The Gil Bookstore, Santander Cultural Motor

Foto del autor

By TP

“Contemplating an afternoon of last summer to a recent Nobel Prize for literature sitting for an hour and a half, so quiet and happy, he said before leaving, in one of the rooms without saying a word, just looking towards the book exhibitors, It was something wonderful, ”says Paz Gil, owner of the Gil de Santander Bookstore, who on January 14 was awarded the Zenda Award as the best bookstore in Spain and in recognition of his editorial work and the promotion of reading. More information and information and It is that the playwright, novelist and Norwegian poet Jon Fosse (Haugesund, 1959), winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2023, it seems that he was seduced by the charm and atmosphere of a bookstore that has won two important national awards in the last year, and In addition to the Zenda also obtained the Boixareu Ginesta, which grants the Federation of the Guild of Editors of Spain to the bookseller of the year, “two awards of which they can boast very few among those who dedicate ourselves to this world,” says Paz Gil. In addition, in 2013 it was recognized by the Ministry of Culture with the National Prize for Cultural Library. For the most faithful clients and the writers and poets who frequent this establishment protected by the arches of the central Pombo Square, “Gil is not simply a book store; Its great value is that it is also a great connector of people, lovers of literature and culture that seek and offer the same. It is a space where a social current is generated through its numerous activities, such as presentations or workshops. “He has reached the point that many remain with friends there before leaving the city; It transcends the commercial field and that is its great value, ”explains the Cantabrian writer Marta San Miguel, José Hierro Poetry Award and author of the novel before the jump (Asteroid books). The history of Gil, authentic cultural engine of a city From medium -sized provinces, it starts in 1967, when peace parents opened their premises taking advantage of the completion of the works of the First Ensanche of Santander, just over a kilometer of the site of the current bookstore. «The replacement of the shawls of the area with housing buildings attracted numerous teachers, doctors, health and so many professionals who settled there, and many were our first clients,» recalls the bookseller. After overcoming crisis that many made many people made That the paper book was sentenced, especially that of 2008 and during the pandemic, the bookstore participates in the current boom of book sales and today Gil has two stores in the city and an important stationery company.Paz Gil, owner of the Gil Bookstore, at its premises on July 15, 2024. Juan Serranomarcos Díez, another Santander, winner of several poetry awards and project director linked to the art and literature of the Don Borja tower, in Santillana Del Mar, says that “Gil is a house, a meeting place for people who are going to look for books, but also to find people. You can't imagine Santander without Gil. ” cultural acts and presentations that are organized. ”Between the factors of the success of the bookstore, it has been very important, according to its owner, observe how it works in other countries, go to all the main international fairs and listen to other booksellers,“ but what More decisive, «he says,» it has been to listen to customers, from which we have learned a lot, interest ourselves in the books they like and which ones they miss on our shelves. «