The 30th International Book Fair of Lima runs through August 6 at the Centro de Exposiciones Jockey, and this year’s edition features a strong slate of titles from Peruvian publishers spanning children’s fiction, history, essay, and music.
For young readers
Erase una vez en Carabayllo, published by the National Library of Peru, collects 23 short stories written by children from the San Pedro de Carabayllo community. The project was driven by the local communal library and the Biblioteca Nacional del Peru, with writing workshops led by Emmanuel Grau and editing by Maria Cristina Acosta, founder of the Leer para Crecer project. The book will be presented at the fair on August 4 at 3 p.m. It can be found at stand 123.
Kene, published by Kokorito and written by Olinda Silvano and Ronin Koshi, introduces young readers to the kene, a traditional Amazonian visual art form, and invites them to create their own versions using designs by Silvano. It is available at stand 110 of Kokoro Books.
La pecera de Koi, by Miguel Angel Vallejo and published by Altazor, approaches the subject of school bullying through three perspectives: a young ceramicist, an imaginative fish, and the dreams they share. The novel will be presented on August 3 at 8 p.m. in the Jose Maria Arguedas auditorium. It is at stand 52 of Ediciones Altazor.
Un pollito en apuros, by Yeniffer Diaz and published by Thema, follows a chick who finds a coin and sets off on an adventure after a greedy king takes it away. It is at stand 20. Also at stand 20 is Y todos dijeron wow!, by Pepe Kabana, which follows a first-grader named Gaby as she surprises her classmates with a revelation about her father.
Fiction and literature
Culebra, by Jhemy Tineo Mulatillo and published by the Fondo de Cultura Economica, won the Watanabe Prize in 2021. The short novel is set in Moyobamba and portrays the Amazonian youth experience through friendship, first love, and popular beliefs. Illustrations are by Tarapoto-based artist David Orlando. It is at stand 19.
Sombriti, by Jose Carlos Aguero and published by Penguin Random House, is a literary and political essay on language and inherited violence in Peru. Written as a letter to childhood, it brings together family memory, mourning, visual archive, and poetry. It is available at stand 31 of Bien Leido and at various bookshops present at the fair.
History and non-fiction
Pachacutec, by historian Maria Rostworowski and published by the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, examines how Cusco became the center of one of the largest empires in the Andean world. Using a critical review of colonial chronicles, Rostworowski traces the internal disputes, alliances, and decisions behind the Inca expansion. It is at stand 1.
Historia minima de los Incas, by Cesar Astuhuaman and also published by the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, offers a fresh look at the Tawantinsuyu, exploring how a small regional power became the largest empire in South America and how it governed vast and diverse territories. Also at stand 1.
El historiador dibujante, published by the Fondo de Cultura Economica and written by Jorge Eslava, a winner of the Premio Casa de la Literatura Peruana, adapts and contextualizes the 17th-century manuscript by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala for a contemporary audience. The illustrated edition includes 80 original drawings. At stand 19.
El virreinato del Peru, by Eduardo Torres Arancibia and published by Academia Antartica, argues that the colonial viceroyalty never truly disappeared from Peruvian society and examines how its hierarchies persist in modern life. At stand 110 of Kokoro Books.
Culture, memoir, and media
Yo soy la cumbia, published by UPC, traces the history of cumbia music across Colombia, Nicaragua, Argentina, the United States, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil through the voices of journalists and artists. The book explores the genre’s evolution from its roots to its intersections with rock, hip-hop, jazz, punk, and psychedelia. At stand 8.
Esta que quema, by Xabier Diaz de Cerio and also at stand 8 of UPC, examines how the climate crisis is reported rather than the crisis itself. Across 50 key points, it traces the history of climate science and journalism from the 19th century to the present-day challenges facing Latin American media.
Senora Vid, by Mercedes Auris de Munive and published by Penguin Random House, is the autobiography of an agricultural engineer from Huancavelica who founded Vivero Los Vinedos and led what the book describes as the largest agro-export boom in the country’s history, turning Peru into the world’s leading grape exporter. At stand 31 of Bien Leido.
Collectibles
Mafalda, Lo Mejor 2, a new miniature hardcover edition of Quino’s classic comic strip published to mark 60 years of the character, is available at stand 85 of Los libros mas pequenos del mundo, which carries hundreds of titles measuring six centimeters tall.
