Spanish publisher Ediciones B, part of the publishing group Grupo Zeta, announced the launch of its U.S. operations, the result of a new distribution agreement with Urano Publishing. According to Lucía Laratelli, Urano Publishing’s president and director of sales and marketing, Ediciones B wants to offer more new titles to more Hispanic readers in the United States, in a timely manner.

Up to now, Independent Publishers Group (IPG) had been the U.S. distributor for Ediciones B. IPG sales rep Miraida Morales explained to Críticas that “in order to produce our catalog, we submit titles many months in advance.” She said that, oftentimes, foreign publishers are unable to include many of their planned new releases in the catalog because they work with a different lead time than the U.S. publishers IPG distributes.

IPG will continue to distribute Ediciones B titles through the end of this month. Starting in July, Urano will incorporate ten to 15 new releases monthly.

Urano Publishing—the U.S. distribution branch of Spain’s Ediciones Urano—manages U.S. distribution, marketing, sales, and logistics for many Spanish publishers, including Roca Editorial, Obelisco, and Tusquets. “We had to acquire a fourth warehouse to make room for Ediciones B,” Laratelli said. As with all agreements between Urano Publishing and the publishers it distributes, Laratelli will review Ediciones B’s new titles and select the ones relevant to the U.S. Hispanic market. “I will only bring in what the public demands,” she said, acknowledging that not every title will be a best seller. “Ultimately, the readers decide what will work best.”

Ediciones B Publishing, Inc.—the official name for this new distribution operation in the United States—will launch during BookExpo America (BEA). Its first catalog with Urano will consist of backlist titles, which include those published this year but that are new to the U.S. Spanish-language book market; Laratelli hopes to bring in an additional 50 titles during the summer months alone.