Antares celebrates the International Day of the Book

ANTARES Publishing House of Spanish Culture is pleased to announce a literary and cultural event in celebration of International Book Day, to be held on April 23, 2026, in the Skyroom of Glendon College’s Centre of Excellence (3^rd Floor, York Hall), located at 2275 Bayview Avenue, Toronto. Doors open at 6:00 pm and the activities start at 6:30 pm. Admission is free.

The program will feature the launching of three ANTARES publications:

1) Alter Medea, a play by Elaine Vilar, a talented Cuban playwright, two times winner of the Garzon Cespedes International Award (Spain, 2012 and 2013) and recipient of the I Accésit Thalía at the Airel ART(E) T(H)EATRO XXI Awards granted by ANTARES Publishing House of Spanish Culture (Canada, 2013). The book will be presented by the Consul General of Cuba in Toronto.

2) The Sun Never Sets, a collection of poems by Chilean writer and poet Erik Martinez, member of the “Escuela de Santiago” (1968), a key literary group in the history of Chilean poetry. He is also the author of Tequila Sunrise (1985), one of the greatest works of Latin American poetry produced in Canada. The Sun Never Sets will be presented by Consul General of Chile in Toronto.

3) Juan Gelman : Les Stratégies de l’Altérité. Hétéronymie, intertextualité, traduction (French translation by Francisco Antolino) by María del Carmen Sillato, Professor at University of Waterloo, winner of the Best Book Award from the Canadian Association of Hispanists for best academic book on Hispanic Literature (1997). The book, which presents a critical analysis of the work of Juan Gelman, will be presented by University of Toronto Professor Rosa Saravia.

Gelman (3 May 2026 – 14 January 2026) was a celebrated Argentinian poet, winner of the Cervantes Price, the most prestigious award for literary works written in the Spanish language.

Also included in the program is a presentation of a portrait of Juan Gelman executed in oil by Eugenia Dietrich , a renowned Argentinian artist, who will speak of the creative process that led to the painting’s creation. Dietrich was the recipient of an award from the Registro Creativo of the Canadian Association of Hispanists for her painting “Alas, pétalos y violin con acordeón” (2014). The Deputy Consul General of Argentina in Toronto will also address the meeting and speak of the importance of Argentinian Letters in world literature.

Tributes will be paid to some of the famous writers whose life started or ended on April 23^rd (Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega), including a presentation on Maurice Druon (1918-2009), famed French novelist and member of the French Academy, by the cultural representative of the Alliance Française of Toronto.

Finally, several books will be displayed, including Seven Princes, by Julian Fernandez; Three Lotuses in a Sea of Fire, by Camila Reimers; The Breadfruit Tree and Other Stories, by Gabriela Etcheverry; and Una Espléndida Ocasión and Other Latitudes: Argentinian Voices around the 49th Parallel, edited by Margarita Feliciano.

Refreshments will be provided, as well as musical entertainment by Iaritza Martínez and her father, Isidro Martínez.

International Book Day is an annual event inaugurated in 1995 by UNESCO to promote publishing, reading and copyright. The date (April 23rd) was chosen to coincide with the date when Miguel de Cervantes and Shakespeare died.

For more information, please contact Margarita Feliciano at 416-488-6200. We will keep posting more information about all the participants in this event. Hope to see you there!