Regina Rodríguez Sirvent and Eduardo Mendoza, the bestsellers of Sant Jordi

Every year, the Sant Jordi festival concludes with the best-seller lists. The day, which was predicted to be a record-breaker days in advance, generated 27 million euros, almost one million more than last year. Eric del Arco, president of the Gremi de Llibreters, explains that at first he was reluctant to publish the best-seller ranking, “but if we don’t do it, others will do it with less reliability and data.” Thus, at eight o’clock, the list extracted from the data collected until six in the afternoon and on previous days by the affiliated bookstores of Catalonia through the LibriRed platform was shared. Headed by Regina Rodríguez Sirvent and Eduardo Mendoza, it is a trend ranking that will not be confirmed until next week, when data from all bookstores and street book stalls are added. The guild also reminds that, overall, this list of titles represents less than 5% of total sales, which are very diverse.

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These are the best-selling books of Sant Jordi:

Fiction in Catalan

1. Crispetes de matinada, by Regina Rodríguez Sirvent (La Campana)
2. El joc del silenci, by Gil Pratsobrerroca (La Campana)
3. Passeig de Gràcia, by Roger Bastida (Comanegra) 
4. No has estat mai sol, by Albert Espinosa (Rosa dels Vents)
5. Prometeu de mil maneres, by Carles Rebassa (Univers Llibres)

Fiction in Spanish

1. La intriga del funeral inconveniente, by Eduardo Mendoza (Seix Barral)
2. Maite, by Fernando Aramburu (Tusquets) 
3. Comerás flores, by Lucía Solla Sobral (Libros del Asteroide)
4. Mentira, by Juan Gómez-Jurado (B) 
5. La ciudad de las luces muertas, by David Uclés (Destino)

Non-fiction in Catalan

1. Manual de defensa del català, by Òscar Andreu (Univers Llibres)
2. Anatomia de l’esperança, by Francesc Torralba (Destino)
3. On neix la llum, by Oriol Mitjà (Columna)
4. Cuines Pim Pam, by Arnau Paris (Ara Llibres)
5. Impacte, by Carles Porta (La Campana)

Non-fiction in Spanish

1. Instrucción de novicias, by Ana Garriga y Carmen Urbita (Blackie Books)
2. Alzar el duelo, by Paz Padilla (HarperCollins)
3. Hábitos atómicos, by James Clear (Diana) 
4. Rosalía, por ahí por Barcelona…, by Maricel Chavarría (La Vanguardia)
5. Bondad, compasión y amabilidad para vivir con alegría, by Víctor Küppers (Plataforma)

Children’s and Young Adult in Catalan

1. Em dic Goa 10 – Quin embolic, Goa!, by Míriam Tirado (B de Blok)
2. Ticnicks 3 – Vampi, by Meritxell Martí i Xavier Salomó (Combel)
3. Titó. Excursió a la llegenda de Sant Jordi, by Cristina Jiménez Carbó (Estrella Polar)
4. Sant Jordi i el drac, by Oriol Garcia Molsosa i Christian Inaraja (Combel) 
5. El zoo d’en Pitus, by Sebastià Sorribas (La Galera) 

Children’s and Young Adult in Spanish

1. Si fuéramos eternos, by Emma Gil (MR)
2. K-Pop Demon Hunters: ¡Por los fans!, by Netflix (Montena)
3. GoDeiK 1. GoDeiK y la gema maldita, by GoDeiK (Destino) 
4. Me llamo Goa 10 – ¡Vaya lío, Goa!, by Míriam Tirado (B de Blok) 
5. Binding 13, by Chloe Walsh (Montena)

As usual, the list is made up of new releases and books published by large editorial groups, Penguin Random House and Planeta, and in the case of Catalan, also Abacus Futur. In fact, in recent years, independent publishers have complained about the increasing advertising pressure exerted by these groups around Sant Jordi: one of this year’s novelties has been in the fashion stores of Passeig de Gràcia, which have displayed books and roses in their shop windows as part of a campaign promoted by Grupo Planeta. Unlike last year, there are some authors from independent publishers on the list, such as Roger Bastida, author of the historical novel Passeig de Gràcia, or Lucía Solla Sobral, who experienced her first Sant Jordi with Comerás flores.

From early morning, Regina Rodríguez Sirvent received queues of readers, to whom the publisher distributed popcorn (in honor of the title Crispetes de matinada) to liven up the wait: “The success of Les calces al sol was gradual; this year it’s being crazy,” explained the author. “It’s been very intense; many readers have cried over what Les calces… meant to them, and I cry with them.”

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Eduardo Mendoza experienced “a very intense, beautiful and tiring day,” signing books throughout the day without any inconvenience despite the controversy arising from his statements against Sant Jordi and the national character of the festival. In fact, he arrived at the afternoon signings with a pin of a dragon reading a book.

Beyond the best-sellers, international writers invited to the festival also received long queues of readers, such as Nobel laureate Han Kang, Amélie Nothomb and Joel Dicker, and young adult novel stars like Megan Maxwell, Blue Jeans, Alice Kellen, Joana Marcus, Inma Morales or Alina Not.

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