After a weekend in which a slight increase in attendance was noted, with rooms packed to see writers and more traffic than in the first days in the corridors of the Rural property, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo , The Buenos Aires International Book Fair reaches its final week amid uncertainty and moderate sales expectations for the remainder of the event.which will close its doors on Monday, May 13.
Even before the opening of the exhibition, one of the largest in the field internationally in the Spanish language, the organizers predicted a “complex” edition due to the economic crisis that the country is going through. “Many of the people who go will not be able to buy a book,” he had anticipated. Alejandro Vaccarohead of the El Libro Foundation, at the beginning of April when he presented the event to the press.
Although there are some discounts with bank cards and offers proposed by some labels, With books that average 20 thousand pesos, book sales are reduced to a minimum. Several sellers from different stands confirmed to this medium that, even on the days in which there was the greatest influx of public since the free entry hours were extended, few buy and those who do it, barely take a copy.
consulted by elDiarioARrepresentatives of different publishers, both medium-sized and transnational, agreed that this year there were considerable drops in sales and less attendance, although this trend began to pick up in recent days. The majority of those consulted, in any case, assure that this commercial decline is not new and that it reflects what has also been happening in bookstores..
“This edition of the Book Fair is situated in a complex context. The effects of the crisis and the decline in consumption are reflected inside and outside the La Rural property. Despite having completely full rooms for the presentations we organized, we noticed less attendance. The impassable hallways of years ago do not exist this time. Sales are approximately 20 percent down when compared to the same days in 2023. “This number is in line with what has been happening in the market in general,” he said before elDiarioAR Valeria Fernandez Naya, Director of Marketing and Communication at Penguin Random House, a company that owns labels such as Sudamericana, Alfaguara, Lumen, Random House, Salamandra, Ediciones B, Reservoir Books, among others. The talks and signings of authors organized by the publishing group, however, are a success in terms of attendance, as was demonstrated last weekend, with the activities in which authors from the house participated, such as Mónica Ojeda, Gloria V. Casañas, Pablo Bernasconi and Facundo Pastor, among others.
In the same sense, the writer and editor Sebastian Martinez Daniellone of the heads of the independent publisher Entropía, assured that the drop in sales already began to be noticed during the professional days, which took place a couple of days before the opening of the Fair to the general public.
“In the case of Entropy, This year’s professional days, compared to those of the previous year, place us 22 or 23 percent down in sales. That happened in those days when mainly booksellers from the interior showed up to buy,” he described.
“As for the days of the Fair for sale to the general public, to the reading public, It seems that this drop in sales is deepeningat least in the case of our editorial, of our stand, which is collective and in general because of what colleagues comment. The comparison with last year gives us around 30 and in some cases around 35 percent less“, details Martínez Daniell, who predicts a similar scenario for the remainder of the fair.
“The expectations are not that high. Possibly as people collect their salaries, the first days of the month, something will have a little impact on sales and it is likely that something will rise. But these drops that we notice here are the same ones that are being reflected in bookstores. So it is not a phenomenon that we did not expect and I do not think it is a phenomenon that will be reversed in the remaining days of the Fair,” concludes the editor of Entropía, who is present at the Fair at stand 1915, in the Yellow Pavilion. , together with other independent publishers, grouped under the Panorámica collective.
According to Santiago SatzCommunication Manager of Grupo Planeta, although the figures are still not clear or definitive, the downward trend is noticeable.
“We started the Fair with a decrease of 9 percent compared to 2023. We are seeing how it continues since there are key days left where people have already received their salaries. “We see less influx than other years, but a little better than expected,” he told this medium.
Among the most sought-after titles and authors at that publisher’s stand are Happinessof Gabriel Rolon; the saga of The Neville Houseof Florence Bonelli; Coraof Jorge Fernandez Diaz; the brand new Comments on Naucratusof Thomas Rebord, Recover your mind, recapture your lifeof Marian Rojas Estapé and iron wingsof Rebecca Yarrosaccording to Satz.
In recent days, since the news of his death became known, Paul Auster’s books have also been added to this list, many of them published in Spanish by the Seix Barral label, which belongs to Grupo Planeta.
The coming debate
After the exchanged statements between the authorities of the Fair and the president Javier Mileiwho suspended the presentation of his latest book that had been announced for May 12, the waters in that area seem to have calmed down.
While Milei assured in an interview that there was “hostility” towards him at the Fair and decided to change the location of the presentation for an event that will take place at the Luna Park stadium on May 22from the El Libro Foundation came out to deny it.
“It’s a trap: it turns out that he doesn’t come now because we don’t want to”said Vaccaro himself, who had already had harsh words towards the Argentine president’s policies with the cultural sector.
In a fiery speech and without representatives of the national Executive in the room, Vaccaro had assured during the opening: “Attending the Fair, this year, represents an act of rebellion and resistance. Like never before, this plural, active space will be the central axis around which the repudiation of all cultural forces against the devastating policies proposed by this government will revolve.”.
Among the outstanding events that remain until the closing of this edition of the Fair, one that will be linked to cultural policies and promises to bring diverse reflections in this field, It will be a new “closing” debate that will take place on May 12 at 5 p.m..
Under the title of Culture at the center of the scenethe essayist will participate in a table Beatriz Sarlothe writer Martin Kohanthe deputy and former official of the government of Mauricio Macri Hernan Lombardiand the economist and former vice president of the Central Bank also during the Macrista administration, Lucas Llach. Hosted by the journalist Maria O’Donnellthe meeting will take place in the Victoria Ocampo Room and, as happened with the inauguration, it can be seen by streaming on the Fair’s YouTube channel.
AL/MG
