Críticas Magazine

Adriana V. Lopez

Carmen Balcells Gets EBook Rich
January 31, 2009

As tectonic shifts continue to shake the publishing world, there’s yet another sign that things aren’t the way they used to be. At 79 years of age, Carmen Balcells, the queen bee agent to Spanish-language literature’s biggest lions, just completely over passed book publishers to make a deal with a digital book publisher. The Spanish company Leer-e currently has rights to approximately 12 classic titles from Balcell’s agency’s list  for downloading onto your Kindle or ebook. The number will eventually grow to 120 titles, from authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Rosa Montero, Julio Cortázar, Juan Marsé and Juan Goytisolo. Relato de un náufrago, by García Márquez; Viaje a la Alcarria, by Camilo José Cela, will now cost a reader 5 Euros instead of 20 Euros for the actual paperback book (ebooks in the States go for about $12). The Guardian reported that “As these [print publishers] do not hold the Spanish-language electronic rights to most of her authors' books, Balcells is in effect publishing them directly through Leer-e. 'I cannot tell you exactly what rights the authors get, but I can say that it is much more than they get from their books printed on paper,' said Ignacio Latasa, co-founder of Leer-e."  According to a press release by the company, a high number of ebooks will be introduced throughout Spain’s book and retails stores in 2009.  Ch-Ch-Ch Changes.

Posted by Adriana V. Lopez on January 31, 2009 | Comments (0)