Madrid’s book fair director Eva Orúe is the first woman in the role in 80 years. And she has a UNESCO World Heritage venue to protect.

Eva Orúe: Looking for Madrid’s ‘Letraheridos‘

Many international book fair directors spend years developing and growing an audience. But when Eva Orúe presided over her first edition of the Feria del Libro de Madrid in May, the show drew the largest crowd in its 80-year history. “Indeed, it was a spectacular turnout” at this public-facing book fair, Orúe tells Publishing Perspectives: 3.1 million visits were recorded.

“My colleagues told me that after two ‘pandemic fairs'” held in digital and hybrid formats, she says, “the population was left in a Ganas de feria, a ‘mood for a fair.’ And so it was.”

Orúe is the first woman to hold the position in the fair’s eight decades of operation. And as happens to many successful women in many walks of life and career, Orúe’s gender can tend to grab all the attention, something she confirmed on October 22, when she participated in a round table with other international book fair directors.

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