Last November, Pablo Ignacio Taibo II, a successful writer of detective stories set in Mexico City, received a proposal from the elusive Zapatista leader, Subcomandante Marcos, to team up to write a mystery novel titled Muertos incómodos (Awkward Deaths). Taibo, who sympathizes with the movement's campaign for greater rights for indigenous people in Chiapas, will write chapters two, four, and six, using his long-time protagonist Det. Héctor Belascoarán, while Marcos is to write chapters one, three, and five, introducing Det. Elías Contreras. In the seventh chapter, the two detectives will meet at the Revolution Monument in Mexico City, where Pancho Villa and Lázaro Cárdenas are buried. La Jornada, a left-wing Mexican newspaper, has begun to publish the chapters serially, but the book version will be available from Planeta this March for distribution in Spain, Latin America, and the United States. New York publisher Seven Stories Press, which has published both Taibo and Marcos in the past, is among those negotiating English rights for the book. Judging from the first chapter, Marcos wants to use the detective genre not just to raise money for charity, as the two authors have agreed to do, but also to get his political message out.

The Spanish publisher acquired Spanish world rights for two titles by America's favorite advice guru and best-selling author, Dr. Phil McGraw: The Ultimate Weight Solution: 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom and Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out. The Spanish translations will be available in February and May respectively, and Dr. Phil will most likely promote the Santillana editions during his top-rated TV show.

The Latino imprint will publish two exciting titles by celebrities Jorge Ramos and Gloria Estefan this year. After Ramos's recent success with his book on how Latinos could influence last year's presidential elections, the Emmy Award–winning anchor reports on a real-life story of immigration. In May 2003, 79 illegal immigrants from Mexico were found rammed together in a trailer truck; 19 subsequently died. In Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History (Morir en el intento: La peor tragedia de inmigrantes en la historia de los Estados Unidos), Ramos dissects the events that have led so many people to enter into dangerous agreements with the coyotes (human traffickers) in hopes of a chance at a better life in the United States. The book will come out in both languages this April.

Later in the year, Grammy Award– winning singer Estefan will make her literary debut with a children's book inspired by her own mascot, a bulldog called Noelle. Estefan will follow Noelle as she arrives at a new home and must deal with animals from other species who refuse to include her in their world. The book, which is likely to resonate with immigrant kids who are dealing with a new language and culture, will come out in a simultaneous English and Spanish edition next November.

The Colombian publishing group has become the exclusive publisher and distributor of Disney short stories in Spanish for the United States. Titles include such popular movie tie-ins as Los increíbles (The Incredibles) and Toy Story, as well as short stories based on Disney's upcoming animated films Pooh's Heffalump Movie and Chicken Little. With offices in Puerto Rico, Norma has a solid distribution across the United States. For more information on the Disney line call 1-800-BOOKS-58, or to check out new Norma releases, log on to www.norma.com.

The Independent Publishers Group will add seven new publishers to its Spanish program this spring. Críticas announced IPG's distribution deal with one of these publishers, Mexico's Klutz Latino, in its November/December issue. The other new houses include Barcelona's Editorial Kairos, which specializes in spiritual and well-being books; Puerto Rico's Ediciones Norte, whose catalog includes a graphic novel adaptation of The Wind in the Willows; Villegas Editores, a Colombian publisher known for its high-quality art and architecture books, as well as for the prize-winning novel La cárcel (Jail), which was featured in Críticas's Best Books of 2004; the American Academy of Pediatrics; Seattle-based publisher Pascualina Productions, which specializes in interactive journals/diaries for girls; and finally, Sweetwater Press from Alabama, which just made its debut with kids' board books on basic concepts like colors, numbers, and shapes. For further information on any of these publishers or their titles, contact Catherine Bosin cbosin@ipgbook.com.

Founded more than a decade ago by Spanish publishing legend Juan Grijalbo, and now under the direction of his daughter Poppy, Ediciones Serres has announced the opening of a publishing division in Mexico City. The Barcelona-based children's publisher is known in the United States and across the Spanish-speaking world for its art books, the popular Maisy series, and its Books that Talk collection, which covers such taboo topics as sex and homosexuality. The Mexico offices will run under the direction of Daniel Goldin, who used to direct the children's list for that country's Fondo de Cultura Económica.

Tusquets Editores, the prestigious Spanish literary publisher that recently opened offices in Miami, has created a new international novel award. The prize, which will be announced annually at the Guadalajara Book Fair, consists of 20,000 euros ($26,700 approx.) and a simultaneous printing in Mexico, Argentina, and Spain. U.S. residents can send their manuscripts to Tusquets USA Publishing, Inc., 8871 SW 129th Terrace, Miami, FL 33176. For more information on the prize's rules and deadlines, visit www.tusquetseditores.com.

CELESA, a Spanish exporter of books from Spain to the United States, has launched celesa.net, a site where librarians, wholesalers, and booksellers can track their orders and accounts. Owned by a group of prestigious Spanish publishers and the Spanish Education and Cultural Ministry, CELESA was founded in 1986 to promote, distribute, and market books from Spain abroad. With a database of more than 400,000 titles (available online at celesa.com), CELESA is the only distributor with access to the catalogs of the more than 2,000 publishers currently operating in Spain.