F&G Editores—Empowering the People
By David Unger -- Críticas, 10/15/2007
When you first meet Raúl Figueroa, you’re struck by the intensity emanating from his brown eyes. He is a serious man on a serious quest—to play a key role in making Guatemalans more literate by publishing books that will help them comprehend what is going on in their country. Given the slightest provocation, Figueroa breaks into a smile and begins talking dynamically about literature and politics, two personal passions. He tells a joke and starts laughing before hitting the punch line—you have to have humor, gallows of humor, to be a publisher in Guatemala, a beautiful, surreal country in which 200,000 people died during a recently concluded 36-year civil war, and where some 300 people die monthly as victims of gang warfare or femicide, or are killed during petty crimes or simply for speaking their minds.
| Books published by F & G Editores |
Críticas recently spoke to the founder of this socially conscious publishing house to learn of the many ways he’s trying to help his compatriots understand and overcome their nation’s difficult history and build a promising future for the publishing industry in Central America.
When and why did you decide to publish books?
I was forced into exile by the government’s repression of the university during the early Eighties and wasn’t able to complete my studies. In 1985, I was employed by the Secretary General’s office of the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences) in Costa Rica to work on a book entitled Centroamérica, la crisis en cifras (“Central America: A Statistical Analysis of a Crisis”)—a comparative assessment of the political situation in Central America. While working on that book I developed my skills as an editor, something that had been nurtured all along by my interest in books, reading, and literature in general. In 1991, I founded F & G Editores, and started by offering editorial services to publishers. Little by little, we have become one of the most important publishing houses in Guatemala.
What was the publishing climate like when you first broke into publishing?
Very few books were being published in Guatemala during the Nineties. Guatemalan publishers weren’t even using ISBN numbers, so everyone in the trade thought our first books had been published in Spain. That was the moment when new publishers began appearing in Guatemala, including Magna Terra Editores and El Pensativo, both of whom are still around, but the quality of our publications [back then] was quite poor because few of us had any book publishing experience.
What do you think of publishing in Guatemala or Central America?
It’s difficult to publish in Central America. Though the region offers a great potential for growth, there are obstacles that limit the free circulation of books. Projects such as the Feria Internacional del Libro de Centro América (Central American International Book Fair, or FILCEN) have not attracted professionals from Mexico, the United States, and Canada and have not had an effective influence on the development of publishing. So far, Guatemala is the only country that has begun to develop a national book policy. However, there’s no plan for developing more public libraries in the region. People don’t understand the positive impact the publishing industry could have on Central America’s economy.
What titles do you publish now?
We publish many kinds of books though we mostly focus on law, social sciences, and Guatemalan literature. We believed these were the three area in which we could have an influence, albeit minimally. Our law books are mostly about jurisprudence, and we have played a role in keeping judicial jurisprudence alive in the country. We are the only ones that publish books about the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court, the two most important judicial branches in Guatemala.
Our social science titles contribute to the understanding of what’s going on in Guatemala today, as well as the awareness and interpretation of the internal bloody and armed conflict that inflicted so much pain on Guatemalans. Literature can play an important role in helping human beings [gain insight] and reaffirm their identity, something that is very important for a country with a painful history, such as Guatemala.
How many titles do you publish each year?
Up to and including 2006, we have published six to ten books annually. By the end of 2007, we plan to publish about 15 new titles.
In Guatemala, half of the 13 million inhabitants are illiterate. How does a publisher survive?
So far, we haven’t survived from selling books. Most of our income comes from the intense and exhausting editorial work we do for other institutions, such as universities, nongovernmental organizations, and international associations that don’t have trained editorial staff. Our law books also generate revenues.
Since 2000, we have been exporting books mostly to the United States, which finally is beginning to bear fruit. And finally the sale of our social science and literature titles are beginning to bring in income.
What percentage of your books is sold outside of Guatemala and, in particular, in the United States?
In 2006, we began to see an important growth in sales in the United States. This year, we have sold nearly 20 percent of our print runs in the United States. We were able to accomplish this by working very closely with U.S. distributors who offered advice and provided us with contacts.
Our participation in the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Book Fair, or FIL) has been very important to our establishing relationships with U.S. librarians. Also, this year we had a stand for the second time at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) biannual conference, where we met many academics who buy for their libraries’ Latin American collections.
What’s the main obstacle to fulfilling U.S. library orders?
The main obstacle is receiving the orders. Many librarians are wary of foreign publishers—they don’t believe that they will receive books shipped from Guatemala nor that their payments will reach us. The only true obstacle right now is that we cannot guarantee immediate delivery at a low cost due to high shipping costs, which affect all Central American publishers.
Does publishing have a future in Guatemala?
Yes, and the future is promising. Since Guatemalan publishers began using ISBNs in the mid-Nineties, more titles are being published yearly and sales have increased. The Guatemalan Book Chamber initiated steps to develop a national policy to promote books, reading, and libraries. Also, the government has begun purchasing books to help develop school libraries.
This is a country where books and independent thinking were once considered crimes by the ruling military. Guatemalans are beginning to lose their fear of reading and having access to books. This says a lot.
David Unger is a Críticas advisory board member and FIL Guadalajara’s U.S. representative. He is the author of several books and recently finished his latest novel, In My Eyes, You Are Beautiful.
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