With the 16th Caracas International Book Fair (FILVEN) still six months away, hopes are that at least part of the event will be able to go ahead in the traditional manner.

Mexico was lined up to be guest of honour this year, and that position was confirmed this week when the Venezuelan Culture Minister Ernesto Villegas and his Mexican equivalent Paco Ignacio Taibo took part in an online meeting to finalise the detail.

With fewer than 1,200 Covid-19 cases and only 10 fatalities as this post goes live, Venezuela has fared better than many other countries in the fight against the coronavirus, but the book fair organisers are not making any assumptions that all will be over by November.

Culture Minister Villegas said,

The 16th edition of the Venezuela International Book Fair will have strong digital component to meet the government health provisions against Covid-19. The digital book will occupy a special place in this event.

TNPS will endeavour to bring more on the hybrid FILVEN 2020 event as details emerge over the summer.