To see the complete list visit Top 100 Language Blogs 2010
The U.S. book publishing industry is a $27 billion a year business and consists of approximately 2600 companies. There are 6 large publishers (all in New York), 3,400 medium-sized publishers and 86,000 small/self-publishers in the U.S. Four of the U.S. conglomerate publishers are foreign owned.
Lectorum and BPC are the two biggest Spanish-language book dealers in New York City. Grove is one of many New York houses that is exploring the broad market for literature about Spanish subjects written in English by Americans with roots in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Guatemala. HarperCollins has also established a line for Hispanic literature called Harper Libros. And Vintage has created Vintage Espanol, which was started in 1994 and has published more than 50 titles, mostly in Spanish.
But what kind of books does the Spanish-speaking population read? Just like English-speaking audiences, there is a high demand for books on spirituality and self-help for Spanish-speakers. Also popular is literature in Spanish, which is among the richest in the world. And then there is a great deal of translated fiction of the best-selling works originally written in English. In addition, there is a wide array of educational books (scholarly, scholastic aids, middle school, high school, university, legal and medical), and references (dictionaries and encyclopedias).
There are thousands of Spanish fiction and nonfiction books including bestsellers and classics. Books stores often have books originally published in Spanish, also English books in Spanish translation, and Spanish books translated into English. In addition, there are Spanish audiobooks, Spanish book downloads or Kindle books in Spanish.
In terms of translations, according to Three Percent, the University of Rochester’s weblog about international literature, “only about 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation.” And as they mention, although it’s more books than any one person can read in a year it’s still a very low number. On the other hand, when it comes to translations from English fiction titles into other languages, they are often translated first into Spanish, before being translated into French, German or Italian.
The weblog Random Stuff that Matters discuss in their article Large market for Spanish-language books in the US the bilingual publishing trend in the U.S., and how “the 2000 census and its revelations about the fast-growing Hispanic population sparked renewed interest among US publishing houses in meeting the reading wishes of Spanish speakers.” They use as an example Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code which became one of the best-selling translations into Spanish of all time, adding that ” while successful Spanish-language titles in the US typically sell between 15,000 and 20,000 copies, more than 300,000 copies of El Código Da Vinci were scooped off bookstore shelves across the land, ushering in what some described as a new era for Spanish-language books in America.”
If you’re interested in translating a book into Spanish, visit Spanish Language Translation
The book club Mosaico for ideas about what to buy
Críticas and publisher catalogs such as Ediciones Serres, Random House Español, and Ediciones TUTOR
Spanish is becoming increasingly more common in the U.S., stimulated by an increasing growth of the Hispanic population. Many Hispanics, even those fluent in English, want to maintain their cultural identity by continuing to learn and speak Spanish. Finally, there is a growing group of English-speaking, non-Hispanics who are learning Spanish as a second language.
Below is an excellent list of online resources for Spanish and bilingual publications.
Latino Book & Family Festival (LBFF)
The Latino Book & Family Festival promotes literacy, culture and education.
Barnes and Noble Bestseller List
“The best selection of Spanish-language books, music and movies” according to their page.
Publishers of Spanish Language and Bilingual Books
Emphasizes U.S. Hispanic culture and cultural recovery. Includes fiction, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies, drama, non-fiction, and reference.
Importers and distributors of books in Spanish, French, German, Italian, bilingual Spanish, and ESL English. Spanish collections include text books, videos, critical studies, readers, and much more.
Spanish K-3 reading materials, including books, magnetic letters, parental involvement tools, and alphabet books.
Leading Mexican publisher trade and educational titles, distributed in the U.S. through Whitehurst & Clark Book Fulfillment. (website is in Spanish)
Translated and bilingual books for children and adults. Features text books, literature, and titles of general interest.
An imprint of Scholastic, Lectorum publishes translated versions of familiar old and new classics, including Franklin, Dr. Seuss, and Arthur books.
Publisher of multicultural books for children, website includes booktalks and classroom guides.
Latin American, Spanish language and bilingual books for children and adults. Core collection development services are provided as well.
While not a publisher or an imprint, MIBI’s catalog consists of children’s books in many foreign languages, including Spanish and bilingual titles.
An imprint of the Gale Group. Specialty is reference materials for children and adults in the arts, computing, math, history, science, and more.
An imprint of Arte Público Press, features books for children of all ages. Most picture books are bilingual; fiction books for older kids are about Hispanic cultural identity and maintaining a sense of self.
Most titles are translations into Spanish. Catalog includes books in a variety of topics including business, computers, health, history, parenting, reference, religion, travel, and much more. Translated current fiction best-sellers and romance titles are also available.
Barahone Center for the Study of Books in Spanish for Children and Adolescents – (also bilingual)
Has a frequently-updated database of recommended titles in Spanish. You can search by author, title, publish, etc.
