The Story of Gib is best selling book in festival five year history

‘The Story of Gibraltar’, the latest book in the Wallbook series this weekend became the bestselling book ever at the Gibraltar Gibunco Literary Festival. The book launched on Friday sold 800 copies in just four days. This is the best and fastest selling book in the festival’s five year history.
Christopher Lloyd is delighted and overwhelmed at how well the book has been received on the Rock. His presentations both on Saturday and Sunday were full to capacity.
“It is amazing. Anywhere in the world at a literary event an author who has written a book struggles to find that sort of quantity of books being sold just from people who come to the festival. This is not from bookshops or online and this is what makes it so exciting,” he told the Chronicle yesterday.
Mr Lloyd believes that the number of sales confirms everything that the book represents.
“It is about this identity, and this emotional passion that you have. When you look at the story of Gibraltar itself it kind of makes sense because there have been many highs and lows and it is a living history,” he emphasised.
“Within the last 100 years or so there is enough shared experience on an emotional level to make the Gibraltarian identity unique and special and in today’s world where there are so many troubles between cultures, nations, creeds and belief, you have a crucible here of tremendous diversity in a small place and as I said on Friday a huge story in a small place.”
He added that he was not at all surprised that so many people connected with the story and thrilled that they have wanted to buy the book.
Mr Lloyd did not rule out the possibility of a second book on the Rock believing there so many different ways in which the story can be told: through music, in some dramatic way and even as a ballet.
Two other books this weekend also on a Gibraltar theme sold out at this year’s event. Nick Rankin’s ‘Defending Gibraltar’ and Roy and Leslie Adkins book on ‘Gibraltar: The Greatest Siege in British History ‘. Also sold out was ‘Dickens at Christmas’ by Lucinda Hawksley, the great, great, great granddaughter of Charles Dickens.
The Gibraltar Festival is one of the best book selling festivals with 25% of audiences buying books as well. The average figure in other festivals in the UK is believed to be between five and eleven per cent.