Few new Spanish-language authors are being published by major houses in the U.S., but María Paulina Camejo signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins Español in April. Camejo is only 24 and graduated with honors in Spanish literature from the University of Miami in 2014. She was born in Venezuela and immigrated to the U.S. after her father was imprisoned during the Chávez regime.
The books acquired by HC Español were originally self-published by Camejo starting in 2014. Her first novel, Beatriz decidió no casarse (Beatriz decided not to wed), is set in Caracas, Madrid, and Paris. It’s about a successful female writer in her 40s who gives up on love in order to pursue her career, according to Edward Benitez, senior acquisition editor for HC Español, who acquired the books. Her second novel, Los complicados amores de las hermanas Valverde (The complicated lovers of the Valverde sisters), was self-published in 2015. Benitez says that the romance novel is the story of three smart and beautiful sisters. Each, to her surprise, falls in love with a man who isn’t her type, forcing her to come to terms with what she seeks and what she finds.
HC Español will release the novels simultaneously in March 2017. Benitez heard about the books from Camejo’s agent, Aleyso Bridger, and says he was impressed by their energy. “Camejo is a young, supremely talented novelist who has written two beautifully crafted novels that are smart and sophisticated,” Benitez says. “We are very proud to be publishing her and bringing her works to a wide audience of Spanish-language readers.”
