The La Laguna Book Fair, which represents the first regional book fair in the Canary Islands, will be held from October 10 to 13 in the Plaza del Cristo with more than a hundred professional, cultural and family activities and the participation of 25 bookstores and as many publishers throughout the Archipelago. The schedule can be consulted on the website www.ferialibrotenerife.es
The official presentation took place this Monday, with the participation of the mayor of La Laguna Luis Yeray Gutiérrez; the general director of Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, David Mille; the general director of Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries of the Government of the Canary Islands, Cristóbal de la Rosa; the Minister of Culture of the Cabildo of Tenerife, José Carlos Acha; and the president of the Tenerife Booksellers Association, Remedios Sosa.
“The world of books brings us to La Laguna,” highlighted the mayor, thanking the commitment of the administrations that support this event, “which in recent years has taken a leap in quality and has established itself as one of the most important events.” that this Heritage City has. On this occasion we have the participation of 50 bookstores and publishers and a program of more than 100 activities concentrated in four days.” He also emphasized the fact that the fair is “aimed at all audiences, but especially dedicated to the world of children and youth.”
Cristóbal de la Rosa explained that the activity of the Government of the Canary Islands at the fair will take place in three spaces called Ángel Guerra, Rincón Isleño and La Lapa, where there will be meetings, debates, book presentations, and where “we will have a series of authors “They are very worthwhile and we are very excited about what they are going to present”, among whom he mentioned Daniela Martín Hidalgo, Javier Fernández Alonso, Carla Antonelli, Elsa López or Sabina Urraca, among others.
David Mille stressed the importance of giving value and betting on commerce and the sale of books. “It is a sector that must be supported because it is subject to threats from large stores, online commerce and large platforms,” he stated. In addition, he assured that holding the event in La Laguna “is a winning combination.”
In this sense, José Carlos Acha valued that this event serves as an enclave to enjoy the book as a tool for critical thinking and transmission of ideas, but also of an economic nature. “The Cabildo was outside this line of support for book fairs and we are trying to recover it, on the one hand, with the Cabildo Bookstore in which we are working, support for booksellers and through promoting reading clubs of the Insular Network of Libraries,” he noted.
Finally, the president of the Tenerife Booksellers Association, Remedios Sosa, thanked the La Laguna City Council, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo de Tenerife for their collaboration in making the La Laguna Book Fair 2024 possible and working “with a common objective: promote the taste and love for books and culture”, and highlighted as the main novelty of this year is the location of the fair in the Plaza del Cristo “with an enormous infrastructure”, underlining that “in no previous edition have there been so many participating booths.”
Remedios Sosa explained that the literary activity will take place in three spaces distributed throughout the plaza, the Espacio Ángel Guerra, Espacio Rincón Isleño and Zona Cero, while the activity linked to the performing arts, music, new technologies and activities children, schoolchildren and families are proposed in the La Lapa Zone, divided into Espacio a la Mar and Espacio Viento del Sur among others. In addition, it will have a gastronomic area and a stage for concerts.
Some of the notable authors who will participate in this 2024 edition are René Merino, José Zoilo, Daniela Martín Hidalgo, Juan Torres López, Sabina Urraca, Carla Antonelli, Eugenia Tenenbaum, Amaia Arrazola, Tomás García Azkonobieta and Santiago Díaz, among many.
All programming and content are available on the website www.ferialibrotenerife.es and its social networks @ferialibrotenerife, as well as on the channels of the La Laguna City Council. Events of recognized prestige on the islands such as the International Clown Festival, La Noche de los Cuentos or Festival Época will incorporate content into the largest book and reading festival on the islands.
The Canary Islands regional book fair has been taking place since 1988 and celebrates its 36th edition this year. Since 2021, the city of La Laguna has become its official headquarters. Under its umbrella, booksellers, public and private institutions, associations and the general public will have the opportunity to generate a unique and diverse space where they can jointly celebrate the great festival of books and reading.
This regional fair is organized by the La Laguna City Council and APROLITE and has the support of the Canarian Institute of Cultural Development, the General Directorate of Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo of Tenerife, in addition to the support of a good number of companies and private entities of the islands.
The Provincial Association of Book Trade Entrepreneurs of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (APROLITE) currently has a total of 135 members on the four islands of the province and actively participates in most events linked to books or bookstores. It is also integrated into the Spanish Confederation of Booksellers’ Guilds and Associations (CEGAL), which brings together 1,600 bookstores throughout Spain. And it is a founding member of the recently created National Network of Book Fairs.
