At a time of relative and continuous upheaval in the book world (going through consecutive crises: first the covid, then the war in Ukraine and in between the skyrocketing increase in the costs of raw materials – in some cases up to 40%, while only 4 or 5% has been reflected in the price of the book – and now, after another distribution crisis with Entredos half-recovering, the problems in the Enciclopèdia group and Vicens Vives), from time to time there there is good news of growth, but they do not often reach figures like the one that the publication of books in Catalan can achieve this year, with a rise of 12%. The figure was given this Monday by the president of the Editors’ Guild of Catalonia, Patrici Tixis, during the balance sheet prior to the Edition Night. The growth of books in general throughout Spain is expected to be around 3.5%, with an estimated turnover of around 2,815 million euros, of which around 1,442 million – 53% – correspond to Catalan publishers, that lead the market.

Among the causes for such high growth in Catalan, Tixis conjectured on the one hand the good Sant Jordi past – the previous one had been good enough despite the storms – but also a good Book Week in Catalan and the strong increase on the one hand children’s and youth literature and on the other that of comics in Catalan, which has gained a lot of momentum – traditional publishers such as Norma have joined in, and new initiatives have come out, especially Finestres but also Comanegra , Mai Més, Godall or Pagès Editors are publishing titles. According to the president of the guild, the new consumption habits after the pandemic had increased the sale of books in general, but in Catalan it had done so to a lesser extent, figures that this year seem to have been corrected. “If energy is put into the new National Plan for Books and Reading, I think that the figures of the future can be even more interesting”, he added. Among the buying habits, he highlighted that in Catalonia approximately 60% of books are bought in local bookstores – 40% in the rest of Spain -, which contrasts with 30% in Europe or, even more, only 10 % in the Anglo-Saxon world, where the price of the book is free.

Among the immediate challenges they face in the future, Tixis highlighted two: piracy – he put the losses at 200 million – and the regulation of artificial intelligence, which often works with protected content. He also spoke hopefully of the new “great library in Barcelona, ??and of the demand that 2% of the Generalitat’s budget be allocated to culture, without forgetting that Barcelona will be the invited city in 2025 to the Guadalajara International Book Fair (Mexico).

During the 38th Night of the Edition, at the Goya theater, the guild will present the Atlântida prize (to a prestigious personality or entity that has stood out for the defense of books and reading), which has been shared by the towns of Calonge- Sant Antoni (Baix Empordà) and Urueña (Valladolid) for their initiatives with the opening of bookstores as a great claim, and which will be collected by their mayors, Jordi Soler and Francisco Rodríguez. Calonge, in fact, is celebrating its second anniversary this weekend with a commemorative day, today with six bookstores – there had been seven -, and the idea of ??opening three more soon.

The Fernando Lara Memorial Award for a young business initiative in the world of books will be collected by Eugènia Broggi for L’Altra Editorial, which has just turned ten years old, and the Associació Col·legial d’Escriptors de Catalunya awards the award for Translation Ángel Crespo to Núria Molines Galarza for the translation of El hombre de jazmín y otros textos (Wunderkammer), by Unica Zürn.

The guild will also recognize the centenaries of Editorial Joventut and the Bernat Metge collection (Editorial Alpha), as well as the 25th anniversary of Corimbo, MTM Editores and Símbol Editors.