The 2025 FED opened with recognition for booksellers' work and a ticket to the Guadalajara Book Fair.

The The Publishers' Fair ( FED ) kicked off its 2025 edition yesterday with a day filled with enthusiasm, public attention, and recognition for those who build the independent book industry in the region. On its opening day, three key awards were presented: the Bookseller's Work Award, the Best Poster Award , and the Rumbo a Guadalajara Award , which recognize and encourage different areas of the book industry and their protagonists.

After three consecutive years among the finalists, the recognition for bookselling work went to Los Confines, a cooperative located in Villa Ballester that, from the suburbs, provides its community with literature, talks, and discussions.

The award was presented by Cecilia Fanti (bookseller at Céspedes Libros), who highlighted: “This year's winning bookstore is Los Confines, a worker cooperative from Villa Ballester that illuminates its neighborhood, its community and its corner of the suburbs with literature, discussions, authors and talks, ” they announced about this bookstore that has been in business for 12 years.

She also shared a few words that resonated with those present, about all those readers of the beloved Saga de los Confines: “ I once heard Liliana Bodoc say that literature is a path to the sun. Well, thank you very much, Los Confines, and congratulations for enlightening us all with such impetus, so much literature, craftsmanship, and confidence that a community of readers, even in the confines, is possible—but above all, real.”

The booksellers, moved, said: “First of all, I want to thank the FED for this space. It's very valuable to us; it's a huge challenge for bookstores to sustain themselves . I also want to thank everyone who supported us, publishers, distributors. The world of books is such a beautiful place, where you don't feel competitive; there's always someone there to lend a hand. Being part of it, I think, is the most beautiful reward of all .”

But they also thanked those who keep the cultural center alive : “our closest people, friends and family, we are a cooperative, a bookstore, a cultural center, but above all these things, we are that, friends and family, and the most important thing is being able to enjoy and treasure this day forever.”

The long-awaited Rumbo a Guadalajara Award, which allows a publisher to travel to the Guadalajara Book Fair in Mexico, went to De Parado , a project that embodies the passion for publishing what one wants to read.

The jury, composed of Carlos Díaz, editor of Siglo XXI, emphasized: " It's a showcase of the diversity and quality of independent publishing in the region . The publisher has a very important catalog and will be able to take advantage of its trip to Guadalajara."

Francisco Visconti , one of its founders, celebrated: “It's a publishing house dreamed up by two gay men. Mariano Blatt and I are the editors . And we publish books that we wanted to read. I'm a big fan of the Buenos Aires Book Fair. I hope this is the first of many trips.”

In an interview with Clarín , Visconti responded to everything with a smile. When he heard about the call-up, he asked his partner, "Do you want to go to Guadalajara?" And as if he could express it, it happened. Blatt replied no, but he moved forward with confidence.

At the time of the work, you applied to be an editor along with the catalog. This will be the first time traveling outside the country . “Our catalog is LGBTA Argentine, and we're interested in distribution. Many Mexicans write to us asking where they can find our books, but it's difficult ,” shares the editor of De Parado, grateful for this initiative that allows independent publishing a tremendous opportunity to market their work abroad.

"When De Parado came out, same-sex marriage had just been released, and De Parado didn't pose any danger. Now I feel we have a more political role . In recent years, we were publishing books that were banned in the 1960s or had gone out of circulation," the editor reflects.

The presentation was supported by Thomsons Reuters and the Gutenberg Foundation, which promote the professionalization of the sector by supporting the development of catalogs and other essential tools for growing publishers.

“We feel like we're bigger,” Visconti concludes, still smiling at this achievement.

As every year, graphic design was also celebrated as part of the editorial identity, with the presentation of the Best Poster Award , a piece that visually represents the spirit of each FED edition. This year's winners were illustrators Cele Barta and Powerpaola.

“It was truly incredible when I found out the poster had been selected. These kinds of recognitions inspire me to keep working, ” said illustrator Barta .

The creative search began with a sketch and a quick idea. “I let it rest for a bit and decided to try it out right around the deadline. I wanted the poster to speak to the bookmaking process and all the people who come together to make a book happen ,” shares the award-winning illustrator.

“I paint, I draw, I write, and I walk,” is how Powerpaola presents herself on her Instagram account, which has over 80,000 followers. For the FED poster, she illustrated a woman reading, absorbed in the middle of the fair. “ I wanted to show the collective, the encounter, the work of many , and at the same time the intimacy of the encounter with the book,” she responded about her creative pursuit.

This is how FED25 kicked off: amidst emotions, shared words, and awards that highlight the tremendous work behind each bookstore, publisher, and printing company. A book festival that, as always, is free and open to the public—with all that this entails in times when books refuse to be a luxury for the few.