Latino Programming Hits at BEA

By Aída Bardales -- Críticas, 6/15/2007

The Big Apple was the home of this year’s BookExpo America (BEA), May 31–June 3 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Approximately 30,000 visitors made it to the publishing capital, about 8000 of whom were registered book buyers (booksellers and librarians). Though the usual key players in the U.S. Spanish-language book industry were all at the Spanish Pavilion—which was sponsored by Críticas magazine—and in collective stands from Mexico, Spain, and Argentina, Spain’s publishing giant Planeta was notably absent in the Pavilion. The company opted for a more centralized location near U.S. publishers Health Communications (HCI) and Perseus. “Over the past few years, the Spanish Pavilion has been located farther and farther from the center of the fair,” Planeta’s U.S. sales director Marla Norman told Críticas, pointing out how this year Spanish-language publishers were housed in the last row. Norman said that although being with other Spanish-language publishers is advantageous because “people looking specifically for books in Spanish can easily locate” them, “when it requires buyers to trek almost out of the convention center, it’s hard to see it as much of an advantage.” Norman told Críticas that while Planeta’s location this year provided for more visitors, the company is undecided about where to set up shop at BEA 2008 in Los Angeles.

Off the exhibition floor, a series of panels organized by the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) Publishing Latino Voices for America (PLVA) addressed a variety of relevant issues for the U.S. Latino and Spanish-language book market. On Friday, Nuestra Palabra’s Tony Diaz discussed the benefits of working with nonprofit organizations and media to promote English language works. Later that afternoon, a packed room listened attentively to a panel of renowned Latina authors, Julia Álvarez, Ana Castillo, and Michelle Herrera Mulligan, who talked about their upcoming English-language books and their experiences as writers. Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, professor, author, “y mamá,” as she quickly pointed out, Mirta Ojito [El mañana; Vintage Español, 2006 (Finding Mañana; Penguin, 2006)], moderated the conversation, which also touched upon the current immigration debate. The event, which was cohosted with Las Comadres, an Internet-based networking association of more than 7000 Latinas nationwide, also served as the official launch of the Las Comadres Book Club. AAP vice president Tina Jordan explained that this partnership between the AAP and Las Comadres is a way to build a “network surrounding books written by Latinas, supporting Hispanic literary heritage, and contributing to the market development and public awareness of English Language books written by Latina authors.”

Saturday’s PLVA panels were geared to those serving Spanish speakers. In “Creating a Community of Hispanic Readers,” Atria Books’ publisher Judith Curr, Mosaico Book Club editor in chief Sonia Margalef, Rayo Children’s executive editor Adriana Domínguez, and Librería Martinez founder Ruebén Martinez shared how to create successful outreach programs and attract Spanish-language readers, including media coverage/exposure and author events at bookstores and libraries. Domínguez emphasized the importance of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) as an event that all in the Spanish-language book industry should embrace and support. “It’s an opportunity to promote literacy among Latinos,” she said. Domínguez explained that Día “has been one of the biggest outreach efforts” on behalf of U.S. librarians, who have consistently organized successful events nationwide. “My hope,” she added, “is that bookstores will get the cue from what librarians have been doing for almost 11 years” and use the event as an opportunity to reach out to Hispanic families.

The final panel targeted the niche within the niche: independent publishers hoping to publish Spanish-language titles. Lectorum Publication’s Teresa Mlawer, Charlesbridge Publishers’ Mary Ann Sabia, and Jorge Pinto Books’ Jorge Pinto, addressed a small group of publishers and editors on the intricacies of acquiring and/or translating into Spanish the right titles for adults and children while making a profit. “If you can work [closely] with the author,” said Pinto, “it’s ideal…both in the [editorial process, especially] if the author speaks Spanish,” and in promoting the book. Sabia encouraged small publishers to “have a lot of patience and perseverance,” while Mlawer urged equal marketing efforts for simultaneous publications of Spanish- and English-language editions in the publishers’ catalogs and in bookstore displays.

AAP’s Jordan was very pleased with this year’s turnout, pointing out that the PLVA committee “developed the program with all industry constituents in mind.” Annick Rodríguez, a reference librarian at the New Rochelle Public Library, NY, in charge of Spanish-language materials, said she got a lot from her first BEA. “All the issues that were [addressed at this year’s Latino-related programs] are the ones I face on a daily basis,” Rodriguez told Críticas. “It was very motivating to hear similar stories by such accomplished people.”

Also on Saturday, Grupo Nelson co-hosted a room-full of librarians and other industry players at Críticas magazine’s annual BEA breakfast. Author and motivational speaker Louis Barajas [Microempresa, megavida (Small Business, Big Life); Grupo Nelson, 2007] shared his moving stories and the events that inspired him to help the Hispanic community succeed in the United States by offering sound financial advice. “I was very impressed,” said Rodriguez. “He’s a great speaker.” Barajas thanked the librarians present for all their dedication and outreach efforts, explaining how as a child he found all the tools he needed to help his father with their wrought iron business at the library. Linda Goodman, founder and president of the Bilingual Publications Company, said that events such as this one offer “a heightened sense of what it means to work in the field of books and libraries.”

Next year’s BEA, which will take place in Los Angeles, is likely to highlight just as many if not more Latino relevant events. “[LA has] one of the largest Hispanic populations in the United States,” said Jordan, adding that she’s already strategizing for 2008.