- The initiative, organized for the seventh consecutive year by the General Directorate of Books, Comics and Reading, is aimed at boosting the activity of independent bookshops and supporting literary creation in all the languages of Spain.
- Yolanda Castaño, Mario Obrero, Nerea Pallares or Luis Maura are some of the writers who participate in these meetings that start in JuneEight independent Madrid bookstores will host, between the months of June to October, meetings between authors in 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 Community of Madrid will take place from June 19 to October 3 in the following independent bookstores:
- Diogenes Bookstore (Alcalá de Henares), with Mario Obrero (Galician) and Nuria Ruiz de Viñaspre (Spanish), on June 19
- Mary Read (Madrid), with Katixa Agirre (Basque) and Luis Maura (Spanish), on September 11
- Peripecias Bookstore (Madrid), with Anto Yáñez (Galician) and Javier Ruescas (Spanish), on September 19
- The Anonymous Bookstore (Madrid), with Luis Maura (Spanish) and Nerea Pallares (Galician), on September 23
- Derivas Bookstore (Madrid), with Fátima N. Delgado (Galician) and Mario Obrero (Spanish), on September 24
- Abubilla Librería (Fresnedillas de la Oliva), with Isaac Rosa (Spanish) and Katixa Agirre (Basque), on 3 October
- La Imprenta (Madrid), with Gonzalo Escarpa (Spanish) and Yolanda Castaño (Galician), on October 3
- Verbenera Libros S.L. (Madrid), with Mario Obrero (Spanish) and Sofía Castañón (Asturian), on October 3
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 eight meetings in the Community of Madrid, 15 will be held in Galicia, eight in Andalusia, seven in the Valencian Community, five in Asturias, two in Castilla y León, the Region of Murcia and Catalonia, respectively and one in Castilla-La Mancha, in Aragón, in La Rioja and in Extremadura, respectively.