The Councillor for Culture in Torrevieja, Antonio Quesada, and the manager of the Municipal Institute of Culture “Joaquín Chapaprieta”, Miguel Fernández, presented the XXVI edition of the Torrevieja Book Fair, which will be held in the Paseo Vista Alegre from Saturday, March 23 to Monday, April 1.
Although the book fair will be considerably smaller than many of the previous events, there will be a total of 8 booths with the participation of 9 bookstores (Librería Buendía, Asociación de Escritores Alas de Papel, Librería Bukmeran, Papelería Torrevieja, Librería Trini, Librería Santos Ochoa, Librería Copy Centro, Editorial Knowmadas y Librería Rivendel) installed on the Paseo Vista Alegre, as well as a tent in which the activities scheduled for the Book Fair will take place. All those who make purchases at the fair will have a 10% discount and will be entered into a raffle for a batch of books.
In this twenty-sixth edition of the fair, the book signing on Saturday, April 1, at 12:30 p.m., by the Spanish journalist and writer Máximo Huerta stands out. Throughout the Book Fair, up to a total of 30 authors will sign works.
TORREVIEJA BOOK FAIR PROGRAM 2024
Saturday 23 March 2024
12:30 p.m. Inauguration of the XXVI Torrevieja Book Fair in the institutional tent. As host we will have the book signing carried out by Máximo Huerta, Spanish journalist and writer.
Máximo Huerta, former Minister of Culture and Sports, was winner of the 2014 Spring Prize with his fourth novel, La noche soñada, and presents us with his latest work “París despertaba tarde”, in which he tells us a love story set in the Paris in 1924, the city is preparing for the Olympic Games and where the greatest artistic talents of the time converge, such as Picasso, Stravinsky, Hemingway, Le Corbusier…
12:00 and 5:30 p.m. Knowadas Books booth. Book signing of Andrea Nusán and her novel “Encerrada en la memoria de ella”.
5:30 p.m. Pulsar Store booth. The Torrevieja neighbour Francisco Soribella with “Añoranzas del Yesterday” is a tribute to Torrevieja and its people, but above all it is dedicated to all those people who are no longer among us.”
12:00 and 5:30 p.m. Santos Ochoa bookstore booth. Signing of the books by Javier Marín, “Desafío 59, Tablero Mortal, Descenso al abismo y Enigmas para un rey”.
Sunday 24 March 2024
12:00 and 5:30 p.m. Knowadas Books booth. Book signing of Andrea Nusán and her novel “Encerrada en la memoria de ella”.
12:30 p.m. In institutional tent – The magic is in the books.
Magician Iván will perform a participatory family magic show that with his illusion tricks will make young and old enjoy.
5:30 p.m. Pulsar Store booth. The Torrevieja resident Francisco Soribella with “Añoranzas del ayer” is a tribute to Torrevieja and its people, but above all it is dedicated to all those people who are no longer among us.”
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Santos Ochoa bookstore booth. Signing of Javier Marín’s books. “Desafío 59, Tablero Mortal, Descenso al abismo y Enigmas para un rey”
7:00 p.m. In institutional tent. Emotional workshop and book signing “Estás loca”, by Anaís Santos
Monday 25 March 2024
12:00 p.m. In institutional tent. Mar Carrillo book signing.
6:30 p.m. In institutional tent. Presentation of the work of Mar Carrillo, with a discussion by Victor Morata, Kress Watson and Mar Carrillo about her work: poetry and historical novel.
Tuesday 26 March 2024
5:30 p.m. In the Santos Ochoa booth. Roberto Hurtado book signing. “La última canción del verano, Días que gané y perdí, El mar que respiras”.
7:00 p.m. In institutional tent. Emotional workshop and book signing “Estás loca”, by Anaís Santos
Wednesday 27 March 2024
6:00 p.m. At Pulsar Store booth. Sandra Moniño Nutritionist specialised in inflammation accompanies us with her new book “Adiós a la inflamación”. A manual to reduce inflammation, improve digestive problems, treat diseases and lose weight.
6:30 p.m. In institutional tent. Presentation of the work of Víctor Morata, with a discussion by Víctor Morata, Kress Watson and Mar Carrillo about his work: detective and fantasy novels.
5:30 p.m. In the Santos Ochoa booth. Roberto Hurtado book signing. “La última canción del verano, Días que gané y perdí, El mar que respiras”.
Thursday 28 March 2024
5:30 p.m. Pulsar Store booth. Roberto Hurtado with his new book “La última canción del verano”. New novel from the author of El mar que respiras, which enriches and expands his world with the same style that has captivated thousands of readers.
