Hay Festival Bogotá39

About the project

Juan Gabriel Vásquez wins Alfaguara Prize 2011.

Listen to his events at Hay below

Ramón Cote, Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Zoé Valdés, Yolanda Reyes y Alfredo Gómez Cerdá

Guillermo Altares, Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Manuel Calderón y Christopher Domínguez

Juan Gabriel Vásquez at Bogota39

Who are the new storytellers?

In 2007, Bogotá was the scene of an extraordinary event: a meeting of 39 young writers from 17 Latin American countries, presented in 60 events across 32 venues. All of them had had one or more works published and read in their own countries. Many were unknown outside them. The Department of Culture, Leisure and Sport of the District of Bogotá, as part of its programme around Bogotá World Book Capital 2007, welcomed this initiative produced by Hay Festival, which was named Bogotá39, and formed the point of departure for a warmly received continental interchange.

The selection process was the responsibilty of a jury made up of three Colombian writers: Piedad Bonnett, Héctor Abad Faciolince and Óscar Collazos. From nominations sent in by more than a thousand editors, critics and readers from all over the continent, the jury chose 39 writers who, in their opinion, had the talent and potential to define the the themes that will represent the future of Latin American literature.

The opportunity to glimpse what is happening in Latin American literature; the charm of approaching the wealth of languages and attitudes of 39 writers united by continent and generation yet unique in origin and experience; the potential for answers to as many questions as we can ask about what it means to be Latin American and whether this is still a definition of any relevance; and the experience of attracting an audience of over 8,000 in Bogotá. This was the essence of Bogotá39. It was an event that took place as part of the promotions for Bogotá World Book Capital 2007, and it formed a measure of everything this initiative was designed to communicate: that the celebration of books needs to be as open, rich and varied as the process of writing and reading them.

More about the authors...