The Spanish publishing market is vast and varied – an excellent playground for new and well-established authors to search for opportunities and widen their reach. Although the large size of the Spanish market is already an attractive factor in itself, other interesting aspects that make it an exciting market to tap into are the reading habits of the Spanish-speaking audience, the dynamism of the book industry in Spain in Latin America, and the particular genres that Spanish-speaking readers are most interested in.
Readers in Spain: A quick glance at the numbers
We could safely claim that Spain is a nation of readers. In a country of just over 46 million people, nearly 65% of the population (in other words, 30 million people) claims to read books regularly in their spare time. 174 million physical books and 13.5 million digital ones were sold in Spain in 2021. Over the course of a year, Spaniards read on average 10 books. The market is thriving, so much so that in 2022 the book industry in Spain achieved a 5.5% growth in relation to the previous year, reaching profits of €2.7 billion, and it’s expected that the upward trend will continue.
Out of those 30 million Spanish readers, 90% said that the last book they read was in Spanish, and the remaining 10% in another language (mainly Catalan and English), which proves that Spaniards have a strong preference to read books in their mother tongue – and that translating your book into European Spanish and diving into this exciting market might just be the best next move you could make. Don’t know where to start? Find out more information about our translation services or check our guide to editorial translation and then drop us a line so we can get started.
¿Hablas español? A gateway to global readership
If we look beyond the borders of the Iberian Peninsula, we’ll find 500 million people who speak Spanish as their mother tongue, and another 100 million who speak it fluently, according to data from the Cervantes Institute, a public institution established in 1991 with the aim of promoting Spanish language and culture.
Across the pond in Latin America, Spanish is the official language in 20 countries, with around 400 million native speakers. Out of these, a significant 124 million reside in Mexico, the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world with a well-developed publishing market, partly due to strong government incentives. The second market is Colombia, with approximately 50 million Spanish speakers and a significant publishing market (after all, it’s the homeland of Gabriel García Márquez). In the third position we can find Argentina, with around 44 million Spanish speakers and a strong and highly regarded literary industry abroad, thanks to the Programa SUR, a translation funding program for Argentine authors into other languages. Last, but certainly not least, about 43 million residents of the United States speak Spanish as their first language, and another 12 million are bilingual.
We cannot ignore the potential of having your book translated into Spanish and marketed not only in mainland Spain, but also in the broader Spanish-speaking world. Many publishers located in Spain have branches or agreements with Latin American countries to sell their titles there. So, by having your book translated to Spanish, you could be opening the gate to other communities across the globe and multiplying the international reach of your work.
Navigating the Spanish reading palate
Spanish readers have a wide range of interests and tastes, but certain genres win the popular prize. If your book falls within a niche genre, there’s nothing to be worried about: ensuring that the quality of your work in terms of content and layout is top-notch, and taking the right marketing approach, you’ll guarantee that it still stands out among the crowd. Let’s take a quick peek at some of the genres that Spanish readers are currently devouring:
Year after year, the genre of children’s literature continues to grow. Since 2019, the sector has experienced an impressive 50.4% revenue growth in Spain while Mexico is by far the biggest market, largely due to the important participation of the state, both as a buyer and as a producer of children’s books. If you’ve just finished writing a book for children or young adults, having it translated to Spanish could give a nice push to your sales – and we can help you make it happen.
The addictive suspense of crime fiction, mysteries, and thrillers keep Spanish readers on the edge of their seats and coming back for more. Some of the most prominent Spanish authors of the past two decades, like Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Arturo Pérez-Reverte, as well as translated works of authors such as Agatha Christie or Stephen King, make this one of the most-read genres in Spain. Are you ready to become the next best selling crime author?
This is the genre that has experienced the most rapid growth in recent years. If it represented only 5% of the market share in 2019, in 2022 it was up to 8% in Spain, and Latin America is also experiencing a boom in graphic novels. The growth can be explained partly due to the raise in popularity of Japan and Japanese manga in Spain, which takes 50% of the market share for all comics and graphic novels sold, while Latin American comics authors have a unique history of addressing controversial political, cultural, and social issues, and they do so also through graphic novels.
Another worldwide trend that has also taken root in Spain is the newly found passion – no pun intended – for the romantic and erotic genre, popular among both men and women. Spanish bestselling authors or romantic novels, like Elísabet Benavent, Alice Kellen, or Megan Maxwell, whose works have even been taken to the screen, have helped popularize the genre.
Non-fiction accounts for an important part of publications in Latin America. Even if Latin America is famous for its novelists, there’s a rich and long-standing tradition of journalistic writing, with authors like Rodolfo Walsh, as well as reflective essays and academic work. In 2017 30% of all published books in Latin America were about Social Sciences, and university presses play a crucial role in the editorial landscape.
Celebrating literature: famous book fairs as catalysts
People of all Hispanic backgrounds like a good fiesta – and a good book fair. Besides the strength and size of the Spanish publishing industry, it is also a dynamic space that is constantly shifting to meet the demands of its evolving readership. This is evidenced by the abundance, quality, and variety of book fairs celebrated over the year across Spanish geography, covering all topics and genres.
Some of the most famous book fairs in Spain are the renowned Madrid Book Fair, aimed at a Spanish-speaking audience, the Barcelona International Comic Fair, which gathers graphic novel and comic book enthusiasts, or LIBER International Book Fair, Spain’s premier international book fair.
In Latin America, each country has its own FIL (Feria Internacional del Libro or International Book Fair). FIL Buenos Aires, in Argentina, the longest-standing fair, is a huge event with almost one million visitors, 500 exhibitors, and innumerable activities. But the region’s star is undoubtedly FIL Guadalajara, in Mexico, which has become the meeting point for everyone doing business with books in Spanish.
Across Spain and Latin America there are fairs of all sizes celebrating all genres, which represent the varied tastes of Spanish readers, the dedication to give a space to everyone, and the many opportunities that you have to target your book to the right audience.
Translating and marketing your book in Spanish opens doors to a well-established yet evolving and expanding literary landscape. It is your opportunity to reach a diverse and global readership that is enthusiastic about embracing new voices, genres, and perspectives. If you’re ready to take the plunge, check our guide to editorial translation or drop us a line and book a free 30-minute consultation call today.
