Rome booksellers boycott Più libri più liberi fair over December dates

Rome's booksellers have announced they will not participate in the 2021 edition of Più libri più liberi, the National Small and Medium Publishing Fair, scheduled for December 4-8 at the Nuvola di Fuksas in Rome's EUR district. The decision, communicated by the Italian Booksellers Association (ALI), stems from the fair's proximity to the Christmas season, when bookstores generate approximately 30% of their annual revenue. ALI Rome spokesperson Ilaria Milana stated that December is the only month in Italy—and possibly Europe—where an editorial trade fair is held, and that the fair undermines the already precarious economic situation of local bookstores. Despite requests from booksellers to move the event to November or after the holidays, the fair remains in December. Milana also noted that a law prohibits discounts on book cover prices in December, yet every book sold at the fair is one less sold in neighborhood bookstores. Beyond economic concerns, the booksellers emphasize the cultural role libraries played during the pandemic, including collecting packages for disadvantaged families, organizing home deliveries for the elderly, and managing suspended book services for children. They argue that public administrations, publishers, writers, and intellectuals claim to defend bookstores but, by supporting the fair, undermine their stability, causing Rome to lose its bookstores as cultural outposts.