"Saint George and the book are inseparable": the sector defends the Day's model

BarcelonaSant Jordi changes its route in Barcelona. This year it will extend from Gran de Gràcia to the Plaça de la Catedral in Barcelona. There will be nearly three continuous kilometers of book and rose stalls to celebrate the most massive Diada in the history of the capital. As the ARA advanced, the works on La Rambla will force a modification of the iconic route of the Diada, so it has been decided to lengthen the natural route of Passeig de Gràcia and extend the stalls through Plaça de Catalunya, Portal de l'Àngel, Plaça Nova and up to Via Laietana, passing in front of the Cathedral. It is a new axis and, in principle, temporary, although it could also be consolidated to spread out the stalls next year. "Sant Jordi is alive and adapts to realities," says Eric del Arco, president of the booksellers, who believes it is "an opportunity".

As the ARA advanced, the works on La Rambla will force a modification of the iconic route of the Diada, so it has been decided to lengthen the natural route of Passeig de Gràcia and extend the stalls through Plaça de Catalunya, Portal de l'Àngel, Plaça Nova and up to Via Laietana, passing in front of the Cathedral. It is a new axis and, in principle, temporary, although it could also be consolidated to spread out the stalls next year. "Sant Jordi is alive and adapts to realities," says Eric del Arco, president of the booksellers, who believes it is "an opportunity".

As announced by the Cambra del Llibre, Sant Jordi is growing throughout Catalonia. "There will be more stalls than ever and more exhibition spaces than ever. We have the capacity to grow little by little. Every year we see where the limit is. Experience shows us that we need comfort, because the protagonists are the writers, to be able to interact with them," states Patrici Tixis, president of the Cambra del Llibre.

More decentralization

Above all, the Diada can be expanded if it is more decentralized. In Barcelona there will be twelve professional spaces available in seven districts. One of the fastest growing is the area dedicated to children's, young adult literature, and comics, which runs from Plaça Tetuan to Ciutadella. The space in Les Corts is also growing. In Sants and Guinardó, bookstores, flower shops, and neighborhood entities will join.

In total there will be 425 book and flower stalls in Barcelona's professional spaces. There will be 364 book stalls, and in 257 of them there will be author signings. In addition, there will be 130 stalls in front of bookstores. The stalls managed by the Booksellers' Guild cost between 100 and 400 euros. Rambla de Catalunya will once again have stalls from entities, and most of the transverse streets will be closed to traffic. This year, the Barcelona City Council has issued 5,489 licenses to set up stalls throughout the city.

The bestseller list

Last year 2 million copies were sold the week of Sant Jordi, with up to 75,000 different titles. The best-selling books represent only 5% of the total, but "it is a pulse of the reader around novels," defends Tixis, who has stated that the list of the 10 best-selling titles will be maintained, which will be sent at sunset, this year numbered. The definitive list will be released 4 or 5 days later.

In 2025, 26 million euros were invoiced. The sales forecast is optimistic but they do not intend to break the record. "The only thing that can give us trouble is the weather," warns Tixis. Work has also been done to ensure that the card payment network does not collapse. "It is a great day for booksellers, but it is a shared celebration that takes place throughout the country. We want to highlight the capillarity and cohesion of the sector," says Eric del Arco, president of the Booksellers' Guild, who defends a professional model "more orderly, safer, and more dignified".

The strength of Sant Jordi

On Monday, writer Eduardo Mendoza ignited controversy by defending that Saint George should be eliminated from Book Day. The Cambra del Llibre has made a strong defense of the current model. "Book Day has been linked to Saint George since 1931 — Tixis said, reviewing the history that ARA has explained in this article—. In Catalonia it has been an explosion and has been celebrated uninterruptedly, and not in the rest of Spain. I don't want to comment on Eduardo Mendoza's words, because I would say it was a joke. We deeply believe that the story of Saint George unites the book, the rose, and the patron saint of Catalonia. And besides, it boosts sales of books in Catalan, because on Saint George's Day more are sold than in Spanish, which shows the tradition and the strength it has." "One only has to read Mendoza to know that he has a very fine sense of humor," said Xavier Marcé, to downplay it.

"In the popular imagination, Saint George and the book are inseparable," states Del Arco. "It is very good to reclaim the integrating force of Saint George. It is a festival that everyone can make their own. It is a natural entry point for people integrating into this country. Participating in Saint George's Day is easy, it is close, and it is shared," affirmed the president of the booksellers.

"We are on fire. It is a sector that is holding up very well to the pressure of digitalization and new distribution," pointed out councilor Xavier Marcé, who celebrated "the most unique festival in the world" and, in particular, "the unwritten pact" between entrepreneurs, workers, shopkeepers, civil servants, and students so that everyone can go out for a couple of hours to buy the book and the rose. The councilor stated: "It is a spectacular day, which if it had to be invented would be uninventable: the confluence between the sense of belonging and the need to participate in a cultural reality like the book," he said.

For the minister Sònia Hernández, Sant Jordi represents the "collective identity of our country". "In cultural and economic terms, we have many reasons for joy, reasons to keep nurturing it and not let it fade; this sector is strategic". The minister highlighted the 16 million euros allocated to the book sector, especially for Catalan editions (10 million). This comes after a few days of controversy because 58 publishing houses reported that they had not been granted publication aid because they did not have a European ecological label. That is why she insisted: "Very firm support for the Catalan publishing sector, especially in the Catalan language, and for the entire book chain," she stated.