. Founded in the mid seventeenth century, it is a national heritage site. There is always an interesting and varied line-up of authors, from internationally renowned writers, some Nobel laureates, to budding Brazilian authors.

Pipa Literary Festival (Festival Literário da Pipa)
This festival is held in Tibau do Sul and organised by the Hélio Galvão Foundation and the Nação Potiguar project. Alongside a schedule of events involving writers, screenwriters and artists from different areas, the public are attracted by the location, on the beautiful Pipa beach in Tibau do Sul, on the southern coast of Rio Grande do Norte.

FLIPORTO
The Pernambuco International Literary Festival (Fliporto) celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2014. In 2015 it will pay tribute to poet Fernando Pessoa. Since its inception, Fliporto has focused on topics and authors from Brazilian, Hispanic and African culture.

Passo Fundo National Literary Festival (Jornada Nacional de Literatura de Passo Fundo)
This biennial is one of the country’s most important and traditional literary events. The 16^th event was planned to be held from 28 September to 2 October 2015, but the city’s university, one of the event’s organisers, has announced that it will not be held this year. With the cancellation, the 9^th Passo Fundo Zaffari & Bourbon Prize for Literature and the 14^th Josué Guimarães National Short Story Competition will also not be held.

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