An old saying goes that “the day is known by the eve,” and judging by how crowded the hall and garden of the Alma hotel were, the crystal ball predicted a spectacular Sant Jordi last night. Patrici Tixis, communication director of Grupo Planeta, predicted a “spectacular” Diada, giving voice to a unanimous premonition among the editors, agents, and booksellers who attended the La Vanguardia party, a “glorious” Book Day due to the confluence of two factors: a working day and benign weather.
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I’ve just been for a walk around the downtown bookstores and there was a queue to pay”
Eric del Arco, president of the Gremi de Llibreters and director of the Documenta bookstore, was hopeful of at least matching last year’s figure: two million copies sold and a turnover of 26 million euros, which is no small feat. Enrique Murillo, writer and veteran editor, went even further and predicted a “mega-record” Sant Jordi: “I’ve just been for a walk around the downtown bookstores, and there was a queue to pay. Sant Jordi will end up consolidating itself into the Book Month.”
“Tricks for Sant Jordi? Comfortable shoes, dressing in layers, and reading newspapers”
The barbecue was smoking, trays with exquisite bites were passing by, and a group was playing Italian standards, like Quando, quando, quando, while the guests gathered for an evening that anticipated a festive, summer atmosphere. Among the most punctual, Elena Ramírez, editorial director of Seix Barral, arrived accompanied by Eduardo Mendoza, who is participating with La intriga del funeral inconveniente, the title closest to the Sant Jordi festivity he has ever published, since his debut 50 years ago with La verdad sobre el caso Savolta. The editor will be the Cervantes Prize winner’s shadow today. Tricks for facing the marathon? “Comfortable shoes, dressing like onions, in layers; and a good reading of newspapers, as I usually do every morning.” It’s many hours of hard work and conversation.
“Uclés was given a notebook whose pages are electrocardiograms of different people”
Txell Torrent, from the MB literary agency, which handles David Uclés’s affairs, adds, among the essentials, a spare cloth bag to put the books and gifts that writers receive. She recounts that, on one occasion, Uclés was given a beautiful, handmade notebook whose pages were other people’s electrocardiograms. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and for me, the most beautiful things are the moments of encounter between author and reader.” Among the crowd, other agents were also seen: María Lynch, Mireia Lite and Maribel Luque, Javier Martín and Ramon Conesa, all three from the Carmen Balcells agency.
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The super boss Núria Cabutí, CEO of Penguin Random House, arrived flanked by two bigwigs from the Bertelsmann Group, two executives who are taking turns at the corporate helm: Thomas Rabe is leaving the ship at the end of the year to make way for Thomas Coesfeld, grandson of Reinhard Mohn, who, after the Second World War, transformed the printing press founded by Carl Bertelsmann in 1835 in the German town of Gütersloh into one of the largest media groups in the world, with a turnover of 19 billion euros (an interesting family struggle has taken place there). Editor Albert Puigdueta, from the same group, highlighted the “emotion and beauty of seeing how a Nobel laureate can be surprised by everything surrounding Sant Jordi.” He refers to the South Korean Han Kang, a naturally reserved author, who, despite staying at the Alma, preferred to retire to her quarters immediately.
Also present were José Crehueras (Planeta), Sandra Ollo (Acantilado) Emili Rosales (Grup 62), Rosa Rey (Angle Editorial), Aniol Rafel (Periscopi), Joan Tarrida (Galaxia Gutenberg), Silvia Sesé and Isabel Obiols (Anagrama) and Luis Solano (Libros del Asteroide), accompanied by Lucía Solla Sobral (Comerás flores), who, alas, let slip some freshly cut ham shavings. She is vegan.
