The Spanish-language book market continues to grow abroad. In Spain, the Federation of Publishers’ Guilds of Spain (FGEE) issued a report stating that the industry generated €2.5 billion ($2.6 billion) in sales in 2021, up 5.6% from 2020. Of that, digital book sales were €134.79 million, up 6.8%. In all, more than 55,000 print titles were produced, with a further 24,000 titles published digitally. Latin America was the largest export market, with books and related income (such as right sales) generating revenue of €180.7 million, a drop of 2% from 2020. Exports to Mexico fell 16%, to €62 million.
Daniel Fernandez, president of the FGEE, called the overall increase in sales, as well as in readership, positive news for the Spanish publishing industry. He added, however, that “we must continue to work to recover the figures for the foreign market, which are still affected by the events of the past two years.”
New Spanish-Language Titles from Lectorum
Below are some of the top new books in Spanish available from Lectorum Publications in the U.S., with descriptions supplied by the wholesaler.
ADULT
La dulzura del agua
(The Sweetness of Water)
Nathan Harris, AdN
In the last days of the Civil War, two formerly enslaved brothers find unlikely employment on a Georgia farm, while a parallel story describes a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers.
El gran círculo
(Great Circle)
Maggie Shipstead, AdN
A saga about a spirited woman and her quest to fly around the world, from pole to pole.
El libro de la Esperanza
(The Comfort Book)
Matt Haig, Contraluz
A collection of inspirational anecdotes from the English author of The Midnight Library and other bestsellers.
Objetos perdidos (Lost Property)
Helen Paris, Maeva
Dot, who works in the lost and found office of the London Underground, forms a special connection with an elderly man who comes to her seeking his deceased wife’s bag.
Que hable Casandra (Casandra Speaks)
Elizabeth Lesser, Maeva
The feminist author wonders how Eve would have described her motives for eating the apple, or what Pandora might have said about opening the box. Lesser asks and answers the question, “What would these stories have been if women were telling their own stories?”
CHILDREN’S/YA
Diario de Pilar en India
(Pilar’s Diary in India)
Flávia Lins e Silva, Vergara & Riba
Pilar, Breno, and Samba travel to India, where they visit famous sites, explore the culture, and meet a young Bollywood actor who enlists them in helping search for her brother.
Este corazón venenoso
(This Poison Heart)
Kalynn Bayron, Fandom Books
Briseis, a girl with a unique gift, inherits a run-down farm, a sinister place filled with some of the most poisonous plants in the world as well as generations of secrets.
Superratón y la amenaza del volcán (Supermouse and the Volcano of Doom)
M.N. Tahl, Edelvives
Supermouse enlists a group of friends in helping him face a new and especially dangerous threat: a cheese-filled volcano that’s about to erupt.
Valor (Valiant)
Holly Black, Hidra
Valerie runs away to New York City, where she finds shelter in the subways and makes friends with a group of people hunting a monster—a monster that may hold the key to her survival.