SANTO DOMINGO. -The Government announced yesterday that the 2025 edition of the International Book Fair will be held from September 25 to October 5 at the Juan Pablo Duarte Cultural Plaza , dedicated this year to the historian Frank Moya Pons and with children's literature as its central theme.
According to Pastor de Moya, Vice Minister of Cultural Identity and Citizenship of the Ministry of Culture, and Joan Ferrer, Director of the Book Fair, the XXVII Santo Domingo International Book Fair (FILSD 2025) will have 15 themed pavilions, three conference rooms, two auditoriums and 123 exhibition spaces, including areas dedicated to children's and school literature.
According to both officials, this year's event will pay tribute to historian Moya Pons , one of the most influential and prolific Dominican authors. The focus on children's literature aims to encourage reading among younger generations.
They said that the cultural activity will feature the Latin American Network of Literary Fairs and Festivals as guest of honor, which bodes well for a significant cultural exchange involving prominent writers and publishers.
The FILSD 2025 will be presented after having received the country brand certification in 2023, which projects it as an international platform for the dissemination of Dominican culture.
“This is the most important literary event in the country and a space for dialogue with the region's publishing industry,” De Moya stated during the meeting with the media, held at the Juan Lockward Bar of the Eduardo Brito National Theater.
The year's figures stood out: more than 600,000 visitors in 2024 , book sales exceeding RD$75 million , and participation from 19 countries , 377 publishing houses, and 38 international authors .
This year's program includes more than 600 activities, including 182 book presentations, 33 conferences, 125 talks, 65 workshops and 103 colloquiums , as well as recitals and artistic proposals.
Among the new features are the Business Room , aimed at the internationalization of Dominican authors, which will feature a professional literary agent and a prestigious digital publisher, as well as the Multiplicando Letras program, which will allow the participation of 75 workshop leaders and cultural managers from different provinces, with accommodation and meal coverage.
The Ministry of Culture also confirmed the return of the successful Bonolibro program , which in 2024 allowed the distribution of 21,000 free copies, strengthening the book value chain and encouraging visits to the different pavilions.
The program will also feature the participation of renowned international publishers, including Grupo Editorial Planeta, Grupo Anaya, Fondo de Cultura Económica, Ediciones Akal, Sial Pigmalión, Huerga & Fierro, Páginas de Espuma and the University of Salamanca, which together with other publishing houses from Spain and Latin America will strengthen the global dimension of the event.
Likewise, the National Film Archive will open its own space within the fair's program, where Dominican short films and documentaries will be exhibited, in addition to national and international film cycles that seek to build bridges between literature and the seventh art, consolidating itself as one of the most demanded attractions by the public.
With ten days of activities, FILSD 2025 is preparing to once again become the great celebration of books and culture in the Dominican Republic, an event that seeks to transcend borders and consolidate itself as a benchmark in Ibero-America.
