With Hispanics now the largest U.S. minority, religion publishers ask themselves if they can pump up their Spanish language lists. Their unanimous answer: “Si, se puede.”
A February Pew study spiced things up when it predicted the Hispanic population will triple in size to 29% by 2050. A previous Pew study showed Hispanics are deeply religious, with 68% identifying as Catholic and another 23% identifying as Christians. Only 8% said they were secular.
“You'd have to be living under a rock not to know that the Hispanic population is the fastest growing demographic in the country,” says Kimberly Shimer, marketing director for Judson Press, which will begin to devote one-quarter of its annual list—three books—to Spanish speakers this fall. New will be El sabor de nuestra fe hispana (The Flavor of Our Hispanic Faith) by Karen Valentin with Edwin Aymat (Aug.) and Tentado a dejar la cruz (Tempted to Leave the Cross) by Ernest Flores (Aug.). Shimer says nontraditional channels are critical to reaching Hispanics. “We are learning it isn't as easy as taking an ad out in a magazine,” she says. “Word-of-mouth is the best in any market, but it seems to be especially key in the Hispanic market.”
Grupo Nelson is so upbeat on the Spanish market it is looking to move away from translations. “We are in the middle of a change,” says Larry Downs, Grupo Nelson's publisher. “Right now, our drive is to find and cultivate Spanish writers and Spanish leaders” to produce Spanish-only or Spanish-first titles. In 2009, 35% of its author base will be international—up from 5% in 2003. At the same time, Grupo Nelson is dropping the number of titles it publishes. “We are going to concentrate on bigger authors and bigger investments in the books,” Downs says. New are La fe de Barack Obama (The Faith of Barack Obama) by Stephen Mansfield (Sept.); Agotado, agobiado, y mal pagado (Overworked, Overwhelmed and Underpaid) by Louis Barajas (Sept.); and Donaji, a novel by Mexico's Keila Ochoa Harris (Mar. 2009). This October, the publisher will award its first Grupo Nelson Prize for original Spanish fiction at a ceremony in Mexico. Downs says investing in Grupo Nelson titles gives Thomas Nelson an international boost. “What we do in the States has an effect on what we do internationally,” he says. “Our distribution in Spain and Central America get a good jump.”
At Editorial Portavoz, the Spanish branch of Kregel Publications, marketing director Cathy Vila says Spanish language sales are up about 14% in the last fiscal year, with 60% of all sales occurring in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Especially strong are Bibles, Christian living and titles for women. New are La Biblia cronologica (The Daily Bible) by F. LaGard Smith (May) and El enojo (Anger) by Gary Chapman (Jan. 2009). Most of Portovoz's titles are translations of existing English works. “It has been a challenge to find manuscripts from native writers in Spanish that will work with our market,” Vila says. “But if a title can be published in both languages at the same time, or with a Spanish release very soon after the English, both markets benefit from the advertising and word of mouth that follows.” But, she continues, there may be a shift toward more bilingual product, especially for children. “Today's Hispanics are still predominantly first generation and speak Spanish fluently, but the second generation Hispanics prefer to read in English,” she says. “We will need to adjust our publishing efforts accordingly.”
FaithWords sold the Spanish rights of Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now (2005) and several Joyce Meyer titles and stood back and watched. “From now on, we will be looking very carefully at what translations are sold out of house,” says Harry Helm, associate publisher. “We feel that there is a market that we can reach ourselves and it is time for us to explore this.” Among FaithWords' first offerings will be Spanish versions of La choza (The Shack) by William P. Young (spring 2009) and Exercising Your Soul by Jason Frenn (Aug. 2009).
Raves for the Catholic Market
In the Catholic market, publishers underestimate the strength of the Spanish market at their peril, says Miguel Arias, senior editor of Spanish media at Loyola Press. “You will not be a true Catholic publisher unless you become bilingual,” Arias says. “The Hispanic community within the Catholic church keeps growing.” So has Loyola's commitment to Spanish titles, which number up to three a year and make up a backlist 32 deep. New are two Joe Paprocki titles, La caja de herramientas del catequista (The Catechist's Toolbox, Sept.) and La biblioteca de dios (God's Library, fall 2009). Arias, with Loyola since 2003, says crucial to success in this market are high-quality products and good translations. “We are showing that they [Spanish speakers] are the equal to any of our customers,” he says. “They deserve the best and nothing else.” Catholic publisher Liguori has served the Spanish market for 25 years and recently deepened its product line. New are Oraciones de esperanza (Prayers of Hope), edited by Diana Losciale (Sept.) and Conozca a Jesus (Getting to Know Jesus) by Juan Alfaro (May). Fr. Mathew Kessler, president and publisher, says the Spanish market responds to books about relationships. “If you can give them materials that reinforce the bonds of their relationships and can bring a faith element into it, Latinos will look for that,” he says.
The demand for Spanish titles touches the New Age/alternative religion market, too. “We are reading all the time that health and New Age are two bright categories in the Spanish market,” says Rob Meadows, v-p of sales and marketing at Inner Traditions. He notes that many Hispanics take native folk beliefs with them to church. “There is often an overlap into indigenous traditions, so I think there is a lot of openness,” he says. Inner Traditions has had great success with El codigo maya (The Mayan Code) by Barbara Hand Clow (July), Meadows says, and will offer Los chakras en la practica chamanica (The Chakras in Shamanic Practice) by Susan J. Wright (Feb. 2009).
Not every publisher is jumping into the Spanish market with both feet. Revell, which released 90 minutos in el cielo (90 Minutes in Heaven) by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey in 2006, tallies English sales before producing a title in Spanish. “We look to take smart risks,” says Deonne Beron, publicity manager for Baker Publishing Group.
No matter the level of their current commitment to the Spanish language market, religion and spirituality publishers agree—like the Hispanic minority, it is here to stay and will only grow. “People say, oh, Hispanics don't read,” says Loyola's Arias, who says Spanish will always be the Latino-American's “language of the heart.” “They read and they invest in their own culture. This is a growing market.”
