Random House Releases Cisneros and Gabo in Paperback

Ivette Manners -- Críticas, 10/1/2003

This fall Random House imprints Vintage and Knopf, hold sway over the simultaneous English and Spanish release of paperback titles from two of the biggest names in Latino and Latin American literature: Sandra Cisneros and Gabriel García Márquez. On September 9, Vintage Books released Cisneros's latest novel, Caramelo, with a paperback run of 40,000 copies in Spanish (under Vintage Español) and 100,000 in English. In November, Knopf will publish García Márquez's vivid memoir, Vivir para contarla (Living to Tell the Tale), in a Spanish-language paperback version, also under Vintage Español, next to the long-awaited hardcover English translation, accomplished in the last year by Edith Grossman.

Vintage anticipates Caramelo to be as well received in paperback as it was in hardcover. To date, Caramelo has sold 20,000 copies in Spanish and 100,000 in English hardcover. Cisneros developed a following in 1991 with her debut novel, La casa en Mango Street (The House on Mango Street), which sold more than 2 million copies in English and 95,000 copies in Spanish. Like Mango Street, Caramelo has already become a national best seller, as well as a favorite for book clubs and citywide reading programs. That said, Vintage can count on Caramelo's sweet success. "Cisneros's audience is a paperback market," says Russell Perreault, VP and director of publishing for Vintage and Anchor Books. "We want to make sure her books are available to everyone." Whereas the publicity for the hardcover release of Caramelo focused more on the mainstream media, the paperback release will target more of the Spanish-language press. A 13-city tour will hit such places as Fort Worth, San Antonio, New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Ann Arbor.

García Márquez's 573-page memoir, Vivir para contarla, has sold 60,000 copies in hardback from Knopf and has held the number one slot on the Críticas best seller list since its release last November. The English hardcover will have an impressive 300,000-copy print run, while Vintage Español will release the Spanish paperback edition with a hefty, initial print run of 75,000. Not surprisingly, Vivir para contarla, like all García Márquez's books, caused a frenzy in the literary world, and the latest editions are sure to follow in the same fashion. Knopf has set up advance reservation poster boards in bookstores nationwide, so readers can order early copies of both editions.

Vintage Español will also take advantage of all the García Márquez frenzy by releasing new paperback editions of three of his other classic titles. El amor en los tiempos del cólera (Love in the Time of Cholera) will have a print run of 15,000 copies in Spanish and 50,000 in English; Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of a Death Foretold) will have a 15,000 print run of 15,000 copies in Spanish and 35,000 in English; and El general en su laberinto (The General in his Labyrinth ), 10,000 copies in Spanish and 15,000 in English.

"This acquisition is a big deal for us," says Perreault. "It's the first time Vintage publishes García Márquez. He is what is considered a 'brand name author,' a classic writer; and we are going to celebrate and showcase García Márquez and his work."