Image
The literary agents invited to the business round of Feria del Libro de Bogotá have acknowledged Colombia as a new market niche with potential to buy books and copyrights.
" My idea is to represent Colombian authors in European countries, given the increased interest of Latin American people who migrated to the continent, and due to the fact that Colombian talent stands out more and more&rdquo , explained Ximena Rengifo, literary agent from Spain.
The commercial meeting organized by PROCOLOMBIA, the Cámara Colombiana del Libro and Corferias gathered 100 international buyers and the same number of Colombian exporters who, apart from copyrights, offer Latin American, school and technical texts for schools and universities.
Foreign guests have visited us from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and France.
However, Europe is not the only potential market for Colombians. Vito Ciao, an entrepreneur from France, is looking for books to offer in China. " Colombian production at this time is quite good, and I think it may be very successful in the future. I&rsquo m particularly interested on long sellers that is, good authors who have received awards, which may represent box-office success for a long time. I think that is precisely what I can obtain&rdquo , he indicated.
Ciao is visiting Colombia for the first time, given the success achieved by the translation of &lsquo One Hundred Years of Solitude&rsquo in China, where more than one million copies were sold in the first seven months. " Colombian literature is already renowned and that is why I&rsquo m here to do businesses, I know there is potential&rdquo , he affirmed.
Brazil is also becoming an interest market. Ana María Santeiro, a Brazilian agent, indicated that " Colombia is offering a very interesting production. Since 1996, I represent the Colombian writer Yolanda Reyes, and her books are greatly accepted in my country. This is why I am now interested to represent others&rdquo .
Furthermore, she indicated that " the Brazilian market is full of North American books, but there is curiosity for Spanish writers therefore, our market is open.
The same explained Marcelo Duvidovich, distributor of books in Spanish in that country. " Demand has grown significantly, as the mid-class population has also grown, and the number of readers has increased. Many of them have Spanish as their mandatory language and, therefore, opportunities in the education sector are significant&rdquo .
Although the business round ends this Wednesday, foreign entrepreneurs may visit the Feria del Libro until May 1st to become familiar with what the more than 500 exhibitors have to offer.
