The Porto Book Fair received 231 thousand visitors between August 21 and September 6, becoming the second highest attendance ever for the event, which took place in the Gardens of the Crystal Palace. The 13th edition was marked by record numbers, with Avenida das Tílias hosting 144 exhibitors among booksellers, publishers, and antiquarians, 13 more than in 2025, and a program that exceeded 400 hours distributed across more than 200 activities.
Bad weather conditioned this year's edition, with rain and wind forcing the closure of outdoor spaces on the 24th and the postponement of the opening on the 26th. In the first two days, around 41 thousand people passed through the fair, 20% more than in the same period the previous year, and attendance recovered in the following days, with August 29 becoming the busiest day since the fair began being held in the Gardens of the Crystal Palace.
Porto poet Inês Lourenço was distinguished with the Tília de Homenagem (Tilia Homage Award), inspiring conversations, roundtables, shows, and exhibitions in a program where poetry and the feminine took particular prominence. Internationalization was another focus, with the first-time presence of authors such as Mohammed El-Kurd, Angelica Liddell, Rim Battal, and Marie Darrieussecq, as well as the debut of a cycle dedicated to dramaturgy and a significant enhancement of the children's and youth offering, with 80 hours of activities for the little ones.
The Mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte, considered the edition "a milestone in quality, internationalization, and the celebration of the life and work of Inês Lourenço," classifying the fair as "one of the greatest cultural pillars" of the city. The next edition is scheduled for 2027.
