Reading is a friend of summer. Not only because concentrating on a book requires that quality of free time that only vacations provide, but also because during rest periods we allow ourselves to forget our cell phones and keep our heads away from worries.
The poor connectivity of many tourist places also tends to act as a time machine that takes us back to those times when reading was the only possible entertainment.
But the holidays don’t just encourage us to return to books; In certain local destinations, they also give us the opportunity to meet their authors. The most important publishers in the country and some cultural centers invite the most important writers to connect with their audiences through talks, workshops or conferences.. And in this case too, the tranquility of the holidays works in our favor, giving us the necessary dose of free time to concentrate on a pleasant and interesting conversation.
Here we detail the main summer talk cycles and the authors and activities that we can enjoy on the beach.
around the books
The Planeta publishing house was a pioneer in bringing together authors with their readers in Mar del Plata, in a cycle called “Summer Planeta.” In 2026, this cycle became a festival that offers two full days in January and another two in February with literary activities. MARPlaneta (that’s the name of the event) combines talks and book signings with performances and musical experiences. The meeting place is the Chauvin Creation Center (San Luis 2849, Mar del Plata), a place that normally offers theater, film and music shows as well as signature cuisine in its restaurant.
The list of authors who will parade through its rooms is extensive and includes some of the most successful writers in Argentina: Adrián Lakerman, Juan José Becerra, Darío Sztajnszrajber, Daniel Mecca, Guillermo Martínez, Alexandra Kohan, Martín Kohan, Hugo Alconada Mon, Jorge Fernández Díaz, Diego Sztulwark, Fabián Casas, Nicolás Artusi, Florencia Canale, Florencia Sichel, Flor Dapiaggi, Agustina Buera, Adriana Riva, Osvaldo Gross, Daniel López Rosetti, Cynthia Wila and Gabriel Rolón.
The activity begins at 6 p.m., at which time you must be accredited. Gabriel Rolón, Jorge Fernández Díaz, Martín Kohan, Gabriel López Rossetti and Osvaldo Gross will be some of the authors present on February 2 and 3, the date of the next edition. The Editorial Planeta profile on Instagram provides more details on days and times.
A more recent cycle, which will have its second edition this year, is that of Penguin Random House. Also in Mar del Plata, under the name Penguin Books Festival, its weekly evening talks will take place at Villa Victoria, the cultural center that operates in the former house of Victoria Ocampo (located on Matheu 1851 street). The beautiful residence that hosted the founder of Sur magazine during the summers on the coast is also one of the must-visit tours of the city.
There, on Monday, January 12, Ludovica Squirru will chat about her annual horoscope. On Wednesday the 14th, the writer Daniel Balmaceda will present his latest title, a novel called “The New Year’s Crime”, his first fiction text after many history books. On January 21 it is the turn of Viviana Rivero, author of “Secretos de sangre” and on the 28th, Charlie López with her new volume, “Everything has its story.” On February 4, Gabriela Exilart will talk about her novels, especially “El secreto de Azucena”, based on a little-known episode in Argentine history, the Tata Dios massacre, on January 1, 1872.
Admission is free and it is advisable to bring a lounge chair or canvas to sit on because those provided by the place are limited. The time of the talks is at 7 p.m. At the end, anyone who wants to buy the books can do so right there at a stand. Also in this case, more information about the cycle can be found on Penguin’s Instagram.
The other sea
Within the Pinamar Party, the Old Ostend Hotelin the city of the same name (the address is Biarritz corner Cairo), organizes every year together with the Medifé Foundation the “Coincidir” cycle, a varied cultural proposal that includes exhibitions, cinema, workshops, music and, of course, literature.
As in the case of Villa Ocampo, the place invites reading because it is a building with a long history, opened to the public in 1913, which was built on the land of a ranch of the Guerrero family. Visitors as illustrious as Antoine de Saint Exupéry and the marriage of Adolfo Bioy Casares and Silvina Ocampo, among others. They were inspired by their stay to write together “Those who love, hate.”
During the summer, the hotel installs the Buenos Aires bookstore “I will call you Friday”, which displays on its tables many of the titles that feature in the talks. In addition, it organizes a very popular Reading Club.
Among the authors who will pass through the hotel’s lounges and terraces this summer are Eduardo Sacheri, Tomás Balmaceda, Betina González, Mariana Carbajal, Ingrid Beck, Gabriela Borrelli and Virginia Cosín. Also, on Thursday, January 22, Lorena Vega takes the stage with “Yo, Encarnación Ezcurra”. Cinema with live music, workshops that combine photography, drawing and writing and guided tours complete the experiences proposed by the cycle. Admission is free but you have to reserve a place because it fills up!
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