Festival 42, dedicated to fantasy genres and organised by Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB) through the “Barcelona City of Literature UNESCO” programme, began yesterday, November 6, with its fourth edition, and will run until November 10. More than 150 speakers are expected at Fabra i Coats, including writers, illustrators and experts, who will take part in the 73 scheduled activities. Guest speakers include authors such as Ted Chiang, Rebecca Yarros, Mónica Ojeda, T. Kingfisher, Lisa Tuttle and Albert Sánchez Piñol.

The North American Ted Chiang will be live in Barcelona for the first time. He is the creator of stories such as Story of Your Life, which inspired Denis Villeneuve’s film Arrival. He is considered one of today’s best authors: with his stories he reflects, through philosophy, on the immediate future and the human being. Rebecca Yarros will speak in an online event that will be broadcasted throughout Latin America and is the only similar participation this year by the author in Catalan or Spanish; Yarros is the author of the Empyrean series, an international publishing phenomenon. The Ecuadorian Mónica Ojeda, author of Nefando and Jawbone, visited the 42 to talk about her work and her career. Bernice M. Murphy, Catriona Ward, Elisenda Solsona, Beatriz Alcaná, P. Djèlí Clark and Emilio Bueso are just some of the other names who will be visiting the 42.

Dragons, omnipresent

In 2024, the programme will revolve around three main themes: the figure of the dragon as an omnipresent element in fantasy, scientific outreach and horror. The festival will explore the symbolism and representations of dragons in literature, film, video games and other creative formats. One of the central activities will be the exhibition Hic Sunt Dracones, inaugurated on November 6, which will remain open during the festival and will offer a journey through the most iconic literary dragons in history, from those imagined by Tolkien to George R. R. Martin. Up to a dozen activities will feature dragons, including one in memory of Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball.

With regard to outreach, round tables and conferences with experts will address issues such as bioethics, artificial intelligence and climate change from a literary and scientific perspective. The horror theme will be very present in the programme with several tables dedicated to this genre and the participation of great specialists, from Lisa Tuttle to Attila Veres, Bernice M. Murphy and Catriona Ward.

Experiential activities, updates and tributes

The festival will also include experiential activities, such as storytelling workshops, live podcasts, video games and literary routes around the city. One of the novelties of this edition will be the ‘Networking Night’, a space dedicated to the dissemination of fantasy genres through digital platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. In addition, for the first time, the 42 will add theatre to its activities, with two science fiction, fantasy and video game genre plays that were performed on the opening day, with free admission for all audiences.

And as has become a tradition, there will be space for tributes to works and authors who have left their mark on fantastic literature. This year the 50th anniversary of Typescript of the Second Origin by Manuel de Pedrolo, the centenary of the death of Franz Kafka, the centenary of the birth of Jordi Sarsanedas, as well as the 25th anniversary of the premiere of the film Matrix will be celebrated. There are also two small-format conventions dedicated to Shirley Jackson and Ursula K. Le Guin.

The 42 Awards ceremony, which includes ten categories, will take place on the evening of Friday 8 November at 8 p.m., also at Fabra i Coats. Twenty parallel activities are also planned, under the umbrella of +42.

The closing of the festival will consist of a cosplay contest, which promises to fill the Fabra i Coats with mythical and iconic characters from fantasy literature, film and video games.