The US writer Anna Todd appeared on 3 October 2026 at the Festival de Literatura Expandida de Mallorca (FLEM) in Magaluf her novel Sunrise: El último amanecer introduced. In the discussion that followed, she explained why she chose Mallorca as the setting: the island combines the postcard image of an idyllic holiday destination with palpable tensions caused by mass tourism, rising rents and the influx of international capital. These contrasts shape the plot of her book, which reflects relationships, stories of upward mobility and ruptures in an environment shaped by luxury offerings and property-led gentrification.
The FLEM takes place in its sixth edition from 1 to 4 October in Magaluf (municipality of Calvià) and brings together more than 30 authors. For the organisers, the combination of literature and contemporary debates is a defining principle; Magaluf was deliberately chosen as the stage because the place itself is one of the focal points of debate about visitor numbers, working conditions and urban development in Mallorca The Ajuntament de Calvià is providing logistical support for the festival to give the cultural profile of the post-season a boost.
Todd, known for the internationally successful After series, sets Sunrise: El último amanecer among characters navigating holiday aspirations, family ties and social status. At its heart are a mother and her daughter, whose ideas of how to live collide with the island’s allure and the upheavals of an overheated market. Observations on slogans and demonstrations against “touristification”, seen several times in recent summers in Palma and holiday resorts, form part of the narrative background. The novel thus connects with a wide-ranging debate in the Balearic Islands, from rental prices and second homes to rules on holiday lets.
A film adaptation has already been announced to take the story beyond the book, for Prime Video with trailers and previews released over the summer. Todd sees this as an opportunity to introduce Mallorca’s setting to a wide audience without romanticising its conflicts. Whether the work will noticeably increase public attention to the debates about the island remains an open question, which can only be answered as the media response develops.
After the reading at the event in Magaluf, the audience’s questions took centre stage: how can tourism-driven prosperity, social sustainability and environmental protection be reconciled, and what role can popular literature play in translating these tensions into narrative form? This year, the FLEM is deliberately focusing on such points of intersection between culture and everyday experience – and using Magaluf as a real-world sounding board for fictional stories.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).