More than seven thousand professionals from the world of books, 40% of them international, will be present at Liber, the International Book Fair, from 2 to 4 October 2024, which this year will be held at Fira Barcelona. These importers, distributors, booksellers, rights buyers, as well as heads of public bodies, libraries, literary agents and publishers will come from more than fifty countries. They have been selected for their purchasing power in target markets for the Spanish publishing industry. It is estimated that one third of the annual exports of the Spanish publishing industry are generated at this Fair.
About four hundred exhibitors will be present at Liber. Its objective, according to Fira Barcelona, is “to hold interviews with these foreign professionals, share information about markets, obtain new business contacts and generate orders. With this, the organization hopes to schedule more than 3,500 business meetings in Liber.”
Publishers from all topics will be present at the Fair, presenting their bibliographic collections and news, and companies with products and services related to the production, marketing and distribution of books, as well as digital content (ebook, audiobook, podcast). Professional associations will NOT be missing from this event.
Spain is among the top ten countries in the world for book exporters. Its sales are worth 403.10 million euros in 2022, 3.64% more than the previous year. Social Sciences, literature, religion, children’s and youth are the most exported subjects.
Liber 2024, promoted by the Federation of Editors’ Guilds of Spain (FGEE) and organized by Fira de Barcelona, will promote the MicroLiber area for young publishers and startups of technological solutions for the world of books. In addition, it will continue to devote special attention to self-publishing, the sale of rights and intellectual property. Likewise, it will include an extensive program of professional conferences to debate and reflect on current sector news linked to the book value chain. Among the planned topics are those related to sustainability, the use of artificial intelligence, the promotion of reading or issues of interest to bookstores, distributors, libraries, authors or translators, among other groups.
This 2024 edition will have a plus for its participants: the coincidence with Graphispag, the leading trade fair in Spain for the graphic industry and visual communication. “The printed book represents 95% of the publishing business and professionals in the publishing world will have the opportunity to learn directly about the latest graphic technology, inks, papers and other printing, binding and finishing media to create books and publications that stand out,” stated the organization. At the same time, they will be able to learn about the advantages of short runs, printing on demand, the possibilities of personalization or eco-publishing.
The areas of origin of the professionals invited to Liber are: Europe (28 countries) and Latin America (17), the two large geographic destination areas for Spanish book exports, as well as North America (USA and Canada), which is growing in importance. In addition, 16 other preferred markets have been selected in the Mediterranean (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Israel and Turkey) and Asia (China, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam), as well as Australia.
By geographical area, Latin America, with Mexico at the forefront, is the main destination for Spanish books. In 2022, exports from the book sector in Latin American countries reached 182.43 million euros, almost 1% more than in 2021. For its part, exports in the European Union amounted to 146.3 million euros, 7.29% more than in the previous year, with France, the United Kingdom and Italy being the main purchasing countries. Also worth noting are the increases in sales in the rest of Europe, 47.48 million euros (up 4.06%), in North America, 18.98 million euros (up 1.14%) and in Africa, 5.8 million euros (up 5.06%).
Liber 2024 is internationally recognized as one of the main fair events for the export, exhibition and promotion of the Spanish edition. Part of the success of the business is due to the Buyers Program, in collaboration with the Economic and Commercial Offices of Spain abroad and ICEX Spain Exports, as well as the Priority Interest Prescribers Program, together with Acción Cultural Española (AC/E ).
The Liber 2024 Awards, awarded by the Federation of Editors’ Guilds of Spain, will be presented at Fira Barcelona. This year’s winners include: Award for Best Audiovisual Adaptation of a Literary Work for Film The teacher who promised the sea, based on the novel of the same name by Francesc Escribano; and the Liber 2024 Prize for the Promotion of Reading in the Media to the space The Cultureta of the program More than onefrom the radio station Onda Cero.
The Liber 2024 Prize, in the category for the best initiative to promote reading in libraries open to the public, was awarded to Espazo Lectura. «With this award we want to highlight his permanent support for the promotion of reading through a set of activities in which the book is always present, as well as his work to unite and add forces with all institutions and administrations, regardless of their political color, and educational centers,” said the FGEE.
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