Building a Spanish fiction collection
The tastes of Spanish-speaking users in fiction are as varied as any group might be, especially when accounting for different tastes in culturally dissimilar Latin American countries. There are also differences in language and translation and publishing trends between Latin America and Spain.
Some ways to increase knowledge of available Spanish-language titles include attending international book fairs, signing up for publisher's newsletters such as Atria Books, Penguin, and Harper Collins' Spanish-language publications. Some publishers of Spanish language original materials written in the U.S. include Anaya, Planeta, and PRHGE.
To find lists of bestsellers in Spanish, Google Books features a Spanish section. Planeta de Libros, based in Spain, has a bestsellers page for Spanish language titles. A few examples in the top ten include Los Amores Imparables by Marwan (poetry), Patria by Fernando Aramburu (literary fiction), and El Fuego Invisible by Javier Sierra (science fiction).
Todos tus Libros released a 100 bestselling books list which includes books originally written in Spanish and books translated from other languages which are popular with Spanish readers, such as El Principito, better known as Le Petit Prince.Most collections will want to include classics as well as bestsellers. Classic collections may include authors such as Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Federico Garcia Lorca, and more.
As always, consulting circulation statistics on your library's existing Spanish collection will reveal user preferences and guide what genres and authors to expand on.
Fotonovelas, short stories in graphic novel format, are popular among Latin American readers.
