The book fair promotes Mexican and other Latin American authors to an international audience. The FIL Rights Centre is a dedicated space designed for the negotiation and sale of publishing rights. It serves as a hub for literary agents, publishers, and other industry professionals to network, exchange ideas, and conduct business. The Centre provides resources such as meeting spaces, promotional opportunities, and support services to facilitate these transactions. It plays a crucial role in promoting the global reach of literature, helping authors and publishers expand their works into new markets and languages. FIL also works to expand inter-cultural dialogue and learning. For example, the FIL Rights Exchange Program is a fellowship programme for editors from non-Spanish-speaking countries. The programme aims to build connections with regions where Ibero-American literature is less familiar, thereby expanding the reach of Latin American and Spanish literature globally. Since 1993, FIL has also designated a “Guest of Honour”, a particular region, country, or set of countries (e.g. the European Union), which are invited to showcase their publishing sector and authors. Each evening, the Guest of Honour also conducts performances at the Foro FIL and various city venues, showcasing its cultural heritage. This initiative helps to create ties with countries around the world, thus supporting bilateral business opportunities.
The FIL is run in collaboration with the University of Guadalajara and incorporates education and learning into all its activities. Alongside its many conferences, workshops, roundtables, and talks, FIL offers activities and seminars specifically for teachers and librarians, focusing on literacy, reading promotion, and educational strategies. It also offers student conferences and workshops and a significant amount of programming dedicated to children. For example, its “One Thousand Young People with…” sessions bring together children and young adults with the winner of the FIL Literary Award and other prominent writers to talk, discuss, share, and enjoy their experiences and readings. This is all in addition to “FIL Niños”, a dedicated programming track for children and children’s literature. This track includes workshops and shows catering to children from 3 to 12 years-old, as well as specific sessions for parents and babies from 0 to 2 years-old.
The book fair is supported by both public and private sponsors. Alongside sponsorship from large companies, FIL also receives sponsorship from international public institutions, such as the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, the European Union, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). FIL also runs the “FILantropía” initiative, a social action programme that offers companies or individuals the opportunity to sponsor local children from low-income families to attend FIL Niños. FIL is responsible for proposing a selection of candidate groups to receive support from funders and coordinates logistics of the visit. The sponsorship covers travel to and from the venue, admission costs, refreshments, and the opportunity for each child to receive a book of their choice for a symbolic price of one peso. In return, sponsors receive a high level of visibility in event publicity and literature, including on social media, in the FIL Children's Handout brochure, and on banners and T-shirts at the fair.
