FIL Guadalajara: Uxue Alberdi

After a 2020 marred by the pandemic and no in-person edition, the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico will once again host a leading voice of Basque literature. FIL is one of the most important gatherings in the publishing industry and the most outstand book fair for Ibero-American literature, bringing together hundreds of authors and thousands of professionals and readers every year.

Author and bertsolari Uxue Alberdi (Elgoibar, 1984) will present her novel ‘Jenisjoplin’ and will feature in several activities in the official FIL programme, as well as in a number of parallel activities in Guadalajara and Mexico City organised in conjunction with the fair.

Below is a list of Alberdi’s appearances in Mexico:

• 29 November, 7pm. Impronta bookshop, Guadalajara. Presentation in conversation with Julián Herbert.
• 30 November, 7:30pm. Gandhi bookshop, Guadalajara. Book presentation.
• 1 December, 8pm. FIL. Hall F, International Literature, music and rebellion: a conversation with Uxue Alberdi.
• 2 December, 8pm. FIL. Hall 7, National Area. Readers Present ‘Jenisjoplin’.
• 3 December, 6pm. Volcana bookshop, Mexico City. Uxue Alberdi in dialogue with writer, editor and translator Yael Weiss.

Published in Spanish by Consonni in 2020 and distributed in Mexico, ‘Jenisjoplin’ is a story set in 2010 about the reinvention of personal and collective identity in a Basque socio-political context in the throes of transformation. Winner of the 111 Akademia Prize in 2017, ‘Jenisjoplin’ was enthusiastically received by readers and bookshops and garnered excellent reviews after its publication in Basque.

In order to give visibility to literary creation in Basque at one of the industry´s most important international events, the Etxepare Basque Institute has been promoting participation in the FIL since 2011 by some of the most outstanding writers in the Basque language, offering Mexican and international audiences an opportunity to discover a unique literature that has reaped notable successes in recent years. After the 2020 hiatus, Uxue Alberdi takes over from names such as Kirmen Uribe, Arantxa Urretabizkaia, Bernardo Atxaga, Karmele Jaio, Harkaitz Cano, Anjel Lertxundi and Eider Rodriguez.

About Uxue Alberdi

Uxue Alberdi (Elgoibar, 1984) is the author of short stories, novels, essays, chronicles and children´s literature. She has won the Euskadi Literature Prize twice, once in the category of children´s and young people´s literature for ‘Besarkada’ and once in the category of essay for ‘Kontrako eztarritik’ (Reverso). Her novel ‘Jenisjoplin’ was awarded the 111 Akademia Prize and has been translated into Spanish and English. She currently teaches literary workshops, writes opinion articles, translates, facilitates reading groups, writes lyrics, etc. Together with Ainhoa Agirreazaldegi, Alberdi founded the bertsolari school, Bertso Eskola Feminista.