"Astros de Tierra" is the motto with which Chile will present itself as Guest of Honour at the 2027 Frankfurt Book Fair. The proposal, unveiled this October 8 together with the graphic identity that will accompany the nation's participation in Germany, invites us to look at the country from a different perspective: as a territory that, over the centuries, has observed, interpreted, and imagined the cosmos.
The phrase also embraces plurality. Chilean literature appears as a living galaxy: not a single story, but a constellation of voices, places, and experiences — from indigenous cosmologies and oral traditions to contemporary literature, the visual arts, and science — connected by unexpected affinities rather than by a chronological or hierarchical order. In Frankfurt, Chile will propose a shared sky: a place where literature becomes a way of observing the world, and where the world, in turn, becomes a source of literature.
From the astronomical knowledge of indigenous peoples to the world's most advanced observatories in the Atacama Desert — beneath one of the clearest skies on the planet — the sky has been, in Chile, a source of scientific knowledge and, at the same time, generative material for myths, stories, poetry, and reflection. An extreme geography, stretching from Atacama to Patagonia and Antarctica, has also shaped the way the country imagines, narrates, and inhabits the…
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"Astros de Tierra" is the motto under which Chile will present itself as Guest of Honour Country at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2027. The proposal, unveiled this October 8 together with the graphic identity that will accompany the country's participation in Germany, invites us to look at the country from a different perspective: as a territory that, over the centuries, has observed, interpreted, and imagined the cosmos. The phrase also embraces plurality. Chilean literature appears as a living galaxy: not a single story, but a constellation of voices, places, and experiences — from indigenous cosmologies and oral traditions to contemporary literature, the visual arts, and science — connected by unexpected affinities rather than by a chronological or hierarchical order. In Frankfurt, Chile will propose a shared sky: a place where literature becomes a way of observing the world and where the world, in turn, becomes a source of literature. From the astronomical knowledge of indigenous peoples to the world's most advanced observatories in the Atacama Desert — beneath one of the clearest skies on the planet — the sky has been in Chile a source of scientific knowledge and, at the same time, generative material for myths, stories, poetry, and reflection. An extreme geography, stretching from Atacama to Patagonia and Antarctica, has also shaped the way the country imagines, narrates, and inhabits the world.
The Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, Francisco Undurraga, stated: "Being Guest of Honour Country at Frankfurt 2027 is an extraordinary opportunity to show the world the richness and diversity of Chilean literature and culture. 'Astros de Tierra' captures well the idea of who we are: a country made up of many voices, stories, and perspectives that we today project beyond our borders. Our goal is for our presence at the Fair to generate more published authors, more translations, more readers, and new opportunities for our publishing industry and our country's culture."
"Chile has a rich literary heritage, with outstanding voices such as Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, and Isabel Allende. At the same time, the country's current publishing scene, made up of numerous independent publishers, is championing contemporary voices such as those of Alejandro Zambra, Nona Fernández, Daniela Catrileo, and many more. Book illustration in Chile is also vibrant and highly impactful. I look forward with enthusiasm to seeing numerous literary voices and artists engage in dialogue with an international audience in Frankfurt next year," highlighted Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse.
Meanwhile, the Chilean Ambassador to Germany, Jorge Sandrock, emphasized the significance of this event: "The role of Guest of Honour Country at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2027 offers us a privileged space to present our literature, but it also constitutes a great opportunity to showcase our country in its various facets as a tourist destination, trade partner, and strategic ally."
For Chile, this invitation represents a cultural opportunity and also a concrete challenge for its publishing industry: expanding the international circulation of its books, strengthening rights sales, and getting more authors to readers of other languages.
Chile in figures
The scale of that challenge is expressed in a figure. In 2024, Chile imported books worth US$69.5 million and exported close to US$2 million. The difference reveals an asymmetry that the work toward Frankfurt seeks to reverse, strengthening the internationalization capacities of publishers and book professionals.
The road to 2027 is gaining momentum. During 2026, 51 translation projects have been funded and the international promotion of Chilean literature has continued to be strengthened. In this context, the Shortlist drawn up in 2025 remains in force: a selection of 27 titles by Chilean authors made by international experts with knowledge of the German-speaking publishing ecosystem. Conceived as a tool for promotion and rights circulation, the selection has been distributed at the fair among more than 250 industry professionals and seeks to bring Chilean literature closer to publishers, agents, and other key players, fostering new opportunities for translation, publication, and circulation in German-speaking markets.
"Chile must know how to take advantage of this unique opportunity that being Guest of Honour Country represents. It is a tremendous international showcase to enable our already recognized authors to find new markets, new countries, and readers. We are going with a delegation of 13 authors, 36 publishers, and several activities during the fair that will allow us to make a first approach to what it means to be Guest of Honour Country, and being able to mark our presence a year in advance is very important, since the road to Frankfurt is not just about participating for one week at the fair, but rather sustained work that clearly takes a year, and three years if we think of the preparations and all the efforts that have been made," highlighted Nicolás Leyton, executive director of the Chile as Guest of Honour Country at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2027 project.
Translation is one of the central tools of this process. Since 2024, the Translating Chile program, driven by DIRAC, has supported the translation of 109 titles by Chilean authors. The goal set for October 2027 is to reach at least 160 translated titles, a projection the program expects to exceed.
Chile in Frankfurt 2026
During the week, the country will take part in more than 20 activities on the LatAm Stage, in addition to having its own stand at the fairgrounds. The program brings together literary conversations and professional encounters on translation, book circulation, publishing rights, and the challenges of connecting Latin American creation with other markets. The Chilean presence will continue with the participation of María José Viera-Gallo on the Global Stage (Friday 9), a meeting between the Chilean delegation and various international players at Romanfabrik (Saturday 10), and a collective reading by seven authors at the close of the LatAm Stage program (Sunday 11).
On Sunday 11, at 4:00 p.m. (Frankfurt time), Chile will receive from Czechia the GuestScroll — the Guest of Honour document — at the fair's handover ceremony. On this occasion, Chile will incorporate into the GuestScroll a fragment of Pasión de leer (The Passion for Reading), by Gabriela Mistral, a text that conceives reading as a vital and intense experience, linked to desire, discovery, and encounter. The choice of Mistral also carries special symbolic value: she was the first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945, and her work constitutes one of the most universal expressions of Chilean literature and of the Spanish language. Her voice will thus accompany the transition between Frankfurt 2026 and Chile's year as Guest of Honour Country, placing at the center of this handover the relationship between books, those who write them, and those who read them.
Chile will be Guest of Honour Country at the Frankfurt Book Fair during 2027. The project is led by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, through the Frankfurt 2027 Project, together with the Division of Cultures, Arts, Heritage and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DIRAC), ProChile, and Imagen de Chile.