The Ministry of Culture and Sports rejoins the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day in complex and restrictive circumstances but reaffirming its commitment to promoting reading, protecting intellectual property and the rights of author and defense of the publishing industry.
Given the impossibility of carrying out the traditional ceremony of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize for Literature in the Spanish Language, the Ministry of Culture and Sport, through the General Directorate of Book and Promotion of Reading, has launched various initiatives in tribute to the 2019 Cervantes Prize, Joan Margarit, among which is a video-tribute, which has been released on networks today, day 23, in which personalities of different profiles (friends, editors, authors, booksellers, people from the university field) ) that they were going to be invited to the delivery ceremony, in which they expressed their relationship with Margarit and his work.
Throughout the day they will be posted on different networks with their poems, their audios, their interventions in the press and different facets of his career (his link with music, his activity as an architect); and, like every year, a microsite on the Ministry's website will provide all the information on the history of the award, the figure of the winner and the activities that will be carried out from other units of the ministry or entities linked to this award (Instituto Cervantes, Círculo de Bellas Artes …).
The traditional award ceremony of the Cervantes Prize is postponed sine die, until circumstances allow.
This award is the highest recognition for the creative work of Spanish and Latin American writers whose work has contributed to enriching the literary heritage of the Spanish language in a remarkable way. The list of award-winning authors since it was first awarded in 1976 constitutes clear evidence of the significance of the award for culture in Spanish.
Other activities
The General Directorate of Book and Promotion of Reading, of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, encourages its followers on social networks to share photos of their 'Reading corner', that place in their houses where they usually read regularly, with the hashtag # RincónDeLectura together with the generic # DíaDelLibro.
On the other hand, since April 22, 'The Publication of the Month' has been launched on social networks, linking to the space on the Ministry's website where the publication would be hosted. The book selected for April is: 'Flora or The education of a girl'. Pilar Pascual de Sanjuan. (1881) of the Virtual Library of Bibliographic Heritage.
In addition, a video will explain the production process of the commemorative poster in Spain for International Book Day 2020, which has been designed by the National Illustration Award, Paco Giménez.
Finally, the importance of the eBiblio digital library service at this stage of confinement will be valued through various channels. This free online e-book loan service has experienced a notable increase in use during the month of March: new users registered for the service during the month of March have increased by 264.8% to reach the figure of 51,483 new users.
During the month of March, the number of visits to the eBiblio website reached a total of 1,382,814, which represents an increase of 196.7% compared to February (466,095 visits). Regarding loans and copies reserves, they have increased by 76.2% and 124.9% respectively, reaching 310,020 loans and 89,047 reserves.
