Much to see, much to read. The motto of the 44th edition of La Setmana del Llibre en Català becomes clear as soon as you cross the Arc de Triomf. Along Passeig de Lluís Companys, books stretch all the way to the Ciutadella, and it’s hard to know where to look: a cover that catches the eye, a stand full of books, an author surrounded by readers, a conversation getting started, a stage being prepared for the next activity. It’s no wonder that the sheer variety makes it hard to know where to look. More than 282 imprints fill over 9,000 square metres of the fair, turning Passeig de Lluís Companys into a vast open-air bookstore.
After this first, almost overwhelming impression of the sheer scale of La Setmana, the visitor’s gaze keeps moving. It scans tables piled high with books, stops at a cover, recognizes an author and is carried along by the constant movement filling the promenade. With each step, something different comes into view: a conversation between readers, a poetry recital, a dramatized story immersing children in tales of monsters and zombies, or a book signing. It’s hard to decide where to stop because, while your eyes are scanning one stand, another activity is already getting underway at the next one.
Others choose to pause amid the bustle: readers who have turned any corner of the promenade into an improvised reading space, on benches, on the grass or even behind the stands. But it only takes a few more steps along the promenade to discover that behind this first impression lies a vast array of books, publishers, genres and different perspectives.
Among the exhibitors, one can find major imprints like Anagrama, Destino, Columna, Salvat, or Planeta, but also independent publishers like Raig Verd or Quaderns Crema. There are comics, crime novels, hiking, artist books, and children's literature. Also cooking, travel, politics, football, ecology, or erotic literature. In total, 332 exhibitors and more than 350 activities including conferences, recitals, and live podcasts.
Behind these figures lies a sample of the variety of the Catalan publishing sector, with very different projects sharing space for ten days. Oriol Magrinyà, president of Editors.cat, the organizing entity of La Setmana, claims it as "a source of pride," because "it demonstrates the vitality of a sector, the book sector, more necessary than ever." A sector that, as he claimed during the inaugural speech of La Setmana, is "rich and powerful, with publishers of all sizes and conditions: from small, almost individual projects, to large groups or cooperative projects."
But behind this abundance, which the visitor's eye at La Setmana continually surveys, there is also a great challenge: to ensure that this offer of books in Catalan reaches more readers. Because, although, according to the report Reading and Book Buying Habits in Catalonia 2024, 73.9% of the population over 14 years old reads at least one book every quarter, only 33.9% declare to habitually read in Catalan.
For Magrinyà, these figures also highlight the moment of "linguistic emergency" that Catalan is experiencing. He emphasized this in the inaugural speech of La Setmana, an event that the editor claims as a "counterpoint" to this situation: "not as an oasis, not as a space of resistance, but as the irrefutable and festive demonstration that, despite everything, we have a living language."
The variety of imprints, genres, and themes present at La Setmana responds precisely to this desire: to offer options for different tastes and interests and to ensure that readers can find in Catalan the book they are looking for, whatever the genre or theme.
A space for conversation and meeting
But, with the challenge of reading in Catalan present, La Setmana also aims to be a space for calm and conversation, allowing visitors to pause among thousands of proposals and leave with a bag full of books or a list of upcoming readings noted in their notepad. "I already have five books and I haven't even finished browsing all the publishers," comments a visitor while putting her new acquisition into a bag already full of books in Catalan. A few steps away, another reader assures that she had been "waiting all year for the moment to return to La Setmana."
But stopping also allows us to put a face to those who make it possible for books to reach bookstore tables and, later, the hands of readers. Essential figures in the publishing chain who often remain in the background, such as editors, translators, or illustrators, who during these ten days share space with readers and authors.
For Carlota Rodríguez, from the Barcelona-based publishing house Blume, this is precisely one of the keys to the fair: “It is a space for conversation, where you can meet and put a face to readers but also to other writers, authors, translators, illustrators...”. Thus, books stop being just objects displayed on the stand and become part of a conversation. Readers recommending books to each other. Editors conversing with their authors. Readers who, after having been captivated for years by a writer's words, finally have the opportunity to put a face to them.
La Setmana precisely aims to be a catalyst for these encounters. For ten days, more than 200 authors participate in book signings, from voices of Catalan literature such as Albert Om or Regina Rodríguez to international authors such as Zadie Smith, Clare Pollard or Leonardo San Pietro. Among them is Fàtima Saheb, who is signing for the second consecutive year her poetry collection Mares Migrants, published by the JANDE editorial cooperative. Founded in January 2025 by Aissata M’ballo and Diana Rahmouni, the publishing house was born with the aim of giving space to voices of racialized and migrant descent poorly represented in Catalan literature. Mares Migrants aims to be, in Saheb's words, “a counterweight to narratives that speak too loudly” and give “a little hope to all future generations.”
For Saheb, the signing is much more than dedicating a book: “It is an opportunity to see how the writer's commitment transcends and resonates with readers.” Contact with them allows her to put a face to who is on the other side of the pages, learn first-hand stories, and receive “this valuable feedback.”
New readers, new perspectives
But if La Setmana wants this passion for books and for literature in Catalan to continue, it must also look towards new generations. During the ten days of the fair, the youngest have their own space, with dozens of activities designed to bring them closer to reading. Stories, workshops, shows and proposals that try to make the first contact with books also a shared experience. A commitment especially necessary in a world increasingly surrounded by screens and stimuli. “In an era dominated by screens and stimuli, books are a simpler refuge, which allows children to let their imagination fly,” explains Carlota Rodríguez, from the Barcelona-based publisher Blume.
And this commitment does not end with the youngest: there is also space for slightly older readers, adolescents, with activities designed to connect with their interests and ways of reading. And the figures show that, despite the clichés, young people have not stopped reading: 76.1% of Catalans aged between 14 and 24 have read at least one book during the last quarter, the highest proportion among all age groups. But reading more does not necessarily imply better comprehension, as Manuel González, president of Liber, warned in an interview with The New Barcelona Post. PISA results warn of difficulties in reading comprehension of long texts among 15 and 16-year-old students. “We are concerned about reading comprehension rates that are not just not improving, but seem to continue to decline. It worries us as publishers, naturally, but also as citizens,” Oriol Magrinyà warned in his inaugural speech.
And to the challenge of reading comprehension, another is added: ensuring that this reading is also in Catalan, since only 27.7% of young people between 14 and 24 years old habitually read in this language. For this reason, La Setmana also seeks new spaces to reconnect with young people, and the Casa de la Creació Digital is one of the big bets. There you can meet booktokers and other creators of literary content such as Mar Isern (La Contracoberta), who comments that she started the project as a “diary, where to collect the books she had liked and share them with a community that she knew would also connect with her.” A way to turn screens, precisely, into a gateway to books in Catalan.
A bet to seduce all generations, not just the young ones, which, moreover, also translates into figures. Last year, La Setmana gathered 120,000 visitors and increased turnover by between 12% and 15% compared to the previous edition, despite remaining below one million euros, and became the third major point of sale for books, after Sant Jordi and Christmas. But, beyond the figures, when our walk comes to an end, there remains the feeling that we need a second round. That cover we saw out of the corner of our eye deserves a stop, that there is still a stall to discover, an editor to talk to or a book we hadn't seen when we passed by for the first time. Because in such a diverse Setmana and literature, the gaze cannot encompass everything.