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Spanish-Language Publishers Optimistic Despite Recession

America Reads Spanish, the newsletter published by the Federación de Gremios de Editores de España (FGEE, or Spanish Association of Publishers Guilds) and the Instituto Español del Comercio Exterior (ICEX, or the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade), reports that "Ibero-American booksellers said they are confident they will overcome the effects of the global crisis, although they added that they must adapt to the new publishing technologies to survive." Read more here.

Mexico: Please Pray for Those Affected by Swine Flu

Please pray for Mexico. By order of the government, 98 percent of evangelical churches canceled worship services this past Sunday; churches will remain closed  this Sunday as well. Representaciones Bíblicas en México adds that the government has mandated all work cease from May 1 to May 5 following additional declarations of the impending swine flu pandemic threat on a global basis.

Elisabeth Isáis, of Milamex, notes, "Many things are being canceled. The whole thing seems rather apocalyptic, especially when we had a big earthquake this week too, but the damage was slight, praise God."

Claudia Acosta of Editorial MBR also alludes to the earthquake:

Thank God, we at MBR are well. Of course, we are taking the necessary precautions and trusting in God to keep us safe ... It is time to listen to the Spirit and discern His will. In our prayers as a company, God has led us to trust and rest in Him. This brings Him honor from His people, and therefore we are keeping that attitude of faith ... We know that God has a purpose with this epidemic and with the earthquake ... God has impressed upon us, through prayer, that now is the time to be the light and the salt of the earth that many might come to know him. 

Talking with its distributors in Mexico, Editorial Clie, a publishing house in Spain, reports that the swine flu could impact Expolit, the Spanish evangelical book fair held in Miami every year in May, as U.S. authorities have denied visas to some Mexican booksellers. But the majority of booksellers and distributors in Latin America have confirmed that unless the authorities prevent them from traveling to the event, they will be there.

Marie Tamayo, vice president of Expolit, says that as far as she is aware, visa denials have not been related to the swine flu. She adds:

Most of our distributors and exhibitors will be here. Everyone who has registered from Mexico is still planning to come. We are not expecting any drastic drop in attendance as a result of the swine flu. We are working with the hotel and with the Red Cross to take preventative measures, of course, but there are no breakouts in Florida at this time.

Miryam Picott, of Editorial Mundo Hispano in El Paso, Texas, writes:

I am not aware of anyone [sick] with the swine flu ... I spoke with our personnel in Mexico and they are all fine. Of course they are taking extreme precautions and sales have dropped because not too many people are on the streets or going to public places ... We continue praying for our brothers and sisters in Mexico!

Latin America: Reading Habit Is Being Lost, Say Publishers

Noti-Prensa interviews Peter Cerra, president of the Spanish Evangelical Products Association (SEPA) about its decision to launch a reading campaign (see this Cook Partners entry). Cerra, who is also the director of sales for Vida, Zondervan's Spanish branch, affirms that the SEPA reading campaign resulted from publisher's concerns:

In recent years we have seen a need to encourage reading.  We already see that neither children nor adults read very much.  Knowing that reading is very important for the growth and progress of the culture, we decided, as Christian editors, to develop a campaign to prompt reading in our market.

... We believe that the habit is getting lost in many countries.  The culture increasingly depends on visual or auditory tools rather than written ones.  Audio books and Bibles sales are growing, and that is good, but they cannot replace the value of reading.

... [SEPA's goal with the campaign is to help people] see the positive aspects to reading ...

The Spanish market for Christian books has been very conscious of costs and has kept the prices a lot more accessible than [is the case for] books in English and other languages. I believe that the price of a book is not the most important aspect of a book; the most important aspect is the value of reading. In the secular market in Latin America, books are a lot more expensive yet sell very well. What we [Christian publishers] must do is exhibit the excellent material that we have [for the church, the public, and for God.]

Colombia: Christian Organization Prepares Youth Curriculum

In a country where there are "incredibly high rates of violence, sexual promiscuity and suicide attempts among youth," a Christian ministry has the opportunity to help.  Robert Hoskins, director of OneHope (formerly Book of Hope) explains:

"We are working with the department of education to create a curriculum that has value education in it that will be used in the school system to address some of these issues from a Biblical worldview perspective. So it really allows the Word of God to be implanted into the hearts of children and young people at the youngest possible age, and in cooperation with the government

... God's Word and the message found in His Word--the hope of Jesus Christ--is really the only way to overcome these systemic issues that are facing the country."

