Madrid, June 20 (EFE).- The 83rd edition of the Madrid Book Fair ends with a positive balance, despite the fact that on two occasions the booths had to be closed due to weather alerts, and it closes with a turnover of more than 10.8 million euros, with the youth book as a star seller.
According to data provided by exhibitors, more than 585,000 copies of some 245,000 different titles have been sold.
In the 2024 edition of the Madrid Book Fair, more than 7,000 signing sessions were held featuring 2,504 male and female authors.
Regarding the influx, a total of 1,061,000 people attended the Fair between May 31 and June 16. According to the sampling carried out by the technology provider consulted by the Fair management, children under 18 years of age have not been taken into account in this calculation.
Regarding the preferences of readers, the young adult novel prevailed over other genres, according to the majority of the general bookstores consulted that have participated in this edition as exhibitors.
Special editions in hardcover with colored covers – and sometimes below 20 euros – have dominated sales. In this regard, for yet another year, the presence of numerous groups of young people who usually buy online but wait for the Fair to live the experience of purchasing their next readings together taking advantage of the 10% discount has been observed.
On the other hand, the established authors, who year after year meet again with their public eager for news at El Retiro, have signed for hours and on several occasions, throughout the 17 days of the fair.
This is the case of Rosa Montero, Luis Landero, Fernando Aramburu, Javier Castillo, Lorenzo Silva or Juan Gómez-Jurado, with their novels and essays on nature and graphic novels, with values that invite reflection or with a social background.
In addition to some Asian fiction and popular titles, the proposals of small independent poetry labels have coexisted with ‘mainstream’ authors, such as Mario Obrero and Raquel Lanseros.
In addition to residents in Madrid capital, there were visitors from localities, the majority from the south of the region -Leganés, Getafe, Fuenlabrada, Móstoles and Alcorcón-, and from autonomous communities, after Madrid, the majority of visitors were Catalans, Castilian-La Mancha and Castilian -Leonese, but above all, from Barcelona and Toledo.
In addition to 15% from outside Spain, mostly from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, coinciding with the start and end days of the Fair.
From a demographic point of view, a similar pattern is repeated throughout the Fair: age groups over 40 years old predominate, accounting for nearly 50% of the total visitors, without distinction of sex and high income levels predominate. and medium high (more than 70%).
The cultural agenda, with 350 events, was also well followed, with 19,900 attendees of all age groups.
The threat from far-rightists to some of the authors who have signed during the 17 days has been a cause of concern during the edition that closed last Sunday.
The management of the Fair, which has publicly expressed its defense of this cultural event “as a space of freedom in which this type of behavior has no place”, was therefore in permanent contact and coordinated with the forces of public order to guarantee its protection. EFE
aga/bal
