Bookstores celebrate ‘good Sant Jordi’, reaching pre-pandemic sales levels

Bookstores association calls Sant Jordi "a good day" after forecasts predict stores have sold as many books during the day as pre-pandemic levels. This is the first celebration without any Covid-19 restrictions but the bad weather in Barcelona was the dissonance of the day. 

The Catalan capital has seen heavy rain, as well as aggressive hail that has caused damage and stands to close earlier than expected. 

Despite the weather, in Catalonia, bookstores have been busy all day long, the president of the Catalan bookstores' association, Carme Ferrer, said on Saturday afternoon. Streets, she added, were crowded when the sun was out. 

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"People were looking forward to this day, Sant Jordi is a celebration across the country, I always tell it but today I am very proud of what we have achieved," Ferrer said. 

This is the first Sant Jordi since the Covid-19 pandemic and people wanted to enjoy the day as stands were busy all hours across the territory. Even, some people waited under heavy rain and hail in line for their authors to sign their books and take a selfie with them. 

"Bookstores have been crowded, and this has been the case across Catalonia, obviously depending on the rain, people decided to go to the stands," the bookstores’ association president explained. 

As in previous Sant Jordis, bookstores have not only sold books during April 23, but on the days leading up to it as well. Establishments welcomed the new organization that created a literary superblock in the city center. The city council also allowed businesses to place stands in front of their stores as early as Friday. 

Most sold books

The early predictions on Saturday evening place ‘Benvolguda’ from writer Empar Moliner in the Catalan language, and ‘Roma soy yo’ from Santiago Posteguillo, in the Spanish one, as the most sold novels during Sant Jordi. 

Regarding non-fiction books, predictions place Catalan journalist Toni Cruanyes as the author that sold more copies in the Catalan language with his book ‘La Vall de la Llum’, while journalist Ángel Martín, with ‘Por si las voces vuelven’ reached the top of the ranking in the Spanish language.

Minor injuries due to bad weather

In Barcelona, bad weather has caused some damage to books, stands, and some people. The strong wind lifted one of the stands in Passeig de Gràcia boulevard causing minor injuries to two people. 

The two people were taken to Hospital Sant Pau hospital on Saturday afternoon. 

Later in the afternoon, a third person was injured in the April festival in the Fòrum area, an event celebrating southern Spanish traditions from Andalusia.