Bibliophiles the Thessalonikians: This year is a “surprise” year for book sales

“surprise” year regarding the books sold in Thessaloniki, the president of the Association of Publishers of Northern Greece characterizes 2022 Babis Barbounakis, stressing that the book has “recovered strongly” and many chose it as a Christmas present for their loved ones.

“There is an upward trend and we saw it during the holidays from the attendance of people in bookstores. This year was a surprise year after the pandemic. The book rebounded strongly. We also noticed this in the summer at the “Book Festival”, which was organized in Nea Paralia”, said Mr. Barbounakis, speaking to the APE-MPE radio station “Agency 104.9 Fm”.

According to the president of the Association of Publishers of Northern Greece, for the Christmas and New Year markets, children’s books topped the sales in bookstores, followed by anniversary books – especially those related to the 100th anniversary of Asia Minor Disaster and the 200 years since the Greek Revolution of 1821- the albums with regions of the world but also the history books.

“When television came to Greece, in the 1960s and 1970s, they said, ‘it’s over, the book is over.’ And yet the television helped it through the projections of the various events. There was a gradual decline from 2008 onwards due to the financial and global crisis which also led to the closure of several bookstores. Now the book is making a comeback while it seems that the circle of comparison with the internet has closed. We believe that the internet, in addition to direct information, the part that promotes culture will help the book”, added Mr. Barbounakis.

He also emphasized that due to online sales, the book today succeeds and reaches every remote region of Greece and that the “leaven of young Greek writers can and does stand in the field of spirit and culture in relation to other countries”.

RES-EMP

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.