Colonial Zone News Blog

The 15th International Book Fair in the Dominican Republic/ XV Feria Internacional del Libro de la República Dominicana will be held from April 18 to May 6, 2012. The event will take place in the Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte in Santo Domingo.

Each year the Feria honors someone and this year the honor goes to the late poet, novelist and essayist local Enriquillo Sánchez. Sanchez, who was part of the founding team of the event, died in 2004 at age 57. Some of his more famous books are “Pájaro dentro de la lluvia” and “Convicto y confeso”. He was also the winner of the National Poetry Prize Salomé Ureña/ Nacional de Poesía Salomé Ureña and Ruben Dario Latin American Poetry Contest/ Premio Latinoamericano de Poesía Rubén Darío. The Director General of the event, Alejandro Arvelo says Sanchez was an extraordinary intellectual, writer and winner benchmark figure contemporary literature of the country.

The event will also commemorate the centenary of the birth of local writer Hector Incháustegui Cabral/ escritor local Héctor Incháustegui Cabral (1912-1979) and his compatriot María Montez (1912-1951)who was born in Barahona. She conquered Hollywood in the forties and earned the title “Queen of Technicolor”/ “La reina del tecnicolor”.

The Fair also will honor Spanish poet and painter Eugenio Fernández Granell (1912-2001) who was exiled to Dominican Republic after the Spanish Civil War (1936-39).

Arvelo announced that writers, editors and artists from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama will participate actively in the book fair this year.

I will update when there is more information available.

More information about the event and how to enter at http://www.ferilibro.com