Spanish-language publishing

Spanish-language book market in the U. S. 

discussed on a roundtable during the Miami Book Fair International

[From America Reads Spanish]

During the event, organized by America Reads Spanish, the panelists talked about trends, the effect of ebooks and the surge in self-publishing. Also, about the different niches, such as educational and the religious market, and what is needed to continue to develop fiction written in the U.S. within that market. The moderator, Miami-based award-winning novelist Anjanette Delgado talked to ARS about the roundtable and her upcoming projects.

Anjanette Delgado, author of The Heartbreak Pill, began her career as a journalist, working for outlets such as NBC, CNN, Univisión and Telemundo, covering presidential coups, elections, Olympics, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, both Iraq wars, which she executive produced, and winning an Emmy for her human-interest series “Madres en la lejanía,” about the plight of Latino mothers who leave their own children behind and come to the United States to work as undocumented nannies. Recently, she moderated a roundtable session about the Spanish-language book market in the United States, as part of this year's Miami International BookFair.

Hello Anja, and congratulations on the successful roundtable about the Spanish-language book market in the United States. What were the principal themes addressed?

Thank you for yet another forum in which to discuss such an important topic for all book lovers. The question should be, what didn't we discuss during the round table? and the answer would be nothing because we talked about absolutely everything. We talked about the numbers of the business, the trends, the effect of e-books and and surge in self-publishing, the different niches, such as educational and the religious market, but most importantly, we talked about what is needed to continue to develop, not just the market, but especially the place of fiction written in the U.S., within that market.

What were the main conclusions drawn from the roundtable?

That the bookstore is the place of power. If we don't buy books written in Spanish, we'll have nobody to blame when important books are not available in our market and it is our job to make the public conscious of this, to give them reasons to be excited about reading in Spanish and keeping the language alive in their children.

Also that the people who know the business-my wonderful panelists-are hopeful. They are not afraid of ebooks or the digital age, they embrace them, because the reality is that we need everyone if we are going to do this. Every reader, every format, every place, brick and mortar AND virtual, to make this work.

What publishing project are you working on at the moment?

In addition to my new novel coming out in 2014, I've just been notified that I've been selected to interview Isabel Allende for the series "In Conversation" this coming February. I adore her books so you can imagine how excited I am. I'm also exploring new things such as Lyric Essays and poetry to enrich my work.

When will your latest book The Clairvoyant of Calle Ocho be published?

In Spanish, it's slated for August 2014 from Santillana USA, and in English in September 2014 from Kensington Books. And, a secret: it's just been optioned for film by De Oro Media, the production company behind the Jenni Rivera reality shows and concerts.