Ministry of Culture and the Frankfurt Book Fair presented CONTEC Chile 2024
The event was part of Chile’s journey as Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2027, with a focus on internationalization, translation, and the buying and selling of book rights.
From July 9 to 11, CONTEC, the conference organized by the Frankfurt Book Fair in Latin America, arrived in Chile for the first time. It took place at the Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago, supported by the Chilean Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage
The event gathered over 30 speakers from Europe, Chile, and other Latin American countries, who shared ideas and insights on current trends in the publishing industry. The specialists participated in presentations, panel discussions, and workshops on topics such as the buying and selling of rights, internationalization, the commercial implications of metadata, audio formats, and the use of artificial intelligence in the creative industries, among others.
“Since signing the agreement in December 2023 and committing to being the Guest of Honor at the 2027 Frankfurt Book Fair, we also took on the responsibility of carrying out a series of initiatives alongside the organizers to pave this path and strengthen the Chilean publishing sector,” said Carolina Arredondo Marzán, Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage.
Additionally, the Minister added: “CONTEC marks one of the first milestones, bringing together important national and international experts to address key issues such as rights sales, metadata management, and new formats. These are critical tools that industry players must understand, not only as we move towards 2027 but also to enhance the sustainability of the sector.”
Regarding this opportunity, which brings the Frankfurt Fair experience closer to Chilean publishing professionals, Marifé Boix García, Vice-President of Business Development for Southern Europe and Latin America at the fair, emphasized: “Frankfurt is the world’s leading forum for printed and digital content. CONTEC is the first step in working collaboratively with the Chilean market to prepare for its participation as a Guest of Honor country. This is an opportunity to showcase its literary and creative culture and promote internationalization, primarily through translation projects and rights negotiations.”
From July 9 to 11, CONTEC, the conference organized by the Frankfurt Book Fair in Latin America, arrived in Chile for the first time. It took place at the Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago, supported by the Chilean Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage
The event gathered over 30 speakers from Europe, Chile, and other Latin American countries, who shared ideas and insights on current trends in the publishing industry. The specialists participated in presentations, panel discussions, and workshops on topics such as the buying and selling of rights, internationalization, the commercial implications of metadata, audio formats, and the use of artificial intelligence in the creative industries, among others.
“Since signing the agreement in December 2023 and committing to being the Guest of Honor at the 2027 Frankfurt Book Fair, we also took on the responsibility of carrying out a series of initiatives alongside the organizers to pave this path and strengthen the Chilean publishing sector,” said Carolina Arredondo Marzán, Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage.
Additionally, the Minister added: “CONTEC marks one of the first milestones, bringing together important national and international experts to address key issues such as rights sales, metadata management, and new formats. These are critical tools that industry players must understand, not only as we move towards 2027 but also to enhance the sustainability of the sector.”
Regarding this opportunity, which brings the Frankfurt Fair experience closer to Chilean publishing professionals, Marifé Boix García, Vice-President of Business Development for Southern Europe and Latin America at the fair, emphasized: “Frankfurt is the world’s leading forum for printed and digital content. CONTEC is the first step in working collaboratively with the Chilean market to prepare for its participation as a Guest of Honor country. This is an opportunity to showcase its literary and creative culture and promote internationalization, primarily through translation projects and rights negotiations.”
The event gathered over 30 speakers from Europe, Chile, and other Latin American countries, who shared ideas and insights on current trends in the publishing industry.
CONTEC Chile 2024 Program The session on July 9 focused on the opportunities offered by the Frankfurt Book Fair and how to leverage this platform for the internationalization of the publishing industry. Marifé Boix García and Simone Bühler, Director of the Fair’s Guest of Honor Program, outlined the key strategies for maximizing the benefits of participating in the fair. Additionally, roundtable discussions were held on the topics of internationalization and translation. German editors Anne Schlag, from the children’s publishing house Kunstanstifter, and Roland Spahr from Fischer Verlage took part, alongside Constanza Martínez from the Puentes Agency, and Chileans Ana Pávez from Editorial Amanuta, Francisca Jiménez from Ediciones Mis Raíces, and consultant Andrea Viu. To conclude the activities of the first day, German literary agent Nicole Witt, named Literary Agent of the Year in 2015 by the London Book Fair, led a workshop on the key aspects of negotiating book rights, covering pitching strategies and contract models for various types of editions and formats. The morning of July 10 was dedicated to audio formats. Trinidad Piriz Correa, Director of Podium Podcast Chile, was one of the participants. Other speakers on this increasingly important topic for Spanish-language content included Carlos Rojas, representative of German audio distributor Zebralution, and Eugenia Bascarán, founder of production company Reading-U, and former representative of Storytel and Spotify for Latin America. Santiago Ramírez and the Audiobuk team, a pioneering Chilean production company in audiobooks, conducted the workshop “Audio Production: The Raw Material of Audiobooks,” where they demonstrated the essential steps to take a story from paper to sound. In the afternoon, the focus shifted to metadata management and how its application impacts sales. Ricardo Costa, Director for Latin America at the German company MVB, delivered a keynote address and led a workshop on the correct management and use of book metadata. Also participating were Sebastián Rodríguez-Peña, General Director of Penguin Random House Chile; Guido Arroyo, Director of distributor Big Sur in Chile; José Sanguinetti, Business Manager of Antártica Libros; Javier Sepúlveda, Director of Patagonia Libros; and Paula Barría, founding partner of Metales Pesados. The event concluded on July 11 with a session in collaboration with the Centro Nacional De Inteligencia Artificial (CenIA) of Chile, where the implications of AI in the publishing industry were discussed. The session explored both its potential as a tool for developing language models and content generation, and the challenges it poses in terms of intellectual property. Speakers included Jhoerson Yagmour Figuera from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; Valentina Moretic from the Copyright Unit of the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage; Eduardo Graells-Garrido from the University of Chile; and Jaime Coquelet from the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Studies. Representing CenIA were Rodrigo Durán, Cristina Flores, Cristián Irribarra, Carlos Aspillaga, Gabriela Arriagada, and Cristian Vásquez.
Chile will be Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2027
The official agreement was signed today in Santiago de Chile. "For the clear skies of literature", will be the motto of the presentation of the Guest of Honor.
