By Edward Nawotka Fat from Thanksgiving, I’m attending Guadalajara Book Fair to spend a few days visiting booths and talking with publishers, which should surely take the pounds off (unless I gorge on the amazing Mexican food I hope to find down here -– any suggestions?). The event kicked off on Friday, but due to holiday, I only arrived this …
A Look at Mexico City’s Book Kiosks
By Siobhan O’Leary There are plenty of cities in the world where book kiosks rule the sidewalks but on a recent trip to Mexico City, I saw something I hadn’t seen before: sidewalk book kiosks specializing in specific book categories (even professional books). Among the many book kiosks on the Paseo de la Reforma, for example, there is even a …
Germany is Guest of Honor at Guadalajara 2011
By Edward Nawotka Anyone who has followed our news coverage knows that we think overseas publishers would do well by taking a longer look at the central and Latin American markets. One of the key gateways into the southern hemisphere of the Americas is the annual Guadalajara Book Fair, one of the best — or at least, most enjoyable –book …
The Arte Público Alternative: How One Small Press Tackles Foreign Sales and Distribution
In the lead up to next week’s BookExpo America, where Spain is the focus of the Global Market Forum, we offer a look at how one bilingual Spanish-English publisher makes the most out of cross-border collaboration. By Dr. Nicolás Kanellos HOUSTON: As the director of non-profit Arte Público Press (APP), a program of the University of Houston that focuses on publishing …
LBF Digest: Erupting Eyjafjallajökull is Unexpected Boon to Some Authors
By Liz Bury The London Book Fair 2010 will no doubt go down in publishing folklore as, like the title of an episode of Friends, “the one with the volcano.” Monday was to be the busiest day in Earls Court in London, but the aisles were noticeably quiet. Simon Master, former Random House deputy chairman and now adviser to the …
James Bridle Explores the Bookshops of Mexico City
By Edward Nawotka UK publisher and internet entrepreneur James Bridle recently made a side trip to Mexico City following his appearance at the SXSW conference in Texas. He blogged this week about his time there visiting the bookstores, including Atrio, Librería Pegaso, and MUCA Roma, among others… I walked a lot (in one very small area of the central city), …
Building the World’s Biggest Book Club
By Kathy L. Patrick JEFFERSON, TEXAS: They say everything is bigger in Texas…and it’s true. When I opened Beauty and the Book in January 2000 — the ONLY hair salon/book store in the world — in January 2000, one of the first things I did was start my book club, The Pulpwood Queens of East Texas. We started with six complete strangers …
Omniprom Report on the Mexican Book Industry
Marcelino Elosua, President of LID Editorial Empresarial, directed and published a report on the Mexican Publishing Industry released during the recent Guadalajara International Book Fair. The report focused on trends in publishing, distribution, book selling, and reading. While 229 publishers are active in Mexico, only 12 are considered large publishers with more than 200 million pesos (US$15.7 million) in sales …
Report from Guadalajara’s FIL: “We’re Living in One of History’s Hinge Moments”
By Edward Nawotka GUADALAJARA: The annual Feria Internacional del Libro (FIL)—otherwise known as the Guadalajara International Book Fair—finished up last week. Considered by many to be among the most enjoyable of all international book fairs, FIL also featured some provocative deep-thinking about the future of the publishing industry in the Americas. Publishing Perspectives spoke with John W. Warren, Director of …
A First Timer’s Take on Guadalajara
By Lesley Téllez I’m a freelance writer based in Mexico City, and I booked my first trip to the FIL—the Guadalajara International Book Fair—this year after a few friends gushed about how cool it was (read more about the fair in our lead article); plus, Los Angeles was the featured city. I grew up about 35 miles east of L.A. and still have family …