Eider Rodriguez to represent Basque literature at the Guadalajara Book Fair

The Guadalajara International Book Fair, commonly known as FIL Guadalajara, opened its doors on November 30, and once again the presence of Basque literature is guaranteed. This year Eider Rodríguez (Errenteria, 1977) will be at Latin America´s largest book event, which brings together thousands of authors, professionals and publishers every year.

The Guadalajara International Book Fair, commonly known as FIL Guadalajara, opened its doors on November 30, and once again the presence of Basque literature is guaranteed. This year Eider Rodríguez (Errenteria, 1977) will be at Latin America´s largest book event, which brings together thousands of authors, professionals and publishers every year.

Rodríguez, two-time winner at the 2018 Euskadi Literature Awards, will be added to the roster of Basque writers invited to the fair over the years. Authors from the last nine years have been Kirmen Uribe, Iban Zaldua, Arantxa Urretabizkaia, Bernardo Atxaga, Karmele Jaio, Harkaitz Cano, Mikel Ayerbe, Anjel Lertxundi and Juan Kruz Igerabide, with support from the Etxepare Basque Institute. And this year again, the Basque Language Publishers Association and the Basque Publishers Association will have a stand at the fair, gathering together a dozen publishers.

Rodriguez, whose latest book of stories, Bihotz Handiegia (A heart too big), has already been translated into Spanish and Catalan, will participate in two activities in the official book fair programme. And to shine as much of a spotlight as possible on Basque literature, the Etxepare Basque Institute has organized a busy media schedule for her.

Tomorrow, December 5, Rodriguez will participate in the ‘Ecos de la FIL´ section. The aim of this section is to take the guest writers out of the fairgrounds and put them in contact with university and high school students on their own campuses. It is also meant to encourage a passion for reading through informal talks. Rodríguez will visit the Centro Universitario UTEG at 5:00 p.m. to talk with students, who before participating in this activity will have read some of her works.

On December 6, Eider Rodríguez will be part of the International Meeting of Storytellers, at 6:00 p.m. In this round table meeting, the Basque author will talk about short storytelling with other international names such as Rosina Conde (Mexico), Félix J. Palma (Spain) and Diego Muñoz Valenzuela (Chile). Mexican author Alberto Chimal will moderate the colloquium.

Previously, on December 3, coinciding with International Day of the Basque Language, Rodríguez was in Mexico City. In November, the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) hosted a theatre rally based on Rodriguez´s short stories, organized by the Basque Language and Culture Reader at the university. The final round was celebrated that day, and the students were visited by the author, who saw the final works and, later, shared sat down for a talk with them.