According to Bernat Fiol, a representative of SalmaiaLit, American and European publishers have been showing a lot of interest in Latin American authors lately. “I think special attention is being paid to young writers of a marked literary character who offer their vision of reality but also contribute new perspectives on Latin America’s literary tradition”, he claims.

As evidence of this interest, SalmaiaLit has revealed that it has sold the rights to a number of Latin American writers’ works, notably F.G. Haghenbeck’s novel The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo, which was translated into 15 languages and sold well in a number of countries. Another translation that’s in the works is of “El desierto y su semilla”, a modern classic.

Laurence Laluyaux, an agent at Rogers Coleridge and White in London, has also seen a “distinct interest” in Latin American writers lately, especially in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, markets that were usually seen as far too difficult for such books. She says that this new development can be explained by the “international fatigue when it comes to English-language literature”. It seems that readers across the world are willing to break out of their comfort zone and explore new and original novels. According to Laluyaux, there’s now a “definite strong interest in form as well as content” of Latin American books.

Source: “Is Latin America The Next Literary Hot Spot?”, Adam Critchley, Publishing Perspective, Spring 2017, p.8

Audiobooks have become the fastest growing segment of the trade book publishing market. According to the latest numbers from the US-based Audio Publishers Association (APA), audiobooks made $1.77 billion in sales in North America in 2015, up by ⅕ from 2014. “And that’s just in North America”, adds Michele Cobb, executive director of the APA. “Worldwide, audiobooks are continuing to grow, too. It’s an exciting time to be in our industry.”

Though audiobooks have been around for a long time, recent technological advances have made them far more popular than ever before. “In 1987 you could only put so much material onto each record or onto each cassette or onto each CD,” says Cobb. “In a digital world, the file can be as large as you want, so you don’t need to worry about abridging any of the materials. You can carry an entire book with you. You have access to a larger amount of materials in a very easy-to-use format.”

In response to high demand, audiobook production is on the up. Available titles grew from 7, 00 in 2011 to more than 35, 00 in 2015, according to the APA, and there’s now a wide choice of books instead of just bestsellers.

Source: “Audiobooks make noise”, Christopher Kenneally, London Show Daily, P.26