The Lanzarote Book Fair will once again be the protagonist of the island's cultural calendar, with a stop between Wednesday 7 and Sunday 10 May, an unmissable event for all literature enthusiasts. And it will do so in Arrecife, with a line-up of top-level guest authors that promises to satisfy all reading tastes.
This morning, representatives of the administrations and entities that promote this event met at the Agustín de La Hoz House of Culture, to learn about the program of this fourth edition. Present were the Cabildo's Minister of Culture, Jesús Machín, the Minister of the Publications Service, Ascensión Toledo, the Councilor for Education and Culture of Arrecife City Council, Abigail González, and the president of the Isla Literaria association, Tomás Pérez-Esaú.
According to the organization, the novelists headlining the program are the veteran writer and journalist Juan José Millás; the former Minister of Culture and Sports and television presenter, Máximo Huerta; the young bestsellers Elísabet Benavent and Marta Jiménez, and the actor and leader of the band León Benavente, Abraham Boba.
The details of the rest of the presentations will be revealed as the inaugural date of the Fair approaches, which this year will be dedicated to the writer from Arrecife, Félix Hormiga. All the information can be found on the website and on its social media.
The activities will take place in Ramírez Cerdá park, the UNED library, the Agustín de la Hoz House of Culture and the CIC El Almacén, with free and open access. As happened in previous editions, performing arts, music, illustration and children's workshops will have a privileged space, alongside the sales stands of bookstores, publishers and cultural institutions.
A consolidated proposal
The Minister of Culture of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Jesús Machín, highlights that "reaching this fourth edition is a guarantee that the Book Fair is part of the consolidated cultural proposals on the calendar, those that we look forward to with eagerness and expectation every year. In 2026 we have built a program that combines reference authors with island and Canarian literary production, reinforcing access to reading and generating a real meeting space between readers, writers and the cultural sector.” The public official invited the entire population of the island to attend the different activities and to enjoy culture in the street.
“We are the third capital of the Canary Islands and that also implies assuming cultural leadership: bringing names like Juanjo Millás, Máximo Huerta or Elísabet Benavent demonstrates that in Arrecife we not only consume culture, but we generate it and project it towards the entire archipelago.”
The Councilor for Culture, Abigail González pointed out that “the Book Fair is a perfect example of the creative energy that is breathed in Arrecife: top-tier authors will coexist with local bookstores, reading clubs, and the youngest public, who increasingly have more spaces to meet with books”. She added that “from the Culture area we are going to continue defending that major literary events be held here, in the capital of Lanzarote, because reading and the arts are a powerful tool to build a more critical, more open, and prouder city of its identity”.
The counselor of the Cabildo's Publications Service, Ascensión Toledo, highlighted the importance of this type of initiative for the cultural development of the island, and emphasized that "from the Cabildo of Lanzarote we continue to firmly commit to the promotion of reading and access to culture as fundamental tools for personal and collective growth". Regarding the work of the Publications Service, she highlighted that "it plays an essential role in the dissemination of knowledge, history, and identity of Lanzarote, supporting both established authors and new voices".
Tomás Pérez-Esaú, president of the Isla Literaria association, which brings together the publishing and bookstore guilds of Lanzarote, pointed out that this year the organization has strived to bring presentations aimed at teachers, from primary, secondary, and higher education. “For this, we have the support of UNED and we have dedicated two mornings to the student population, with the aim of attracting new generations to reading, so that they develop a critical spirit," he said.
He also showed gratitude for the institutional support “without which we would not be able to undertake such an important project as this” and to the journalists and culture professionals, who one more year will be in charge of leading the meetings.