Public Institutions
Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB)
This public body was created in 1996 and is responsible for the municipal functions related to culture in Barcelona. It is formed by Barcelona City Council Department of Culture, the Municipal Institute of Performances and the Museum management centre. It has a budget of 120 million euros a year and its headquarters are located at the Palau de la Virreina palace. It is organised through a Governing Body on which the political groups forming the City Council are represented, along with members of culture and trade unions.
This was created in 2001 to implement the Libraries Plan and is responsible for managing and coordinating the 40 libraries in the city. The consortium is formed by Barcelona City and Provincial Councils and one of its goals is the comprehensive and effective provision of public reading library services. Every day, over 20,000 people visit the libraries in Barcelona and 45% of the city’s population has a library card.
Institució de les Lletres Catalanes
This was established at the Palau Robert palace on 7th August 1937, promoted by Francesc Trabal and a group of Catalan writers. As a result of a commitment between intellectuality and the moment in history of any given time, it still promotes the presence of Catalan writers in society through programmes in schools and prisons, the organisation of exhibitions, the granting of aid for creation or the holding of conferences, among many other activities.
This is an academic, scientific and cultural corporation. It was created on 18th June 1907 by Enric Prat de la Riba in order to perform extensive research into areas of science and elements of Catalan culture. It was divided into four areas: history, literature, archaeology and law, which was extended to include a fifth area in 1990: history-archaeology, biological sciences, science and technology and philosophy and science. In 1922, it was accepted into the recently created International Union of Academies. It currently acts as an advisor for the Catalan public authorities and institutions.
The Institut Ramon Llull is a public body that was created in 2002 by the Catalan and Balearic Island governments as a tool for promoting Catalan culture in academic and translation circles and cultural production in areas such as theatre, film, the circus, dance, music, the visual arts, design and architecture. It currently has a Catalan readers’ network in 141 centres around the world, primarily universities in all of the continents --6 in Asia, 106 in Europe, 26 in North American and 5 in South America--. Its international scope is also consolidated through four offices in Berlin, New York, London and Paris, and a budget of 7.5 million euros a year.
This was created in 1922 –only a year after C.A. Dawson Scott founded PEN International in London– by Josep Maria López-Picó and Carles Riba, who was its first president, with the aim of defending freedom of expression and linguistic rights, safeguard the Catalan cultural heritage and promote intercultural dialogue. One of its most famous programmes is that of the Hosted Writer. It offers refuge for two years in the city of Barcelona to a persecuted writer and integrates him or her into the city’s cultural life.
Writers’ Associations
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Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana. The idea of creating an Association of Writers in the Catalan Language, Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (AELC), arose in the “Literary Production” section of the Catalan Congress of Culture in 1975. Legally founded in 1977, it is an organisation that brings together writers in the Catalan language from all regions: Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencia Community.
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Associació Col·legial d’Escriptors de Catalunya. The Official Association of Writers of Catalonia, Associació Col·legial d’Escriptors de Catalunya, is formed by translators, writers, compilers and literary critics. It was formed in 1980 in Barcelona as an independent section of the ACE, Asociación Colegial de Escritores de España, the Official Association of Writers of Spain.
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Associació de Joves Escriptors en Llengua Catalana. Since its creation in 1980, it offers young writers a unique space where they can meet and progress. The Association of Young Writers in the Catalan Language, AJELC, provides its members with information on literary awards, grants and support, and gives the names of contacts in literary magazines and publishing houses. Anyone aged between 16 and 35 can become a member.
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CEDRO. The Spanish Reproduction Rights Centre, Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos, is a non-profit association firmed by authors and publishers who collectively defend the intellectual property rights arising from the secondary use a publication. It represents writers, translators and publishers and has signed agreements with other countries.
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SGAE. The Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers, Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, is a Spanish collective management organisation that defends the rights of authors, whether they are individual artists or business owners. Its origins date back to 1899, when the culture business primarily involved the theatres and intermediaries held abusive power over authors and theatres. A group of writers, compositors and book shop owners decided to found this association.
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Guionistes Associats de Catalunya (GAC) The Associated Scriptwriters of Catalonia, Guionistes Associats de Catalunya, is a non-profit association that was founded in 1997 to defend the aspirations of scriptwriters in the audio-visual media of Catalonia. It also organises courses and activities for its members.
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Associació Catalana de Crítics i Escriptors Cinematogràfics. In 1988, a group of film critics set up an association that was until then unprecedented. A year later, it joined the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) and one of its main roles is to promote the international presence of Catalan cinema. Its members are not only writers and critics not only from Catalonia but also from Spain. .
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Asociación Española de Críticos Literarios. This was created as a Spanish section of the Association Internationale des Critiques Littéraires to create the body of rules for literary critics. A vice presidency was appointed to Barcelona, the headquarters of which are at the Ateneu Barcelonès. It is famous for the “Premis de la Crítica” awards in different modalities, which it has been presented since 1956.
