More than 20 independent labels will participate from now on in the first Independent Virtual Book Fair, an innitiative to gain exposure and coverage during this very irregular time. We spoke with six book publishers about the possibilities, conveniencies and the future of this setup.

The havoc caused by these months of living in a science fiction movie, and opposite to what we considered normal, are already familiar to all.  As it is also the critical shutdown suffered by the market and the slow attempts that the industry is now experiencing during its key period.  Even with all the efforts from the City of Madrid Town Hall, it is unsure whether it will not be able to hold their most important event, The Book Fair, which is supposed to take place in October.  But even with this prospect, and with the strict needs that the confinement mandated, publishers have had time to explore other means of broadcasting: Digitally, which went from being merely a compliment to physical meetings with authors, to being the only alternative.

With the theory that this new alternative does not have to change and that both worlds can coexist, the Independent Book Virtual Fair in Spain is born; an initiative that brings together 21 publishers under the slogan: “Al pan, pan y al libro, libro” (The original saying is “Al pan, pan y al vino, vino, substituting vino (wine) for libro (book). A Spanish saying which means to speak clearly and without beating around the bush.  The closest in English would be “call a spade a spade.” 

“This idea came from a conversation among friends, without pretensions, with the hopes of visualizing something more than their catalogs, during these times which are very difficult and confusing for independent publishers,” explains Lidia López Miguel, editor of Lastura Ediciones, a label which debuted in 2013, dedicated to modern poetry and with over 200 titles in all types of genre.

Read more: El Cultural