Spanish and Hip-Hop Bible News

Publisher's Weekly featured Urban Spirit!, "a book packager/publishing house specializing in producing Bibles" for the African-American market:

In January the firm partnered with Tyndale House to release Soul Infinity, a New Testament Bible aimed at the hip-hop generation. ... [Mel] Banks [Jr., the founder,] noted that while Tyndale House is publishing Urban Spirit's Soul Infinity, he's concerned that the publisher may actually be overemphasizing the African-American aspect. “The African-American market is great, but hip-hop is bigger than the black market,” said Banks. “Caucasian readers are probably the biggest market for hip-hop. Hip-hop is a global phenomenon.”

For the Spanish-language market, Tyndale Español will soon be releasing the New Living Translation New Testament in Spanish, with a version for new believers set to come out this May.

In March, and continuing through April, Grupo Nelson is partnering with CVC La Voz to promote its Nueva Biblia al Día through the ¡Sigue el Libro! (Follow the Book) campaign.

And in other Spanish news, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced that it will publish a Spanish-language Bible using the Reina-Valera1909 translation, reported the Deseret News:

Church leaders began the process to produce a Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible in Spanish in response to the increase in the number of Spanish-speaking members of the church. After years of labor, this new edition will benefit an estimated four and a half million Latter-day Saints whose native language is Spanish.

... Additional information is available in English and Spanish here.

 

Puerto Rico: Christian Distributor Reaches Secular Market

Christian Retailing interviews Ricky Feliciano of Pura Vida Books:

"We are the biggest Christian distributor in Puerto Rico," said Feliciano, who started Pura Vida in 2002, although the company nearly went bankrupt in 2004. Though there are two other Christian distributors in Puerto Rico, "I don't consider them as my competition. I consider the secular distributors as my competition," he said. "We found out that non-Christians buy Christian books. The secular market is hungry for Christian books."

Strang Grupo Hispano Director Lydia Morales said Casa Creación's sales have grown 364% since 2005, including 47% during 2007-2008 ...

"We are amazed of the growth that Pura Vida has shown in the last four years with our products," she said. "Ricky has been able to penetrate the secular market in Puerto Rico and almost quadruple our sales."

Argentina: Certeza Organizes Successful Fair

Distribuidora Certeza, part of Certeza Argentina, organized its second annual Christian book fair earlier the month, says Cristianos.com. The program, held at a Buenos Aires hotel, attracted more than 150 booksellers and distributors in the region and featured many Christian publishing houses. Among them: Certeza Argentina, of course, but also Unilit, Vida, Clie, B&H, Tyndale, CLC Colombia, Portavoz, Casa Creación and many others.

Going the Other Way: Spanish to English Translation

Although translations from English to Spanish are quite common, going in the other direction is not," writes Lindy Scott, a professor at Whitworth University in  Spokane, Washington, USA. 

Scott is one of the contributing authors to Los Evangélicos: Portraits of Latino Protestantism in the United States (2009, Wipf & Stock Publishers), a compilation of essays by church historians covering Hispanic ministries in various denominations as well as themes of concern within Latino Protestant church life such as acculturation, the role of women and social justice.

 "Our book was first published in Spanish by Ediciones Kairos as Iglesias Peregrinas en busca de identidad: Cuadros del protestantismo latino en los Estados Unidos, and has just come out in English," adds Scott. "Hopefully this will be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Latin America to consider getting a few of their publications into English."

Argentina: Support for Translation

In 2010, Argentina will be the country honored at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and to prepare for this, 

... the Argentinean foreign ministry (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto) has launched a funding programme for translations. The "programa SUR" sets out to support the translation of 100 titles by the time of the Guest of Honour appearance in 2010, for which the government has made available a budget equivalent to 250,000 euros.

Want Some Literature With That Lipstick?

Avon, a beauty products company that "markets to women in more than 100 countries through 5.4 million independent Avon Sales Representatives," can be a formidable outlet for books. Though the company's catalog carries mainly cosmetics, jewelry, and clothing, Avon also offers toys, books, videos, travel accessories and seasonal items.

 In Brazil, Christian publishers have found success with this distribution network. Publish News highlights an article in Valor Econômico, which reports:

In January, in a single month, Thomas Nelson Brasil sold 100,000 units of [two ] Max Lucado titles. "In the bookstores... since 2007, 34,000 units had been sold. Avon has already sold more than 320,000 units in a smaller time frame," affirms Carlo Carrenho, Thomas Nelson Brasil's publisher, who wound up the year passed with a total of one million units sold. Today, Avon represents 15 percent of the monthly invoicing of the publishing company in the country.

... One of the most prominent titles in Avon's catalog is Stormie O'Martian's The Power of a Praying Wife, [published in Portuguese] by Mundo Cristão. In the last 12 months, Avon ordered 275,000 units of this title. Currently, the cosmetic manufacturer is one of Mundo Cristão's main sales channels, accounting for 13.5 percent of its annual invoicing of R$ 12 million.