WorldBookDay,whichfallsonApril23,willfeeldifferentthisyearacrossGreece.Gonearethebookfairs,andtherewillbenocompetitionsandfestivitiesinlibrariesandinthestreets.
"WorldBookDayiscelebratedtoremindallofusthatthebookisprimarilyaculturalassetandsecondarilyacommercialproduct,"NestorasPoulakos,co-owneroftheVakxikonMedia&PublishingGroup,toldXinhuainarecentinterview."Byreadingbooks,peoplecantravel,becomebetterpersonsandhealtheirsouls.Ihopethattheoversupplyofbookswillcontinue,enablingeachofustofindtheonesthatsuitus."
"Duringthelockdown,loyalreadersbecameevenmoreengagedbecausetheyhadmoretimeontheirhands.Weallwereastoundedbythesightofclosedbookstores.Itisonethingtobuyabookfromane-shopandanothertobrowsebookstores,"Poulakossaid.
However,despitethecoronaviruslockdown,thebookmarketinGreecedidnotflourishlastyear.Inthesecondquarterof2020,thecombinedturnoverofbookretailersdropped19.4percentyear-on-year,ninepercentcomparedtothefirstquarterof2020,theHellenicStatisticalAuthority(ELSTAT)said.
Bookstores,alongwithmanyshopsandsectorsoftheeconomyandsociallife,remainedclosedforseveralmonthsduringthetwonationwidelockdownsinGreece.Thesecondlockdown,whichstartedonNov.7,2020,isstillinforce,althoughitisgraduallybeingeased.
Apublicawarenesscampaignentitled"Westayhome",launchedbytheGreekgovernmentlastyearduringthefirstnationwideCOVID-19lockdown,encouragedpeopletomakegooduseoftheirtimespentbehindcloseddoorsbyreading.Aspartofthecampaign,manyGreekpublishinghousesofferedonlineaccesstotheirbooksfreeofcharge.
Digitalpublishingande-readinghaveestablishedafirmfootholdinGreece,MichalisKalamaras,founderofeAnagnostis.gr,awebsiteone-booksanddigitalpublishing,toldthelocalnewspaperLiberalrecently.
Nonetheless,theoverallshareofe-booksalesintheGreekbookmarketremainsverysmall,likelybelowonepercent,thesameasinPortugalorLatvia,accordingtothereport.