The 34th edition of the Havana International Book Fair (FILH 2026) begins today at the Línea y 18 Cultural Station, in the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución; a literary celebration that honours the centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro (1926-2016), and is dedicated to the Russian Federation as Guest of Honour Country.
Until 16 August, more than 1,300 new titles in different printed and digital book formats and the sale of more than 2.4 million copies will star in a necessary meeting, not only for reading groups and audiences, but also for the fulfilment of the missions that its organisers defend within the social and cultural fabric of the largest island of the Antilles.
There will be no shortage of tributes, this time to writers Marilyn Bobes and José Bell Lara, whose works have contributed significantly to the development of critical thinking and literary creation in Cuba, and who will be the protagonists of the Life and Work Colloquium, one of the main activities of the event’s programme.
The Havana days at Línea y 18 and other sub-venues such as the Casa del Alba Cultural, the Dulce María Loynaz Centre, the Casa de las Américas, the Pabellón Cuba, the Centre for Martí Studies, the National Library and the José Martí Memorial will then extend to the rest of the provinces, until concluding on 6 September in Santiago de Cuba, always with the Martí premise «Reading is Growing.»
FILH 2026 takes place amid a complex national and global situation, demonstrating the interest in preserving this space for reflection, intellectual exchange and the celebration of reading as an act of freedom and collective construction, a well-deserved gift for the Cuban people, as Juan Rodríguez Cabrera, president of the Cuban Book Institute, stated in recent days.
Also of special interest is the fair’s theoretical agenda, which will include various spaces, among which stand out: the Professional Book Hall and the Meetings of Publishers and Literary Translators, of Historians, of Ibero-American Young Writers and of Poetry Promoters.
Likewise, the Colloquiums of Scientific-Technical Literature, Social Sciences, Human Health and Environment will take place, and the always crowded Children’s and Youth Pavilion «Papel Treasure» and the «Our History» and «Cuba Digital» projects will return.
Around 350 new titles will be presented by the Territorial Editions System; and one of the most significant moments will occur on 13 August, a date which, in addition to celebrating 100 years of the historic leader of the Revolution, also marks 26 years since the creation of that same System by the Commander.
Other outstanding moments in the FILH 2026 programme will be the presentations of the 2025 National Literature, Edition and Social and Humanistic Sciences awards.
