Between the months of June and October, five independent bookstores in Asturias will host the meetings between authors of the seventh edition of the program ‘Afindades electives. Literary encounters in bookshops’.
The initiative, launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Culture through the General Directorate of Books, Comics and Reading, consists of the dialogue between a creator and creator, selected by the library that organizes the activity, and who write in different languages of Spain. In the conversations it is proposed to each author and author to investigate the work and the work of the other, looking for similarities, connections or divergent paths.
The meetings scheduled in the Region of Murcia will take place between June 25 and October 1 in the following independent bookshops:
- La Casina de Papel (Siero), with Lucía Aldao (Galician) and Miguel Monteavaro (Asturian), on June 25
- The pocket bookstore (Gijón), with Nuria Ruiz de Viñaspre (Spanish) and Xaime Martínez (Asturian), on July 2
- La Chula Librería Café (Santa Eulalia de Oscos), with Mario Obrero (Galician) and Rosario Villajos (Spanish), on July 18
- La Crisálida Bookstore (Avilés), with Julia Pérez Villegas (Spanish) and Miguel Monteavaro (Asturian), on September 26
- Maga Colibrí’s El Bosque Bookstore (Gijón), with Adolfo Serra (Aragonese) and Leticia Ruifernández (Spanish), on October 1st
These activities are freely accessible and free for the interested public. The date of the activity is provisional. It is recommended to consult it in the bookstore concerned.
About ‘Elective Affinities’
The main objectives of this program are to promote the activity in independent libraries and to value the linguistic plurality of our country, promoting dialogue and contributing to the dissemination of literature from different territories.
A total of 66 authors, 34 women and 32 men, will participate in this edition, with the aim of promoting parity in the sector. Some names that will be part of the program this year are Yolanda Castaño, Mario Obrero, Nerea Pallares, Alberto Conejero, Katixa Agirre, Ismael Ramos and Luz Pichel.
Thus, a diverse program has been formed in which authors will meet with works in Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Basque, Asturian, Valencian and Aragonese, and representatives of various literary genres: narrative, poetry, essay, children’s and youth literature, comic, dramatic literature, translation and illustration.
As for the geographical distribution, in addition to the five meetings in Asturias, 15 will be held in Galicia, eight in Andalusia and eight others in the Community of Madrid, seven in the Valencian Community, two in Castilla y León, Region of Murcia and Catalonia, respectively and one in Castilla-La Mancha, in Aragón, and in Extremadura, respectively.