The heads of the organization of the book fairs of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Madrid and Tenerife have decided to strengthen ties Y collaborating in their promotion and book sales strategies, as stated yesterday at a press conference after their first meeting at the General State Library.
Irene Pérez, the president of the Association of Booksellers of Las Palmas; Remedios Sosa, her counterpart in the province of Tenerife; and Eva Orúe, the director of the Madrid Book Fair, They explained that they are “very optimistic” with this year’s edition “which recovers almost complete normality, because it will even be held without masks,” explained Orúe. Among the novelties of this edition highlighted the tribute to the writer Almudena Grandes, who died last year, and the tributes in commemoration of the centenary of José Saramago.
The dates of celebration of these events are going to coincide in the case of Madrid and Las Palmas at the end of May, while Tenerife this year changes its location: «we went from the capital to La Laguna and delayed it to October, because the Carnival is It will celebrate in summer and we do not want to mix, “explained Remedios Sosa.
Regarding the pandemic and its effects, those responsible commented that “for us it has meant a very important improvement in the sale of books, also among children and young people, surely because everyone had more time to dedicate to reading,” he explained. Antonio Rivero, manager of the Canaima bookstore. He also added that “the data indicates that traditional businesses sell 90% of the books and the digital part keeps 10%.”
In this meeting of those responsible for book fairs, they did not forget to analyze and debate the importance that the celebration of these events has for the trade in general. The person in charge of Las Palmas, Jorge Balbás, highlighted the boost that it represents for the cultural fabric, but also commercial, “the celebration of acts of this type, which bring together many people and energize many groups from other social sectors.”