According to a study conducted last year by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), commissioned by the Latino Business Chamber of Greater Los Angeles (LBC-GLA), Hispanic-owned businesses are the key to creating jobs and income in the U.S. economy. The LBC-GLA is a non-profit organization created in 2008 to gather and organize business owners of Hispanic origin in order to, among other things, advocate for small and medium businesses, provide valuable and permanent services to its members to improve and achieve success in their businesses, and generate more business opportunities from outside the Latino community and among members.
The results of the study show the need for technical assistance programs in areas such as marketing, business plan development,accounting, information technology and tax preparation. There is also a need for banks to provide the means to enable these businesses to grow and invest. However, “The numbers are encouraging and the study’s findings are consistent with our mission to provide technical assistance, promote economic growth and produce economic structures and policy initiatives needed to empower Latino businesses,” said Jorge Corralejo, President and CEO of LBC-GLA.
Additional data:
Online Help
There are numerous resources in many websites devoted specifically to Latin American business. SCORE (Counselors to America’s Small Business) provides a list of sites for “minority bushiness, among which are the following:
Additional websites
The tasks related to the 2010 Census in the United States began on April 1 with the questionnaires that were sent by mail. Efforts will continue until late July with door-to-door visits to those who do not return the questionnaire. The official census website contain information (also in Spanish) such as dates, activities, history and questions found in the census. It also states that: “Most of the country will receive only English materials. Households in areas with high concentrations of Spanish speaking residents may receive a bilingual questionnaire (English / Spanish).”
Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon’s famous bilingual character, is the new spokesperson for the 2010 Census for Hispanic families. She will empathize the importance of counting children and not miss a “historic opportunity.”
This new assessment will show how much data has changed in the last ten years (from the previous 2000 Census). It will also collect information to analyze how many Latinos are living in the United States and their demographic … before the next census.
Numbers: There were 35.3 million Hispanics in the 2000 Census. The Latino population grew by 38% since 1990 while the total U.S. population only grew 9% over the same period.
Self-perception of young people: According to the National Survey of Latinos of the Pew Hispanic Center, more than half (52%) of the Latinos between 16 and 25 years identify themselves by their families’ country of origin… An additional 20% use the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino”. Only one in four – 24% – of the total describe themselves as “American.”
Where do Latinos live: The states with the largest number of Hispanics are California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, and New Jersey. Moreover, more than half of Latinos within the U.S. live in the states of California and Texas. Also, Latinos are clustered in the towns and urban areas.
Politics: Latinos represent 5.5% of U.S. citizens registered to vote.
Marriage and divorce: 50% of Hispanics over age 15 are married. The divorce rate is lower among Hispanics than among whites.
Poverty: The average poverty level among Hispanics (30%) is similar to African Americans, but significantly higher than among non-Hispanic whites (8.5%).
Member of the catholic church: Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Jose Gomez, Mexican, as the successor of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles when the current archbishop retires in February 2011. He will be the first Latino leader of the Catholic Church in Los Angeles.
Modalities of Spanish: There are four Hispanic dialect regions or areas: the Southwest, predominantly Mexican population; Florida, Cuban-majority, the Northeast, with a predominance of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Cubans, although the latter is the most heterogeneous area, which represents all Hispanic origins. And finally, Chicago, which has groups of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. In short, there are four territories and three major dialects: Mexico (over 60%), U.S. (more than 12%) and Cuba (over 5%).
DECEMBER 2010: By law, the Census Bureau gives the President the population data for the apportionment of congressional districts.
MARCH 2011: By law, the Census Bureau finishes delivering data to the states for the legislative redistribution.
Hispanics are now the largest U.S. minority, comprising 15.1 percent of the total population. The Census Bureau estimates that approximatley 30.2 percent of the population (132.8 million people) will be Hispanic by the year 2050. That means that one third of the population will be Hispanic. How Does the Census Data Benefit Latinos? Census data are used in many ways that can benefit Latinos and improve they life and the life of their families. It directly affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed. The U.S Census Bureau has a toolkit for reaching latinos that is designed to help organizations that serve Latinos communicate the benefits of census participation. The toolkit overview mentions a number of benefits for the Latino community, which are listed below:
The Census Bureau’s goal is to count everyone, regardless of immigration status. “It’s very important that we have an accurate count of everyone so that we know how public services can be fairly distributed and what the needs of the country will be with regards to different populations.” says Janet Murguia, president and CEO, National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Also, for the first time, the Census Bureau is providing a bilingual form for Spanish speakers. The Census is completley confidential and is not shared with other government agencies. There is a growing effort to make sure Latin communities know that their census form responses are safe and confidential. You can display this poster in your community to create awareness of the coming census.
More information on: Facts on the Hispanic or Latino Population Hispanic Population of the United States Toolkit for Reaching Latinos
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