Around 250 exhibitors from 19 countries and 9,000 publishing professionals are expected to attend
Liber 2026 Opens New International Markets for Spanish Publishing
This year, Fira de Barcelona and the Spanish Federation of Publishers’ Guilds (FGEE) will host the 44th edition of Liber, once again positioning Barcelona as a strategic hub for the international expansion of Spanish publishing. Taking place from 29 September to 1 October at the Gran Via venue, the fair will create new business opportunities in emerging markets, with a particular focus on increasing publishing rights sales and providing a forum for discussion of the key challenges facing the industry.
Liber takes place at a time of continued strength for the Spanish publishing industry. In 2025, the sector generated €3.138 billion in domestic sales, an increase of 3.3% on the previous year and the twelfth consecutive year of growth. Meanwhile, the value of exports is expected to approach €400 million, according to FGEE data.
The fair will bring together around 250 exhibitors from 19 countries and an estimated 9,000 publishing professionals, almost 40% of whom will be international visitors. They will find in Liber a platform for business, professional development and networking, helping to extend the reach of Spain’s publishing ecosystem into international markets.
Liber’s exhibition will encompass major publishing groups and independent imprints, as well as academic and scientific publishers and specialists in children’s and young adult literature, educational publishing and religious publishing. The fair will also feature companies providing services for book production, distribution and marketing, alongside professional associations representing the sector.
Regional and International Participation
Liber will also feature strong institutional participation, with stands and collective representations from a number of Spanish regions and territories, including Andalusia, Aragon, Castile and León, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Galicia, the Madrid Region and the Basque Country.
The fair will also bring together international exhibitors from almost 20 countries seeking to establish business partnerships and strengthen international trade in publishing rights. Participating countries include Germany, Argentina, Armenia, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, the United States, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Peru, the United Kingdom, Türkiye and Ukraine.
“We have a strong publishing industry and a language spoken by nearly 600 million people worldwide. Liber is the ideal showcase for connecting that potential with new markets, strengthening exports and continuing to expand the international presence of our authors and publishers,” says Manuel González, President of the FGEE and Liber.
In collaboration with a range of institutions and organisations, Liber 2026 has strengthened its International Buyers Programme, together with its programmes for Priority Interest Specifiers, US Librarians, and Publishers and Literary Agents.
Through these initiatives, the fair has invited more than 700 professionals from 70 countries, including buyers, distributors, booksellers, librarians, literary agents, publishers and other industry stakeholders with direct purchasing and decision-making responsibility for books and publishing rights. The organisers expect these hosted-buyer programmes to generate more than 4,000 business meetings with exhibitors, creating new commercial opportunities and supporting the international expansion of Spanish publishing.
Rights Centre
One of the key areas being further developed at this year’s edition is the Rights Centre, launched last year and dedicated to the buying, selling and management of publishing and literary rights.
The Rights Centre will host pre-arranged business meetings between agents, international publishers and publishing houses to negotiate translation agreements, territorial licences, co-editions, distribution deals and adaptations of works into different formats.
Supported by a dedicated international programme that has invited 120 specialists from 46 countries, the Rights Centre aims to reinforce Liber’s role as a leading meeting point for international negotiations involving Spanish-language publishing and to create new opportunities for growth through the global circulation and exploitation of intellectual property.
Professional Programme
Liber’s Professional Conference Programme will address some of the main challenges facing the publishing industry. Artificial intelligence, the growth of audiobooks, attracting new readers, the internationalisation of Spanish-language publishing and the transformation of professional roles will feature prominently across a programme of 80 activities involving around 150 speakers.
Highlights include sessions examining the impact of AI on publishing and copyright management, trends expected to shape the publishing market through to 2030, the strategic use of data in the book business, and opportunities for Spanish publishers to expand into new markets across the Americas and Asia.
The programme will also devote particular attention to the rise of audiobooks, exploring new business models, consumer habits and production technologies. Other topics will include reading promotion and engagement with younger generations, including the presentation of Spain’s Reading Promotion Plan 2026–2030, as well as issues critical to the sector’s future, such as accessibility, sustainability, literary translation and the evolution of professional skills.
Alongside the conference programme, the Agora space will complement the event’s professional content with presentations and case studies from companies and organisations across the book industry.
The fair’s programme will also include the Liber Gala, which will take place at Barcelona’s Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) on 30 September. The event will feature the presentation of the Liber Awards, presented annually by the FGEE.
This year’s recipients are Cuban author Leonardo Padura, publisher Xosé Ballesteros, the Regional Library of Murcia, the cultural supplement ABC Cultural, the creators of the television series Anatomía de un instante, and Barcelona bookshop Casa Anita.
Liber 2026 is organised by Fira de Barcelona and promoted by the Spanish Federation of Publishers’ Guilds (FGEE). The fair is sponsored by Spain’s Ministry of Culture, ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Spanish Reproduction Rights Centre (CEDRO), with the collaboration of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), the Catalan Language Publishers’ Association, and the Catalan Publishers’ Guild.
Barcelona, 17 September 2026
Caption (from left to right): Fernando Benzo, General Secretary of the Spanish Federation of Publishers’ Guilds (FGEE); Manuel González, President of the FGEE and of Liber; Daniel Fernández, President of the Catalan Publishers’ Association; and Josep Alcaraz, Director of Liber 2026; at the press meeting today.