Publishers’ Associations
- Gremi d'Editors de Catalunya. This is an association of publishers from Catalonia. It defends the aspirations of publishers at the Consell Català del Llibre Infantil i Juvenil (ClijCat), Federación de Gremios de Editores de España (FGEE), CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos), and in the organizing committees Feria Internacional del Libro-LIBER, Setmana del Llibre en Català and FICOMIC (Federació d’Institucions Professionals del Còmic).
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Associació d’Editors en Llengua Catalana. This is a professional association of publishing houses that publish in Catalan in the Catalan Countries. It was founded in 1978 under the wing of a group of publishers and the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya in order to recover and standardise the Catalan language. It has three headquarters: in Barcelona, Valencia and Palma, and organises La Setmana del Llibre en català, Catalan book week.
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Llegir en Català. Created in 2013, this group of independent publishers from Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands publish in Catalan and defend local business. These publishers join forces to create projects that help publicise the books they produce, working together in collaboration to strengthen the sector. They claim their space in the media and in book shops for the work they do and how they do it.
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Associació d’Editors Contexto. This is an association of independent publishers that was founded in 2008 by the publishing house from Barcelona Libros del Asteroide and the Madrid-based Impedimenta, Nórdica Libros, Periférica and Sexto Piso to join forces and collaborate in projects. They have produced a map of book shops in Barcelona and in Madrid.
- Àlbum Barcelona. It is an independent publishing association of children's literature created by any 2017, driven by: A Buen Paso, Babulinka, BiraBiro, Coco Books, Corimbo, Ekaré, El Cep i la Nansa, Flamboyant, Juventud, Libros del Zorro Rojo, Takatuka and Thule with the aim of giving visibility and social relevance to the illustrated album.
Book Shop Owners’ Associations
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Gremi de Llibreters de Catalunya. The Guild of Book Shop Owners of Catalonia, Gremi de Llibreters de Catalunya, is the direct descendant of the association founded on 31st May 1533. During the Siege of Barcelona, the Companyia de Llibreters associated with the Third Battalion of La Coronela, known as Santa Eulàlia. It is a democratic, non-profit association that sees books as a cultural asset that structure individuals and society one of the main values of the culture industry. It defends a set price and fights piracy.
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Gremi de Llibreters de Vell de Catalunya. The origins of the guide of book shop owners in Barcelona date back to the 15th century, but it was not until the Spanish Republic that the Professional Association of Second-Hand Book Shop Owners of Catalonia, Associació Professional de Llibreters de Vell de Catalunya, was formed. It was forbidden during the Franco regime and became part of the Spanish Guild of Book Shop Owners, Gremio de Libreros de España. With the arrival of democracy, the Gremi de Llibreters de Vell de Catalunya was formed in 1978.
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Llibreters de Gràcia. There are more than thirty book shops in the neighbourhood of Gràcia. Given that this area of Barcelona is a city within the city, the book shop owners decided to establish an association to organise joint activities.
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Zonacomic. This is a group of comic shop owners that was founded in 2011. It seeks to create synergies between comic shop owners, comic publishers and distributors and to promote comic shop owners as go-tos for advice and to liaise with the media.
Translators’ Associations
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APTIC. This is the Professional Association of Translators and Interpreters of Catalonia, Associació Professional de Traductors i Intèrprets de Catalunya, which was founded in 2009 as a result of the merger of the two general associations of translators and interpreters in Catalonia: ATIC –Associació de Traductors i Intèrprets de Catalunya and TRIAC –Traductors i Intèrprets Associats pro-Col·legi, which sought the creation of a new professional association. It represents the interest of translation and interpreting professionals.
Illustrators’ Associations
Barcelona is a city with a great tradition of illustration, and schools such as La Llotja or Escola Massana are institutions with a long history that have trained a great many illustrators.
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APIC. The Professional Association of Illustrators of Catalonia, Associació Professional d’Il·lustradors de Catalunya, is a group of illustrators interested in jointly defending their professional rights. It was created in 1981 to defend their rights as authors and help increase social recognition.
Impressors' Associations
- Gremi de la Indústria i Comunicació Gràfica de Catalunya. This association brings together the graphic and manipulated industrialists of paper and cardboard.
Distributers' Associations
- Gremi de Distribuïdors de Publicacions de Catalunya. It groups around twenty distributors throughout Catalonia.
Consell Català del Llibre Infantil i Juvenil –ClijCat–
It is a federation of non-profit associations that has been promoting child and juvenile books and reading in Catalonia and promoting international presence since 1982. It presents two awards: the Atrapallibres child literature award and the Protagonista Jove juvenile literature award.
Writer’s copyright’s management entities
- CEDRO. The Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos is a non-profi association which unites writers and publishers who defend in a collective way the intellectual propietary rights which come from the secondary use of publications, mainly photocopies. It represents writers, translators and publishers, and has signed agreements with other countries.
- SGAE. The Asociación General de Autores y Editores is a Spanish entity of collective management of the author’s rights, whether they are individual artists (songwriters, playwrights, screenwriters) or business owners. Its origin goes back to 1899, when culture’s business was mainly in theatres and intermediary agents were exerting an abusive power over authors, venues and theatres.