“You have to come to the Fair, you have to come to the Retiro”. Queen Letizia said at the opening of the 84th edition of the Madrid Book Fair on Friday, May 30. She said this in front of photographers, institutional representatives and attendees who came across her in the first hours of the event. As in previous years, her presence officially opened an event that this 2025 brings together more than 365 booths in the Paseo de Coches del Parque de El Retiro, and that has New York as a guest city.
Beyond the formal act, the queen spent just over an hour and a half touring various stands, talking with booksellers, publishers and authors, and choosing books. Her visit to publishers such as Demipage, Páginas de Espuma and La Huerta Grande revealed a certain interest in independent imprints.
What books Letizia has taken with her
Among the titles she took, according to El Mundo, there is a mix of contemporary fiction, essays, poetry, women’s literature and some handmade editions. Her selection includes works such as Alcaravea, by Irene Reyes-Noguerol; Hasta que empieza a brillar, by Andrés Neuman; El hombre de mi vida, by Santiago Isla; and Pretérito imperfecto, by Xulia Alonso. There were also more experimental titles, such as Historia del vacío, by José Luis de Segovia, and Mosaico de trazos de palabras de colores, published by Reggio Children.
Part of her tour was marked by her interest in 20th century authors such as María Teresa León, by whom she acquired Memoria de la melancolía, or Gabriela Mistral, represented in an anthology published on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of her Nobel Prize. She also bought Hable con ellas, a cardboard edition with texts by Ana María Matute and Carmen Martín Gaite.
In addition to Ibero-American literature, the queen included international titles such as Señales, by the American author Tim Gautreaux, and Prohibido morir aquí, by Elizabeth Taylor, a British writer who is still little known in Spain. Completing the list are books such as ¿Y si pongo otra palabra? by Antonio Vega, the classic Poeta en Nueva York by Lorca, Cartas a un joven poeta by Rilke, and a volume on María Moliner purchased from Librería Olavide.
Among the essays are Arte y lectura, by Paulo Cosín, focused on the act of reading as an experience of social transformation, and Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, by Sebastián de Covarrubias, one of the first great lexicographical works of the language.
The Book Fair, until June 15
The Book Fair will be held until June 15, however, inclement weather prevents it from being held this afternoon. Even so, there will be two weeks ahead to enjoy an edition marked by institutional visits and a program focused on editorial diversity and the city of New York.