Liber Brings More Than 9,100 Publishing Professionals to Barcelona

More than 9,100 publishing professionals from 90 countries gathered in Barcelona for the 44th edition of Liber. The fair ran from 29 September to 1 October in Hall 1 of Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue. Liber alternates each edition between Madrid and Barcelona.

Rights led the agenda. The fair's Rights Center, the timetabled space where publishers and agents sell permission to publish books in other languages and territories, hosted around 800 meetings. Another 5,300 professional meetings were arranged through Liber's international programmes, according to Publishing Perspectives.

Nearly 250 exhibitors took part, and organisers said the fair met its attendance targets, according to The New Publishing Standard. Liber describes itself as the International Book Fair connecting Europe and Latin America. Its stated aim was to open new markets for Spanish books and expand rights sales, meaning deals to publish those books abroad in translation or in new formats.

Manuel González, president of the FGEE, Spain's federation of publishers' guilds, and chair of Liber's organising committee, said the edition reflected an industry that is dynamic, innovative and firmly committed to international markets. The backdrop was 12 consecutive years of growth for Spanish publishing. FGEE data put the expected value of Spanish publishing exports at about 400 million euros.

The closing awards spread wide. Honours went to writer Leonardo Padura, to Xosé Ballesteros of children's publisher Kalandraka, to the ABC Cultural supplement, to Casa Anita bookshop in Barcelona, to the Regional Library of Murcia, and to the television series Anatomía de un instante.

For readers, this matters at one remove. Deals struck in meeting rooms decide which Spanish books get translated, where they appear and in what form. Barcelona was loud. The shelves elsewhere will tell the rest.