Bestselling author Miriam Tirado's Sant Jordi: "I always end up crying."

BarcelonaFor Míriam Tirado (Manresa, 1976), the way she lived Sant Jordi changed after the pandemic. The parenting consultant and bestselling author, best-sellers as I have a volcano (The Cep and the Asa, 2018) and The invisible thread (B de Blok, 2020), has been publishing books since 2005. "I still remember how, in the early years, I signed very few books and the days were very quiet," explains the author. The reading phenomenon came to her suddenly. The invisible thread appeared during the lockdown, and it wasn't until two years later—when Sant Jordi returned to the normality of street stalls without social distancing or masks—that she found herself facing long lines of readers waiting for her to sign their books. "I went from zero to 100 suddenly, without any progression. Last year, when I saw the number of people who wanted a signature, my heart skipped a beat. I thought: 'How do you manage this?'" explains Tirado.

With thirty published titles and almost a million copies sold, Tirado has become a benchmark in children's and young adult literature—the My name is Goa (B de Blok) is a hit with pre-adolescent readers, but also with parents looking for books on respectful parenting. What a drama, Goa"I've already finished it. I really like it because it represents real life and what the main character feels when things happen to her," said the eleven-year-old reader, who has already read the entire series.

Looking readers in the eye

In the queue on Passeig de Gràcia, everyone has their own experiences related to Tirado's books and is eager to share them with her. Ten-year-old Carla is also a fan of Goa and has come from Valencia with her mother to get a few minutes with Tirado, one of her favorite writers. "Her books teach me many things and help me with life," says the reader, happy to skip class and escape to Barcelona for the day.

Although nerves are always present, over the years Tirado has learned not to stress out in crowds of readers and to set some guidelines. "There are times when I get overwhelmed, but then I remember that I'm going to stay here sitting until the last reader and that I have to take it easy. Many of them are children; I like being able to look them in the eye one by one, ask them questions, and express my gratitude." They make me lucky. The children approach timidly, the adults do so excitedly. "Many mothers cry when they see me. Some can't even speak; they apologize because there are people waiting, and they're trying to express themselves. I always tell them: 'Calm down, breathe, there's no rush,'" says the writer. Throughout the day, she accumulates all these emotions, which inevitably culminate each year in a cathartic moment. "On Sant Jordi, when the day ends, I always end up crying. It's very intense. My husband already knows this, and that's why we get together at dusk and that way I don't cry alone," admits the author.