Buenos Aires Children's Book Fair sees late surge in visitors and sales

After two slow weeks, the Buenos Aires Children's and Young Adult Book Fair experienced a significant uptick in visitor numbers and sales during its final week. Most exhibitors at the fair, organized by the Fundación El Libro (FEL), noted that the increase only began in the third and final week of the event.

This year's fair relocated from the Palacio Libertad (formerly CCK) to the Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC), located at Figueroa Alcorta and Pueyrredón avenues. The venue, managed by La Rural, offers free admission daily from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. until the upcoming Sunday. During the initial days, numerous school groups visited, with children utilizing "chequelibros", vouchers worth $10,000 pesos provided by schools, to purchase books for their families.

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We were able to recover the investment on the fourteenth day of the Fair.

Exhibitors like Fabiana Nola Portillo from Gerbera reported recovering their investment by the fourteenth day of the fair. At stand 82, best-selling titles included those by the Santa Fe musical group Canticuénticos, despite criticism from official streamer Daniel Parisini. Promotions offered three paperback books for $42,000 pesos and three hardcover books for $45,000 pesos. A notable success was the braille adaptation of their book "Hay secretos" ($34,500 pesos).

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People choose carefully because sometimes they can only take one book.

Lúdico Ediciones, celebrating its 15th anniversary, suggested that insufficient publicity about the venue change contributed to the lower attendance in the early weeks. Popular titles at their stand included books on emotions like "Rezongones" or "¡No puedo esperar!" (each $19,900 pesos) and the "Tía Roberta" series by Javiera Gutiérrez and Adriana Keselman ($20,900 pesos). At stand 79, the attendant noted that customers were choosing books carefully, often purchasing only one due to cost. Many visitors benefited from a 20% discount offered by Banco Provincia or six-month interest-free installments from Mercado Pago.

Other stands also reported initial struggles due to a lack of advertising. Gisela Carvallo, an editor and writer from Selah Ediciones, participating for the first time, expressed satisfaction with sales. Her stand (number 3) featured best-selling books for children, parents, and educators on topics such as sexual abuse, grooming, and human trafficking, alongside her illustrated book "Una vaca con plumas" ($25,000 pesos). Major publishing groups reported sales increases, with one representative noting they were about 15% higher than in the previous year.

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We are a little above 2025, 15% up.