Expanding its Spanish-language publishing operations, HarperCollins has created HarperCollins Español and HarperCollins Iberica. The two imprints are based in part on existing Spanish-language operations run by Harlequin, which HarperCollins bought last year, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, which grew out of Thomas Nelson.
HarperCollins Español will be headed by senior v-p and publisher Larry Downs and will publish approximately 50 Spanish-language titles a year to the Americas. HarperCollins Iberica, led by managing director Luis Pugni, will publish approximately 30 titles for Spain and Portugal. Both lists will include regional authors as well as global HarperCollins authors.
At the same time, the company announced that it will publish in Spanish two Harper Lee titles: the forthcoming Go Set a Watchman (Ve y pon un centinela), for which it has worldwide Spanish rights in all formats, and To Kill a Mockingbird (Matar a un ruiseñor), for which it has worldwide Spanish print and audio rights. Go Set a Watchman will be published in English and Spanish in the U.S. on July 14. (The company has North American English-language rights to the book.) Spanish-language editions for other markets will follow later in the month.
The HarperCollins Español list will include American Sniper by Chris Kyle, One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard, The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner, Journey Home by Jorge Posada, Business Brilliant by Lewis Schiff and Prayer Is Good Medicine by Larry Dossey. The list already features Spanish authors Ismael Cala, author of El secreto del bambú (The Secrets of the Bamboo), and Mario Escobar Golderos, author of Cancion de cuna de Auschwitz (Auschwitz Lullabies).
HarperCollins president and CEO Brian Murray called the creation of the two imprints "the natural next step in the evolution of our foreign language publishing program. There is tremendous opportunity in the Spanish-language market around the world. By using the existing teams, we are able to hit the ground running to further extend the reach of our authors."
Downs at HarperCollins Español commented: "We are thrilled to be able to use our existing structures to further grow in the Spanish-language market. By combining our expertise in the market with HarperCollins' rich content, and a focus on regional authors, we can create a successful publishing program."
Pugni noted that for more than 30 years, "Harlequin Iberica has been highly successful in the Spanish and Portuguese markets. Our experience in the region, combined with HarperCollins' editorial strength, will surely provide readers with the very best Spanish-language content."