The high participation observed has been accompanied by a general increase in the publishing offer and the number of stalls.

Sant Jordi‘s Day has fulfilled expectations and, as predicted by the Chamber of Books of Catalonia, citizens have responded to the increase in supply and the number of book stalls with a massive participation. Citizens from all over the country have been distributed in the streets to buy books from early in the morning in an edition that, according to early estimates, is the best in history.

Sunday was the culmination of a day in which book sales have been in crescendo for days. The Chamber of Books of Catalonia, an institution that brings together the guilds and associations of publishers, booksellers, distributors, and graphic communication of Catalonia, believes that «we are facing the most participatory day and the one that has made more sales in history, with a growth of over 5%. The Chamber will release the final figures once the overall sale, which includes the stalls, has been computed».

The Book Chamber is pleased with the implementation of the model of spaces for professionals, where stands are set up for bookstores and florists. The model applied in cities such as Barcelona helps to make bookstores visible, to organize the traffic of people and is one of the factors of this year’s success, so it is betting that the model will have continuity.

The high level of participation in Sant Jordi has been accompanied by a general increase in the publishing offer and the number of stands. In Barcelona, this has taken the form of 320 book stands in the professional spaces, 11.5% more than last year, spread over 11 areas in 7 districts (Paseo de Gràcia; Gràcia; Poblenou; Sant Andreu; Les Corts (Ciutat Vella -with the recovery of an emblematic space such as Las Ramblas-, and Sarrià). There has also been a 25% increase in author signings. To these spaces must be added a hundred bookstores in the city, which have had a stop in front of the establishment since Friday.

The fact that the Book and Rose Day fell on a Sunday has also benefited participation and sales and has facilitated the mobility of citizens, and the day has been able to be celebrated in a very participatory way everywhere. This is possible thanks to the fact that Catalonia has a «capillary network of bookstores that covers the whole territory».

In Girona, the citizenship approached massively to the Copa, where all the bookstores of the city were gathered. The day has had the same behavior in cities like Vic, in the Plaza Mayor, and Manresa, where florists and booksellers were concentrated in the promenade in front of the Casino. In Tarragona, in the Rambla Nova, a similar situation has been experienced; and in Lleida, both in the Rambla Ferran and in the Avenida Francesc Macià, there has also been a good influx of people. In Amposta, the book and rose stalls have been located in Town Hall Square and Major Street.

Best-selling books for Sant Jordi – 2023

Below, we share the list of the best-selling books for Sant Jordi’s Day 2023 in various categories, according to estimates obtained from the member bookstores of the Guild of Booksellers of Catalonia and with the information of the week of Sant Jordi collected by LibriRed, an automated system that obtains data from different points of sale in Catalonia, including independent bookstores and bookstore chains.

We will provide a more extensive list with complete data for Sant Jordi in the balance sheet that we will deliver in the next few days.

Catalan Fiction

1- Nuestras madres, de Gemma Ruiz Palà (Proa Editors)

2- 32 de marzo, de Xavier Bosch (Universo)

3- El retrato de matrimonio, de Maggie O’Farrell, (L’Otra)

4- Las bragas al sol, de Regina Rodríguez Sirvent, (La Campana)

5- Mañana, y mañana, y mañana, de Gabrielle Zevin (Periscopio)

Spanish Fiction

1- El ángel de la ciudad, de Eva García Saenz de Urturi, (Planeta)

2- Cómo (no) escribió nuestra historia, de Isabel Benavent, (Suma)

3- El retrato de casada, de Maggie O’Farrell, (Libros del Asteroide)

4- El cuco de cristal, de Javier Castillo, (Suma)

5- Hijos de la fábula, de Fernando Aramburu (Tusquets)

Catalan non-fiction

1- Gran Enciclopedia del Barça, de La Sotana, (Blackie Books)

2- Crímenes: Pecados capitales, de Carlos Porta, (La Campana)

3- De la sabana a Marte, de Xavier Sala i Martín, (Rosa de los Vientos)

4- Mitología de los países catalanes, de Daniel Rangil (Efadós)

5- Si la memoria no nos falla, de Quim Monzó y Sergi Pàmies (La Vanguardia)

Non-fiction Spanish

1- Cómo hacer que te pasen cosas buenas, de Marian Rojas Estapé, (Espasa)

2- Hábitos atómicos, de James Clear, (Diana)

3- Encuentra a tu persona vitamnina, de Marián Rojas Estapé (Espasa)

4- El amor empieza por ti, de Curro Cañete, (Planeta)

5- Una historia compartida, de Julia Navarro (Plaza & Janés)

Catalan books for children and young adults

1- Las excursiones de Titó, AA.VV, de Estrella Polar

2- Tengo un volcán y no quiero respirar, de Miriam Triado y Joan Turu, (El Cep y el Asa ediciones)

3- La leyenda de San Jorge, de AA.VV, (Estrella Polar)

4- ¿Qué es lo del amor, Minimonio?, de Rocio Bonilla (Animalibros)

5- Las primas de la Mus, de Jaume Copons y Liliana Fortuny (Combel)

Children’s books in Spanish

1- Arta contra el Alien Máximo, de Arta Game, (Montena)

2- Tres meses, de Joana Marcús, (Montena)

3- Antes de diciembre, de  Joana Marcús, (Montena)

4- Arta y la invasión máxima, de Arte Game (Montena)

5- Después de diciembre, de Joana Marcús (Montena)

Text and photography: Gremio de Editores de Catalunya