The director of the Madrid Book Fair, Eva Orúe (Zaragoza, 1962), has been dismissed from her position this Friday. The immediate dismissal was communicated to him this morning by the president of the Madrid Bookstore Guild, Luis Tigeras, who also presides over the organization of the Fair. “I do not share any of the reasons they have alleged, but they have the power to terminate the contract,” Orúe, the first woman to have been in charge of the great book world event, which is organized at the end of May in Madrid’s Retiro Park, explained to EL PAÍS. The press release issued by the Madrid Bookstore Association announcing the termination does not explain the reasons behind its decision.
Orúe, cultural manager and writer, replaced Manuel Gil, who directed the fair for five years. His appointment was announced in December 2021 and he took office in 2022 for a two-year period that was renewed. Orúe had to face the restrictions imposed by the pandemic in her debut as director of the Fair.
This 2026, the call suffered complications due to the visit of Pope Leo XIV and sales figures fell. The turnover, according to the organizers, was 9,862,888 euros with the sale of 587,014 copies. There were more than 730,000 unique visitors throughout the 17 days of celebration. Orúe stated when presenting these results: “The sales and attendance figures confirm what we announced in the partial results press conference: fewer visitors, less income. I think the circumstances explain these figures: the first weekend was very hot; later, up to and including the 8th, many Madrid residents and potential visitors preferred not to come to the city center, discouraged by those who insisted that everything was going to be very difficult.” In 2025, the business volume, according to exhibitor data, reached 10,140,955 euros and 595,000 copies were sold, a figure that already represented a drop compared to the 10.8 million euros that the turnover of the Madrid Book Fair added in 2024.
Holding this event outdoors in a historic park makes the weather a determining factor, since weather alerts due to extreme temperatures or risk of storms force the closure of the booths. This happened in 2025, which had an impact on sales. From the management led by Orúe there was talk of trying to negotiate that the orange alerts did not force the closure of the booths since the park does not close, but no progress was made in this in 2026. This year, in addition, the visit of the pontiff – the second weekend of the Fair, when sales are highest – as well as the coincidence with several massive concerts, announced a complicated perspective. The fair’s management did not request or promote any measure that would try to counteract the difficulties in accessing the fair, and the foreseeable drop in the number of visitors and sales.
The sponsored pavilions also seem to have generated tensions, which have affected Orúe’s permanence in office. The children’s bookstores, whose booths were at the beginning of the walk, did not understand that the children’s pavilion was at the end, already outside the area of the booths. There were also problems on the last day of the event at the Retiro, Sunday, June 14, due to the early and forced closure of the booths due to the threat of a storm, in accordance with park protocols and AEMET alerts. Once again, the orange alert declared forced the closure of the booths but not the evacuation of the park. A group of exhibitors asked for explanations. Their protest was responded to with a letter from the organization in which they described what happened as a “turmoil.” “Several people shouted and in a bad tone addressed the director of the Fair, calling her a liar, in addition to questioning the environmental protocols,” noted the letter, which imposed a “very serious sanction,” which would prevent their participation in future editions of the Fair, and to which allegations could be presented.
In their response, the affected booksellers stated that it was a peaceful meeting. “We always addressed the director in turns and politely, who did address us with a condescending tone and ordered several colleagues to shut up,” state the allegations, in which they miss that the management had offered any “clarifying message.” And they add: “If the regulations require participants to behave in a dignified, courteous and respectful manner, the management should apply the same.” And the text concluded: “I suppose that is what we can expect from an address to which we booksellers matter so little, although according to the regulations ‘The ownership and responsibility of the Fair correspond to the Association of Businessmen and Women of the Book Trade of Madrid.”
The press release released this Friday by the Madrid Bookstore Association recognizes the “important advances in areas as relevant as sustainability and cultural programming” under the direction of Orúe and announces “a new stage that continues to strengthen this meeting space between readers, authors, publishers and bookstores, highlighting the role of the latter as a fundamental piece of the Madrid cultural ecosystem.” The name of his successor has not been revealed.