The latest news about Spanish-language books and authors, publishers, literary prizes, library public services, customer relations, readers, and more from Críticas en-us http://www.criticasmagazine.com/community/News/48431.html?nid=4119 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6615494.html?nid=4119 On Monday, November 3, Mexican writer Daniel Sada was unanimously declared winner of the XXVI Premio Herralde de Novela, one of the most prestigious literary prizes awarded by a Spanish publisher, for his novel Casi nunca (“Almost Never”). Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6615492.html?nid=4119 Nicaraguan poet and author Gioconda Belli’s El infinito en la palma de la mano (“Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand”; Rayo, 2008) was declared winner of this year’s Premio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, organized by the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, or FIL. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6615488.html?nid=4119 This year’s Estela and Raúl Mora Award went to two library systems for promoting El día de los niños/El día de los libros (“Children’s Day/Books Day”) on April 30. The Riverside County Library System (RCLS), CA, and the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC), NC, each will receive $1000 and a plaque commemorating their efforts. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6606950.html?nid=4119 With huge corporate publishing houses like Planeta, Random House Mondadori, and Santillana ruling over Spain’s recent market, there was room for a new, but different kind of house to join the scene. Duomo, according to its appointed editorial director, Valerie Miles, “is like an old traditional publishing house, where the authors come first. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6615523.html?nid=4119 Baker & Taylor (B&T) has hired Laura Bejarano, formerly with Brodart, as their Spanish-language Sales Specialist. In the newly created position, Bejarano will work closely with librarians to help build their Spanish-language collections. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6606948.html?nid=4119 The 2008 Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Book Fair, or FIL), the most important event for the world’s Spanish-language book market, will take place November 29–December 7. This year also marks the inauguration of recently expanded exhibition halls. The changes serve to better accommodate the estimated 500,000 fairgoers and to offer more exposu... Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6601199.html?nid=4119 Awarded by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in coordination with the White House, the National Medal for Museum and Library Service is the nation’s highest honor. This year, five libraries and five museums have won the award, including Puerto Rico’s Jane Stern Dorado Community Library (JSDCL). Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6601198.html?nid=4119 Capstone Publishers, a publisher of children’s books, including bilingual titles, for school and public libraries, has acquired the assets of the Heinemann-Raintree library reference imprints from the international media company Pearson. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6596306.html?nid=4119 Portuguese novelist António Lobo Antunes is this year’s recipient of the distinguished Premio FIL de Literatura en Lenguas Romances. This year’s prize, worth $150,000, will presented to the author during the annual Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Book Fair, or FIL), which takes place from Nov 29–Dec 7 and sponsors the prize. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6595786.html?nid=4119 Organizers of the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara’s International Book Fair or FIL) announced on September 9 that the city of Los Angeles has been invited to be next year’s Guest of Honor. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6596307.html?nid=4119 Puerto Rican novelist Edgardo (Ed) Vega Yunqué, the author of 14 novels (eight published) and the founder of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center in New York’s Lower East Side, died on August 25 in Brooklyn’s Lutheran Hospital. He was 72. Vega Yunqué’s agent, Tom Colchie, informed the press of the author’s death early this month. The cause of death was not announced Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6592501.html?nid=4119 Just days after Frederick County, MD, Commissioners agreed to restrict purchases of audio books to those in English, Republican Commissioner Charles Jenkins, the proponent of the new policy, reversed his position last Tuesday. He and three other commissioners voted to eliminate the English-only restriction after Democratic Commissioner Kai Hagen asked the board to reconsider the policy, which was opposed by the leaders of Frederick County Public Libraries (FCPL). Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6587620.html?nid=4119 Almost a year after closing its eponymous bookstore in New York City because of a rent increase, Spanish-language book distributor Lectorum, a subsidiary of Scholastic, has announced it is developing online bookstore LibreriaLectorum.com, likely to launch in November. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6587625.html?nid=4119 Amid growing interest and confidence in Guatemala’s book culture, nearly 300 book professionals—librarians, booksellers, writers, and critics—attended the fifth Feria Internacional del Libro de Guatemala (Guatemala International Book Fair, known as FILGUA), held July 25–August 3 in Guatemala City’s Parque de la Industria. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6577755.html?nid=4119 Loida García-Febo has been elected vice president/ president-elect 2009–10 of REFORMA, the National Association To Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6577754.html?nid=4119 Editor Adriana Domínguez’s layoff from Rayo’s children’s division has left the Spanish-language book industry scratching their heads. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6577753.html?nid=4119 This fall, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will launch The Big Read Mexico, part of the larger The Big Read program, the largest literature program in the United States. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6578989.html?nid=4119 Offering a “bridge” for more than 40 Mexican publishers to the U.S. market, Baker& Taylor (B&T), the Bridgewater, NJ-based book distributor, launched Programa Puente (Program Bridge) this summer, including books from a wide range of genres such as young adult, fiction, and non-fiction. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6569823.html?nid=4119 This year’s location for BookExpo America (BEA), which took place in Los Angeles from May 29 to June 1, resulted in poor attendance and overall low energy. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST http://www.criticasmagazine.com/article/CA6569822.html?nid=4119 The winners of this year’s International Latino Book Awards included best sellers like Rhonda Byrne’s El Secreto (The Secret, Atria Books) and Isabel Allende’s La suma de los días (The Sum of Our Days, Rayo), as well as less-familiar titles from small, independent (and unorthodox) publishing houses. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:25 PST