HarperCollins and Planeta Launch Joint Venture

HarperCollins Publishers and Spain’s Grupo Planeta announced copublishing agreement

By Aída Bardales -- Críticas, 11/15/2006

The publishing giants HarperCollins and Planeta announced a plan to release a line of Spanish-language titles published under Rayo—an imprint of HarperCollins—this fall. The partnership consists of the U.S. publication and distribution of Planeta’s front and backlist titles.

“Our joint venture is another example of the growth and stabilization that we´ve seen over the past three to four years in Spanish-language books,” Planeta’s U.S. Sales Director Marla Norman told Críticas. “The plan is to publish [editions in] English and Spanish, simultaneously, when possible.”

Rayo and Planeta will initially publish nine titles per year together. The books will be marketed and sold in the United States by HarperCollins. Future plans also call for the publication of English-language editions of Planeta’s titles. “Planeta has a broad list of internationally prestigious authors that nicely complements Rayo's existing list. That, in combination with HarperCollins’s marketing muscle makes for the best of both worlds,” said Norman. According to a press release from HarperCollins, Planeta will have the option to publish and distribute Spanish-language editions of HarperCollins titles in its Spanish-language territories.

The project launches later this month with the release of two novels by best-selling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón (La sombra del viento), El príncipe de la niebla (“The Prince of Fog”) and El palacio de la medianoche (“The Midnight Palace”). “We chose Carlos Ruiz Zafón because he’s hugely successful internationally,” said Norman. The young adult novels were originally published in 1990s by Planeta; this will be the first time they’ll be available in the United States. According to Norman, the next book on the Rayo/Planeta list is Matilde Asensi’s Todo bajo el cielo (“Everything Under the Sky”). The U.S. editions in Spanish and English have a tentative release date in spring 2007. [Reviews for El príncipe de la niebla and El palacio de la medianoche will appear in next month’s issue of Críticas.—Ed.]