Barcelona, Spain

Don Quixote said all his misadventures had been worth it, just for the chance to see Barcelona, the only real city mentioned in Cervantes’ masterpiece: the ingenious gentleman’s visit to a Barcelona printing press is just one example of the tradition of publishing dating back to the Middle Ages.

Barcelona is the literary hub of not one but two languages: it is the world’s largest centre of publishing in the Spanish language, and the capital of the Catalan language. The city was a Founding Member of ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network) in 2006, having already been one of the oldest members of the previous City of Asylum Network (dissolved in 2005). Barcelona has continued to be safe haven for persecuted writers, providing them with security and a cultural environment to stimulate their creative and literary activity.

A world-recognised editorial capital since the 19th century, Barcelona exports books all over the world. The city’s rich map of bookstores includes independent gems with books in several languages and a weekly second-hand book market that dates back to 1882: the recently renewed Mercat de Sant Antoni fills its bookshelves with old books and rarities every Sunday morning.

Join us in Barcelona in 2028.

​