The 83rd Madrid Book Fair closes its 83rd edition tonight after 17 days with figures that are expected to be similar in turnover to those of last year (11,188,000 euros), although higher in visits, and with an eye on that of 2025 that will have New York as the protagonist.
Because the literature of New York, but especially that of the Latin Americans who live there and whose work is part of the literary and cultural panorama of the city, will be the focus of the program of the 84th edition.
The director of the Madrid Book Fair, Eva Orúe, announced this Sunday the provisional figures for the edition that this year has been dedicated to sport: until 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, the turnover increased to 5,580,000 euros, and in terms of influx, around 550,000 unique visitors have been received.
The final data will be known next Thursday, although Orúe has declared to the EFE agency that they could be similar in billing to last year and visits would increase (which in 2023 was 1.2 million people). In addition, he recalled the two days of weather alert that altered the operation of the fair held in the Retiro Park.
Most of the visitors who came until last weekend are from the Community of Madrid; The origin of the rest is distributed among other communities and foreigners, so that this year it is expected that those from outside Spain will reach 14%. The figures offered do not include those under 18 years of age and there are hundreds of schoolchildren and adolescents who visit it, Orúe indicated.
Attendance at the scheduled events (350 among all available spaces) has increased compared to previous editions.
“I think we can be satisfied. Despite the weather disturbances, the alerts that forced us to change opening hours and scheduled events on the fly, the public has filled the El Retiro Paseo de Coches for another year,” Orúe indicated.
The director of the Madrid Fair has also revealed that the next edition, which will be held from May 30 to June 15, 2025, will feature the city of New York (United States), its culture and literature, a project in which they work in collaboration with the Institute of Mexican Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY), organizer of the New York Book Fair (FILNYC).
Both have already reached agreements with the Departments of Latin American Studies of the Universities of Brown, Columbia, Fordham, New York University, Cornell and Yale to bring a delegation of researchers and professors from these universities. In addition, they are in negotiations with Princeton and Harvard Universities, which have shown a willingness to participate.
At the same time, a committee has been created that will coordinate the proposals of both parties: José Higuera, director of the Mexican Institute of CUNY; Dejanira Álvarez, director of the New York City International Book Fair, and Latin American writers Rita Indiana and Brenda Navarro.
For the director of the CUNY Mexican Institute, “this is an alliance that underlines the importance of cultural and literary exchanges between these two cities, epicenters of diversity and richness and diversity in their literary tradition.”
Higuera has highlighted how the institute he directs studies the Mexican diaspora in New York and the US and how its artists and writers have made the North American city what it is.
The Dominican writer and artist Rita Indiana has emphasized how Spanish is “synonymous with resistance and improvement” in New York, while the Mexican author Brenda Navarro has highlighted the opportunity that the Madrid Book Fair represents the growth of Latin American literature in the North American city.
Dejanira Álvarez, director of the FIL of New York, has also highlighted how they are working to bring to Madrid a representation that reflects the aesthetic and cultural diversity of New York, for which they will organize more than twenty events.
