Festival 42, Barcelona’s event dedicated to the fantastic genres, reaches its fifth edition this year, having become an essential meeting point for lovers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. From November 5 to 9, Fabra i Coats and the Biblioteca Ignasi Iglésias – Can Fabra will be filled with authors, readers, and literary professionals who share the same passion: exploring other possible realities.

Organized by the Culture Institute of Barcelona City Council, the festival offers more than 78 activities including panel discussions, workshops, book presentations, exhibitions, and literary routes, plus 10 more under the +42 program. More than 160 authors will take part, consolidating Festival 42 as one of the most important fantasy literature festivals in southern Europe and a key event within the network of festivals of Barcelona, UNESCO City of Literature.

Major International Figures and a Strong Catalan Presence

This fifth edition brings together some of the most outstanding voices in the genre worldwide, such as China Miéville, V.E. Schwab, Fonda Lee, Claire North, David Lloyd, Anna Starobinets, Ben Aaronovitch, and Edmundo Paz Soldán.

The Catalan representation will also be first-rate, featuring Anna Pantinat, Elisenda Solsona, Sebastià Alzamora, Joan-Lluís Lluís, Albert Pijuan, Isabel del Río, Mar Garcia Puig, Care Santos, Víctor Garcia Tur, Antoni Munné-Jordà, and Carme Torras, among many others. In Spanish, participants will include Rosa Montero, Cristina Fernández Cubas, Elia Barceló, and Juan Jacinto Muñoz Rengel.

Curated by Ricard Ruiz Garzón, with Karen Madrid Ribas and Susana Vallejo as associate curators, this edition will be marked by diversity, tributes, and a desire to reaffirm the fantastic as a space of creative freedom and cultural engagement.

Thematic Axes: Myths, Monsters, and Possible Futures

This year’s Festival 42 invites reflection on Catalan mythology and the literary roots of fantastic genres at a time when identity — including linguistic identity — is often called into question. The figure of the monster will serve as a lens to explore how the different, the strange, and the threatening continue to inspire contemporary creation.

Another major theme will be climate fiction, which more and more authors use to imagine possible futures in the face of ecological crisis. The festival will also be infused with a feminist and LGTBIQ+ perspective, reaffirming the fantastic as a space of resistance, representation, and social transformation.

In addition, the program will include Festival 42’s well-established strands such as young adult literature, the romantasy boom, comics, grimdark, weird fiction, Afrofuturism, and performing arts.

42 Awards and Highlight Activities

The 42 Awards will once again recognize the best works of fantastic literature published over the past year, across ten categories distinguishing creations in both Catalan and Spanish. The award ceremony will take place on Friday, November 7 at 8 p.m., in Hall 2 of Fabra i Coats: Fàbrica de Creació, and will be hosted by the festival’s curatorial team.

Among the most anticipated events are the MiévilleCon, a small-scale convention dedicated to China Miéville; the opening session led by Cristina Fernández Cubas; and the closing concert by Feyleryn, presenting her project Route to Balladica.

Other highlights include an exhibition on Catalan mythology, curated and illustrated by Laia Baldevey, and Essa Efa. More than a Century of Science Fiction in Catalan, curated by Joaquim Noguero. The Great 42 Panels will bring together a wide range of authors to discuss creative processes within the fantastic genres, while the Great Cosplay Night will transform Fabra i Coats into a celebration of the audience’s most beloved characters.

You can find all the details about Festival 42 on the official website.