The deputy mayor, delegate of Culture of the Córdoba City Council, Isabel Albás, and the delegate of Education, Narci Ruiz, together with the president of the Association of Stationery and Bookstores of Córdoba (Aplico), José Luis Duval, and the person in charge of the Foundation CajaSur, Leopoldo Izquierdo, presented this Wednesday the 49th edition of the Book Fair, which begins on Friday and runs until Sunday, April 28, with a record number of booths, with 48, a total of 16 bookstores and more than 70 activities .
In a press conference, the mayor of Culture, who thanked the Department of Education of the Andalusian Government for the collaboration for development, highlighted that “it is the longest-running cultural event of those held in the city”, something which he has attributed to the work of technicians, such as Rafael Ruiz, and “the coordinated work” between entities, to “grow in quality and quantity.” “In addition to being cultural, the fair also has an important commercial profile, constituting one of the most important moments of the year when it comes to book marketing,” she stated.
Last year the number of visitors was estimated at 22,000 and this year the number of booths will break a record, going from 38 in 2023 to 48, which is why Albás has “thanked all the people and companies that want expose”. Almost 50% of the fair participants are local bookstores and 25% are Córdoba publishers. During the fair all books are sold with a 10% discount.
Likewise, the fair has the Gloria Fuertes space and the Municipal Library Network booth that will provide reading without having to pay for it, commented Albás, who has asserted that “in the cultural programming of the fair, special effort has been made to reach to absolutely all sectors with high-level literature and essays and more popular productions, with authors also for the little ones.
This year there is “a very attractive offer for young audiences with popular authors” such as Mercedes Ron, Blue Jean, Vanessa Monfort and Rayden. There are a total of 70 activities that include presentations, meetings with authors, workshops and shows.
The mornings from Monday to Friday are preferably intended for school groups for meetings with “top-of-the-line” children’s literature authors and will have “an entertainment group that will lead to a fun visit to the fair.” The early hours of the weekends and early afternoons also every day are aimed at children and families.
Among the local authors, Vicente Luis Mora, Federico Abad, Mario Cuenca, Pedro Ruiz, Fernando Sánchez Mayo and Daniel Valdivieso stand out, said the mayor, who has announced that an edition of the Córdoba writer Juan will be delivered to the citizens on the Bulevar del Libro. Valera in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of his birth.
ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILY
Meanwhile, the Education delegate has valued the programming of activities to encourage reading and promote books aimed at schoolchildren of different ages from Kindergarten to Secondary School, emphasizing that “reading is the fundamental tool for the learning process”, time a set of entertainment, theater and music activities are planned, aimed at family audiences.
Specifically, he has detailed that there are a total of five meetings with authors scheduled, the mayor highlighting, “because it is new”, that of the Cordoba author from Puente Genil Álvaro de la Fuente, with his book ‘Fosforito, un genius of music’, on April 23. “It is a book that highlights the figure of the illustrious flamenco artist in Córdoba, ‘Fosforito’, and approaches children in a very entertaining way,” said Ruiz, adding that “work is already being done by some schools in the province”.
In the mornings there are also guided tours with the schools, with monitors who will receive and during the visits reading will be encouraged, aimed at children with special needs, so that “special care has been taken in the programming of activities in this year the inclusive dimension”, he stressed, adding that on April 23, an inclusive theater workshop will be held at 12:00 noon, with the Santo Ángel, Europa and María Montessori centers, with about 120 students.
On the other hand, there are the theatrical animations in the mornings from April 22 to 26. The total number of students who plan to attend the activities organized in the mornings are more than 560 and about 45 teachers, all from 16 centers. The budget of the Delegation is about 6,000 euros.
INCREASE IN VISITORS
And the president of Aplico has stated that “the last edition had a very positive balance, with an increase in visitors compared to the previous year and sales, according to estimates, were similar or higher”, so this year they expect “more” , while praising that of the 16 bookstores, one is from Cabra, ‘For the love of art’, hence he trusts that “comrades from the towns will be encouraged to come to Córdoba.”
In this regard, he stated that “the fair is a great showcase to make yourself known and also to make new clients”, while mentioning that there will be an Aplico awards ceremony for a bookmark contest and gifts will be given to the winners. a basket of books and bookmarks are printed to distribute at the fair. Duval hoped that “the fair will be as attractive as previous editions and that the influx of visitors will be high.”
INAUGURAL CONFERENCE WITH PABLO D’ORS
The inaugural conference will take place on Saturday, April 20 and will be given by Pablo d’Ors. Grandson of the writer and essayist Eugenio d’Ors, Pablo is a priest and writer trained in a German cultural environment. After studying Philosophy and Theology, he received his doctorate in Rome with the thesis titled ‘Theopoetics. Theology of literary experience’. By appointment of Pope Francis, he is cultural advisor to the Vatican.
His career as a novelist began in 2000. His work, which is related to the literature of Franz Kafka, Hermann Hesse and Milan Kundera, has been well received by critics.
In this year, which marks the centenary of Kafka’s death, the Czech-Spanish writer, journalist and translator Monika Zgustova will visit the Fair to have a meeting with the reading clubs of the municipal libraries around her novel Soy Milena de Praga , the fictionalized story of Milena Jesenska, whom many know as a friend of Kafka and recipient of his well-known Letters to Milena.
Zgustova’s novel is also a tribute to the women who, in the turbulent and tragic years of the 1920s and 1930s, dedicated their lives to fighting for the dignity of women and victims of injustice.
Another of the writers who will visit the Fair is Alicia Giménez Bartlett, one of the godmothers of detective novels in Spain, known especially for her novels starring police inspector Petra Delicado. Giménez Bartlett has been the winner, among others, of the Nadal awards in 2011 and the Planeta awards in 2015. They are part of the authors of wide national and international recognition who will meet.