5:30 p.m. Knowadas Books booth. Book signing by Javier Marín and his novel “Desafío 59”.
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Santos Ochoa Booth. Book signing “Napias planas”, by Eduardo Antonaya.
7:30 p.m. Institutional tent. Flamenco Poetry. Reading of poetry related to flamenco singing by the members of the Ars Creatio association.
Friday 29 March 2024
10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Santos Ochoa Booth. Book signing “Umayyads, and the Visigoth”, by Luís Barberá.
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Knowadas Books booth. Book signing of Cristina Selva and her novel “El ensueño de la sirena” and Javier Marín with “Desafío 59”.
12:00 p.m. Institutional tent. Dramatized reading from the Raúl Ferrández Municipal Theatre School.
6:30 p.m. In institutional tent. Presentation of the work of Kress Watson, with a discussion by Victor Morata, Kress Watson and Mar Carrillo about his work: romantic novel and thriller.
Saturday 30 March 2024
12:00 p.m. Institutional tent. – Bicipinta reading edition.
We will fill the ride with colour and originality with our artistic constructions that with a built-in table that rotates to the rhythm of pedalling, participants will be able to make original and most colourful artistic productions.
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Knowadas Books booth. Book signing of Alba Cayuelas and her novel “Hija de la Muerte” and Javier Marín with “Desafío 59”.
4:00 p.m. Institutional tent. Learn to role play. The La Esquina Amarilla association teaches you the basics so that you can have a fantastic time getting started in role-playing games.
5:30 p.m. Pulsar Store Booth. Estela Naïa accompanies us with her first novel “Monstruos Criminales”, she discovers the most terrifying and brutal real cases in the history of true crime.
6:00 p.m. Institutional tent. – Keychains with pompoms.
There will be a pompom workshop with which each participant will create a keychain that they can take with them and will accompany them on every adventure in their daily lives.
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Santos Ochoa Booth. Book signing by Fran González Amorós, with the saga of “El reino de las calabazas, Un niño en la luna y Donde habitan las sombras”.
Sunday 31 March 2024
12:00 p.m. Institutional tent. Games studio + face painting.
12 handmade wooden games that work on strategy, skill and ingenuity. Intended especially for youth and adult audiences and which can be played in a group, as a couple or individually. In addition, it will be accompanied by a professional face painting workshop.
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Knowadas Books booth. Book signing of Cristina Selva and her novel “El ensueño de la sirena” and Javier Marín with “Desafío 59”.
5:00 p.m. Institutional tent. Learn to role play. The La Esquina Amarilla association teaches you the basics so that you can have a fantastic time getting started in role-playing games.
5:30 p.m. Pulsar Store Booth. Do you dare to discover the Magical Plain? Meet Marta Ruiz, author of “La Vega Mágica” A book full of mysteries and popular magic, illustrations, maps, videos and even secrets that you will have to discover yourself if you decide to visit the places of the legends of our Vega Baja.
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Santos Ochoa Booth. Book signing by Fran González Amorós.
Monday 1 April 2024
10:30 and 5:30 p.m. Santos Ochoa Booth. Book signing “¿Y la abuela? Y Rosa, la bruja desastrosa”, by Luís García.
Book Sales
Despite the perception of printed books no longer being relevant due to technological advances such as the Kindle, the figures show the opposite and printed books are for the most part stable in their demand, but actually growing in some areas.
According to a report by wordsrelated.com, in 2022, over 788.7 million copies of printed books were sold in the United States, which was the second-highest sales mark for printed books in the 21st century, trailing only a record-setting 2021 with 843 million copies sold.
Overall, print book sales have grown by almost 100 million copies compared to the pre-pandemic period. 2020 and 2021 were the biggest years for print book sales this decade when the unit sales jumped by 11.24% and 9.26% over the previous years, respectively.
Statistics platform Statista also reports 2023 revealed that the printed book market remains healthy: a total of 767.36 million units were sold that year among outlets which reported to the source. Whilst this marked a small drop from the previous year, the figure still remains higher than in the years prior to 2021.
As for the UK, Svizzeria Today reports the number of print books sold in the United Kingdom amounted to 209.1 million in 2022, down from 212 in the previous year. The 2021 figure marked the highest on record since 2012, whereas the number recorded in 2020 was the first time since 2012 that book sales in the UK surpassed 200 million.
For their part, Amazon, the biggest player in the ebook field and creator of Kindle, are selling 487 million books per year, and so despite those perceptions of replacement, both platforms are maintaining strength and neither one actually detrimental to the other.
