La Plaza del Libro @ New York Is Book Country Festival.

During the last week of September, New Yorkers will celebrate the 24th annual New York Is Book Country (NYIBC) literary festival. Five days of citywide events will turn the spotlight on New York’s world of books and authors, kicking off on Wednesday, September 25th, and culminating with the highly anticipated Annual Book Fair on Fifth Avenue on Sunday, September 29th.

NYIBC Annual Book Fair on Fifth Avenue is expected to draw more than a quarter of a million New Yorkers and visitors to Fifth Avenue (between 48th & 57th Streets), from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. More than 175 booths will offer activities for all ages and opportunities to meet and greet authors. Visitors will find an “Antiquarian Row,” an African-American literature section, displays of new fall books and LA PLAZA DEL LIBRO, the Spanish language Pavilion.

LA PLAZA DEL LIBRO has been created and sponsored by el diario / LA PRENSA and co-sponsored by Criticas/ Publishers Weekly and Fondo de Cultura Economica USA. It will be located on Fifth Avenue, between 49th and 50th Streets, and will feature over a dozen publishers and distributors of books in the Spanish language including Grupo Planeta, Grupo Editorial Norma USA, Santillana USA, Fondo de Cultura Economica USA, Latino Child Inc., Lectorum, and Bookspan/Mosaico.

LA PLAZA DEL LIBRO will highlight renowned Latino literary luminaries such as Esmeralda Santiago, Edmundo Paz Soldán, Nellie Santiago, Carmen Boullousa, Ernesto Quiñonez, Eric Velasquez, and Zoé Valdés, who will sign books at booths during the fair.

Simultaneously to NYIBC Book Fair, on September 29th el diario / LA PRENSA will also sponsor LINGUA FRANCA, a literary afternoon with Latino authors at The Donnell Library Auditorium, 20 West 53rd Street (between Madison and 5th Avenues) just a few blocks away from the fair, from 12 Noon to 1:30 PM. The reading will be open to the public and will be moderated by el diario / LA PRENSA’s Publisher & CEO, Rossana Rosado.