The Ministry of Culture and Sport is launching the Elective Affinities 2022 programme with a total of 51 literary encounters in bookshops throughout Spain.

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The initiative, launched in 2020 through the Directorate General for Books and the Promotion of Reading, brings together two authors writing in different languages of Spain in independent bookshops to discuss their similarities, divergences or connections.

Bookshops from 12 autonomous communities have submitted their proposals, which will be hosted from 2 July to 30 October. The bookshops have proposed the activities according to their public interest, their collection and their line of activity programming.

A total of 102 creators will take part, writing in Spanish, Basque, Galician, Valencian, Catalan and Bable.

Among the authors taking part are Kirmen Uribe, Brenda Navarro, Jon Bilbao, Xesús Fraga, Laura Pérez Vernetti and Olga Novo.

Plurality is also evident in the diversity of literary genres. 64 narrative authors, 17 poets, 7 illustrators, 10 essayists and 4 translators will take part.

The aim is to boost the activity of independent bookshops and authors, after one of the biggest crises ever experienced by the sector. Thus, creation, plurality and linguistic and literary diversity will be the protagonists of the meetings in bookshops all over Spain.

The title, ‘Elective Affinities’, is inspired by Goethe’s work of the same name, which argues that “you can only understand what is foreign if you have understood what you are akin to”.

Further information
Consult the selected bookshops and authors (PDF)