The first edition of READ took place on September 17, 18, and 19 at La Model in Barcelona, bringing together an unprecedented international publishing community. The gathering combined professional work, public reflection, and network building, positioning books as a central tool for analysis and transformation.
READ 2025 brought together more than 250 publishers from 44 countries, confirming the sector's strong interest in a space specifically dedicated to critical publishing and contemporary debate. Over three days, the event activated a vibrant ecosystem of exchange among publishers, journals, platforms, and cultural agents committed to producing critical thought.
Regarding the main figures, professional participation during the mornings included more than 250 participating publishers from 44 countries, generating over 10,800 professional meetings through professional work sessions, B2B meetings, and editorial assemblies. The afternoon public program registered 2,035 attendees at open presentations and 9 round tables with international speakers. These figures reflect both the professional dimension of the gathering and its capacity to convene the public.
In the mornings, READ is conceived as a space for exchange and specialized work for the book ecosystem. Throughout various sessions, publishers, and agents have a structured environment for rights sales and transfers, catalogue presentations, B2B meetings, creation of collaborative networks, strengthening of professional ties, and sector-based editorial assemblies.
In the afternoons, READ opens its doors to public presentations with the participation of international voices, conceived as spaces for reflection and debate. The program is structured around a three-day agenda with activities throughout the afternoon. The themes have focused on some main contemporary issues, such as feminism, environmentalism, the impact of technologies, LGBTIQ+ matters, the defense of minoritized languages, and the challenges of current critical thought. This first edition held 9 round tables that brought together 2,035 registered participants and featured top-level international speakers such as Andreas Malm, Evgeny Morozov, Susan Watkins, Françoise Vergès, Clara Serra, and Jules Gill-Peterson, as well as online interventions by Francesca Albanese and Rima Hassan. These gatherings transform the space into a true forum for critical thought, open to the exchange of ideas and active citizen participation.
The success of the first edition confirms the need to continue strengthening READ as an international platform for critical publishing and public debate. On this foundation, READ will continue expanding its network, reinforcing its transnational dimension, and consolidating Barcelona as a meeting hub for those who understand books as tools for cultural intervention.
These were the participants in 2025:
Add Editore, Adverbum, Aevitas Creative, After 8 Books, African Perspectives, Johannesburg, Afrikadaa, Alianza Editorial, Alternativas económicas, Amalion Publishing, Anagrama, Andana Gráfica, Antipodes Publications, Apic Editions, Apostroph, APPEC, Ara Llibres, Arcadia Editorial, Asymptote Journal, Ático de los Libros, Atlas for Publishing & Distribution, Atrapasueños, Autonomia Literaria, B42, Babil, BAM Agency, Banda propia, Bartlebooth, Batec Produccions Editorials, Bazar do Tempo, Bibliotheka Edizioni, Boitempo, Bookmarks Publications, Broken Books, Brumaire, Buen Dolor, Caja Negra Editora, Canal Red, Catalyst, Centre d'Estudis d'Unitat Popular (CEUP), Cleveland Review of Books, Colophon Books, Communis, Consteller publishing, Conta escritura, Contragolpe, Criatura Editora, Crocodilo edições, Daraja Press, Derive Approdi, Dirección única, Dissent Magazine, Donzelli Editore, Edició IPS Estat espanyol, Ediciones de intervención cultural, Ediciones del oriente y del mediterráneo, Ediciones godot, Ediciones Holobionte, Ediciones IPS, Ediciones La Cebra, Edicions del Pirata, Edition Nirvana, Editorial Amsterdam, Editorial Batalla de Ideas, Editorial Debate, Editorial Gato Viejo, Editorial Madre Selva, Editorial Nós, Editorial Taurus, Editorial Traficantes de Sueños, Editora Trinta Zero Nove, Editions Aux forges de Vulcain, Editions Burn-Aout, Editions Communardes, Editions du Détour, Editions Frantz Fanon, Editions Météores, Éditions Libertalia, effeQu, Egalite Magazine, Einaudi, Eksmo, El ciudadano, El Perro y la Rana, El Salto Diario, Elefante, Erria, Escola Gullem Agulló, European Review of Books, Expressão Popular, Fandango Libri, FEC, Feltrinelli, Festina publicaciones, Flee Project, FMK Knjige, Fondation Ahmed Tlili pour la culture democratique, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Forlaget Aleatorik, Forlaget Arena, Four eyes editions, Fractalia, Fundació ENT, Fundació Neus Catalá, Fundación Iratzar, Fundación Sentit Comú, Galaxia Gutenberg, Gallimard, Gantala press, Gara, Garbuix Books, Giunti EDITORE, Godall Edicions, Granta Magazine, Gufo, H&O Editorial, Historial Materialism Series, Historical Materialism Journal, HO Editorial, Hórdago, Humdrum press, Il Manifesto, Inanna Publications, Informations Forlag, Institut del teatre, Institut Ramon Llull, Instituto Moreira Salles, InterZona editora, Isbank cultural publications, Issi editions, Ivan Limbakh Publishers, Jacana Media, Jacobina (Brasil), Jacobin (U.S), Jacobin Greece, Jacobin Latinoamérica, Jacobin Magazin (Germany), Jacobin Nederland, Jewish Currents, Kalem Agency, Katakrak, Ketebe Publishing, Krytyka Polityczna, La Caja Books, La dispute, La Fabrique Éditions, La inventadera, La valija de fuego, Leesjmagazijn, Les editions sociales, Les peregrines, Leteo Edito, Libelula Verde Ediciones, LOM Ediciones, London Review of Books, Lote 42, Luminaire Books, Lux Éditeur, Lux Magazine, Lybrides, Males Herbes, Malpaso, Manchester UP, Manifest Llibres, Marjin Kiri, Mazmoon books, Me-ti, Meltemi Editore, Mimesis Edizioni, Minimum Fax, Momo Edizioni, Mondoweiss, Monte Ávila Editores Latinoamericana, Nero Editions, New Left Review, New Left Review España, Nila Ediciones, No libros, None books, Nous Magazine, Olivia Snaije, Ombre Corte, Ona Ediciones, Onze Revista, Or Books, Para la voz, Pasado presente, Penguin Random House India, Pepitas de calabaza, Pico press, Plebeya, Pol·len edicions, Prickly press, Profile Books, Progressive international, Prometeo Editorial, Quimérica, Quodlibet, Raisons d'agir, Rara avis, Red Sea, Red Star Press, Review of African Political Economy, Revista Crisis, RP Dimanche, Savanes du continent, Savanna Books, Seagul Books, Seis Dedos, Setu Prakashani, Seven Stories, Sexto Piso, Siglo XXI, Sin Permiso, Sobinfluencia Press, Starfish, Suhrkamp Verlag, Surplus Magazine, Suture Press, Tageszeitung ND, Talitha, Teiko, Tendance negative, Tercero Incluido, The center for the advancement of infrastructural imagination, The Markaz Review, The Syllabus, Tiiiit! Inc. - Skopje, Tinta Limón, Tinta Roja Ediciones, Todo modo publishing, Tribune Magazine, Tritonic, Txalaparta, Ubu Editora, UNSAM, Utopia libri, V.C Thomas editions, Verlag C.H.Beck GmbH & Co. KG, Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Verso Books, Verso Libros, Viento Sur, Virus Editorial, VSA: Verlag, Weavers Press, Westend Verlag, Wirklichkeit Books, Zona de Estrategia, Zone books.
Of all these countries:
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Basque Country, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Catalonia, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Quebec, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela