Is a book fair just for children’s literature necessary? This is how the Kokoro Book Fest is lived in Lima

One place for the teen books you’ve heard about on Instagram and TikTok. That is the bet that brings the Kokoro Book Festwhere girls in school uniform along with their mothers, adolescents, young people and even some adults stroll through the Eduardo Dibós Coliseum last Friday night in search of a history to catch them and possibly then break their hearts. Because that’s how it moves youth literaturebetween love and disappointment, whether in a realistic context or in a fantasy world.

a trend

It is often said that the new generations do not spend time reading literature, but the figures deny this. Sales of youth literature at Crisol Bookstores, for example, increased by 86% between the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, from the publisher Penguin Random House, they affirm that sales of books of this genre increased by more than 100% after the pandemic. Of those books, a large number are born on the digital platform Wattpad, where writers from around the world publish their work for free reading. The most successful titles end up published on paper.

It seems that the union of social networks and the Wattpad phenomenon has caused an increase in the number of readers. Outside the virtual world, during the first day of Kokoro, El Comercio saw how several readers got together to talk between stands about their favorite books on the application.

The visit of this newspaper coincided with one of the different conversations that take place these days of the fair. The theme of the first night was about the trilogy “Through my window” by Venezuelan author Ariana Godoy, turned into a Netflix movie. The tape, which has divided opinions among the followers of history, managed to become one of the most viewed on the platform just days after its premiere.

Why so successful?

Being in Kokoro one realizes what really hooks a reader: the ‘real’ characters, those with whom you can identify and who you would like to have as a friend. At least that’s what the ‘bookstagrammers’ say, users of social networks who review books and who have had space at the event.

Once the conversation about the Hidalgo brothers from “Through my window” was over, another of the scheduled events at the Kokoro Book Fest began: the presentation of the book “Irresistible error” by the Mexican Melissa Ibarra, better known as Kayurka Rhea in networks. “What is your favorite scene?”, “When does the second volume come out?” and “Why do you enjoy making your readers suffer?” In half an hour, she received these and more questions.

What is really striking about this festival? El Comercio spoke with some of the attendees at the Kokoro Book Fest, most of whom highlighted being able to enjoy their favorite authors in one place.

“Youth literature has grown quite a bit. It has moved much more than anything through the Wattpad platform, where many authors who are a trend and create a space for girls who at some point feel identified with a book, a protagonist or something of different clichés, “said Liz, a of the attendees. “Wattpad is the ‘boom’. Before it was frowned upon. Until now there are books of everything, because Wattpad allows anyone to publish what they want, from there to having the level of acceptance is something else. Large publishers are betting on these books. It’s time to remove the stigma that everything else (outside of traditional literature) is rubbish.”, added Brenda Mar.

In that sense, the young Lucero Miranda was encouraged to comment on the saying that runs through society that “youthful books are not literature.” “Reading is what matters. You do not need to judge people by what they read, because at the end of everything you learn, just as people listen to music or watch movies of different genres. In the end, it is a means of entertainment and people not only read to educate themselves or learn about history, but you can also read to escape to another world.“, said. For tastes, colors.