Too many days, lack of sprawl, place still little known, dance of dates every year and above all, several bookstores to attract the public. These are some of the criticisms leveled at the Alicante Book Fair by some participants. edition 53, in Seneca Square (and Espacio Seneca) without pain or victory for most of those consulted. Something that contradicts the fact that the Ministry of Culture estimates that about 11,000 people passed through here between 5-14 May – without any official data yet.
“This is a complete disaster of participation.. There are days when we sell three books, we have 45 authors. we have postpaid one-fifth of what we billed at the two-day Elche fair. Bookstores don’t go, and those who do can’t buy anything from the fair. The problem is not the place, it is necessary to understand the culture from another perspective. “, He states from ECU-17 Musas after the end of the Alicante fair, which was established with 19 booths, four of which are bookstores (Llibres Chus, Cilsa, Casa del Libro and Pinazo bookstore in Valencia), four publishers (ECU, Cartem, Sagartana). , Bukmeran -self-publishing distributor-) and other institutional stands (Gil-Albert Institute, University of Alicante, Institut d’Estudis Catalans and Ministry of Defence).
Valencia bookstore pinnazo already Claims he won’t be back next yeardespite having participated in the last three editions. “This year has been very disappointing. because no one was there. No one on weekdays and four kids on weekends. The Alicante fair is getting worse and the number of bookstores is dwindling. “We sold half last year and we didn’t come here to lose money,” he said. Eva Aguilar, This shows that in addition to the stand, which costs about 650 Euros, there are accommodation expenses for those coming from abroad and it is “not profitable”. Pinazo bookstore participates in around thirty fairs in Spain each year, noting that: “free in many stands and if not, you get that money back with the sale. We won’t be coming back next year,” says Aguilar, who thinks the outcome depends more on the organization than on the size of the fair: “People don’t even know we’re there.Location is not good, cabins are far from each other and activities are only inside. They promise us things will change and they don’t.”
Cartem publishing house will not repeat either, Art books and copies from Salamanca. “This is the first time we are attending but next year We don’t go back because there are very few people.“There is no one from Monday to Thursday and there is an increase only on the weekend, but very little,” he says. luis sanchezwho believes that “the place is a bit hidden and a fair must be a place where a lot of people go “He hasn’t counted yet” but even if you record the numbers, It’s not worth coming.”
One of the few bookstores in the state of Alicante that participates in eight editions each year Llibres Chus from Sant Joan d’Alacant and the owner specializes in children’s books. Chus Sevahe thinks the fair is “stagnant” and “too shady”. Despite loving the location – “we’ve been there since 2019” – management “must make an effort for us to be more bookstores. A fair should be open to bookstores and there aren’t any. I’m going because I get help from broadcasters for the booth and I don’t have to hire any workers, but we need to provide facilities to those who go, even more so if you come from abroad.” regrets that there is no activity outside. Also do you think ten days doesn’t make sense“four or five will suffice”.
Dates that come and go
Lliris Picóbetween Institute of Catalan Studies, He also agrees that the fair is “too long”. ten days is too many and it gets more expensive if you hire one person” and regrets that the fair doesn’t have a specific date: “We had a fair in April, May, June and even July. Without the reference dates, this cannot be a reference fair either,” states the responsible person, “one of the few who do “sell well” for books “because we are the only book offer in valencia and those who know us will find it”, but thinks that this aspect has been neglected by the organization. “We miss the events in Valencia and although we offer them, they told us that this year there are already too many”, apart from Picó, which also affects the lack of bookstores and the lack of bookstores, “this year’s overall We only accepted two presentations on a stand-by-stand basis”. self-publishing publisher login“What literary product is being offered?” he asks.
For bukmeranIt was their first experience at the Alicante fair, a self-publishing distributor with two bookstores in Elche. “I don’t have any data to compare, except for the Elche fair which lasted for one and a half days. not only on sale, there is no color in the influx of peopleFew came here. I did not calculate I think we’re going to lose money”shows alejandro dadbelieving that this fair “looks like” The book is not designed to stand out.but that’s what it feels like to have Seneca Space”.
Manresa: “There are always aspects that can be improved”
Antonio Manresa, Member of the Council for Culture, “There are always areas for improvement”but in the absence of official data, “provisional figures 11,000 people passed the fair”. “Of course more can be done, but We are developing and the fair is open to everyone When asked about the lack of bookstores, Manresa says she doesn’t know why. “And I hope whoever replaces me on the council can persuade more booksellers to come.”
The mayor concedes that “stands need to be subsidized more, perhaps to include Commerce,” but adds that “up to 60% subsidy in 2021, and there are also protests.”
Related fair dates and duration, “Ten days is still a lot and will have to consider quitting at five”, but that “must be decided by the booksellers and publishers involved, and that’s what was agreed upon at the meetings. We do whatever they want from us. And we never said no.”
It should be noted that the Alicante Book Fair has been opened to the public for 28,919.00 Euros for the last three years. Malaga company macyre The first year was awarded in 2021 with some controversy due to the lack of writers from Alicante, but was awarded in 2022 as it was also the only company to enter the competition in 2022 and have the award extended this year. It will compete again in 2024.