Once again, on April 23rd, the streets of Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia filled with thousands of people browsing and buying books and roses for their loved ones for Sant Jordi (as a long-held tradition to celebrate World Book Day). It was a beautiful sunny day and the energy was immaculate as always!
Hundreds of authors could be found at the bookstore and publisher stands, signing books and meeting fans, several Pontas authors among them. We loved to see readers excited by the prospect of meeting their favorite authors for a brief moment and getting to take selfies with them to immortalize the moment.
Mystic noir author and bestseller Dolores Redondo returned to Barcelona for Sant Jordi (she’d last been invited in 2023) to sign copies of her most recent novel, Las que no duermen NASH (Those Who Don’t Sleep NASH), which has sold over 200.000 thousand copies in Spanish alone since its publication in November 2024, and is still going strong. It is the second installment in the new "The Tranquil Valleys" quartet. Translation rights have been sold into French (Gallimard), Italian (Rizzoli), German (btb), Portuguese for Brazil (Planeta), Catalan (Columna), Basque (Erein), and Galician (Aira) and all other languages are currently available.
Another Sant Jordi veteran is Martí Gironell, the bestselling Catalan historical fiction novelist, who never misses a year. This time he was signing copies of La muntanya del tresor (Treasure Mountain), his latest release, which was published by Columna and translated into Spanish by Destino in October 2024. The publisher is currently on its 5th reprint! The novel follows the story of an altar boy from the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, a cherished symbol of Catalan resilience, during the Spanish Civil War.
Ethiopian-born Catalan author Ennatu Domingo enjoyed her second Sant Jordi, three years after her first time, when she had published her debut Fusta d’Eucaliptus Cremada (Burnt Eucalyptus Wood). Now she hit bookstands again to share and sign copies of her second book, A un costat i a l’altre del mirall (On Both Sides of the Mirror), published in the original Catalan and also translated into Spanish by Navona, a book of reflections on race and gender between Europe and Africa, stemming from her experience as a volunteer in a United Nations refugee camp in Greece.
Last but not least, a Sant Jordi debutant! Eulàlia Comas was in Barcelona signing copies of her heartwarming and heartbreaking debut novel Era primavera a l’hivern (It Was Spring in Winter), which was published by Univers in November 2024. Eulàlia Comas’ debut is about the unpredictability of love, exploring the depth and simplicity of connections between people, regardless of age, culture, or life experiences.
Barcelona, see you next year!