Every day should be Sant Jordi

For Catalans, Sant Jordi is one of the most important days of the year. Who doesn't follow the tradition of buying books and roses on this Catalan version of Valentine's Day? Visitors, make sure you don't miss out, join the crowds in the streets and squares and you are sure to be impressed by the atmosphere. We devote our main feature to books and reading: Sant Jordi here and abroad, biography as a popular literary genre, and interviews with experts. For the first time this year, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands are guests of honour at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, so we talk to the event's curator, Paula Jarrin. Sant Jordi is vital for writers and publishers, but involves everyone, from top to bottom. Yet, it begs the question of whether we read enough. The figures say no, which is why initiatives to boost reading like the one from the Gremi dels Llibreters (where booksellers offer a book to six-year-olds) are key. Thanks to this, there are families able to access a bookshop for the first time. However, the challenge is to turn buying books and reading into a habit, not just a once-a-year thing: every day should be Sant Jordi.