Foreign Trade
The book sector is a mature sector, which faces the competition from other media in the field of knowledge and information, in particular the audio-visual one. The book is also a lasting proof of the language, and the international publishing depends greatly on the language. Analysing the diffusion and distribution of the book, it is possible to understand the entrepreneurial dynamics of concentration, spreading, absorption and connection closely linked to the publishing industry and the international multimedia groups. The tendency to internationalisation and globalisation by opening business and subsidiaries in other countries in the publishing sector, and the investments carried out with the aim to have a presence in the world of new technologies - which are reaching a high degree of development both at an private and public level -, all these initiatives sponsored by the Federación, show the effort that for many years now the Spanish publishing industry is making in order to grow beyond our frontiers. Exportation of its production and direct investments in foreign markets are a proof that for most publishers the international activity is an essential part of their turnover.
It is equally important to highlight that an improvement of sales abroad entails an improvement of the knowledge of the rich and plural Spanish culture, which, nowadays, is the best trade mark, "Made in Spain", possible. Needless to say, a positive appreciation of the Spanish culture translates into a better appreciation of the Spanish products in general and, therefore, facilitates their commercialisation.
Foreign Promotion of the Spanish Book
From this Federación, we give our best to co-ordinate the foreign promotion activities carried out by the Government administration, by other professional entities within the book sector and by this very Federación.
The Federación devotes itself both to immediate objectives, such as the participation of Spanish publishers in international book fairs or publishing promotion material and books of Spanish publishers, as well as to long-term ones, such as promoting a free-trade area for the books published in Spanish, defending the Spanish book or establishing a flow of information with economic and commercial data on the countries that constitute natural markets for the Spanish book. The Federación also provides information about demand and offer of books abroad, trade and book production regulations, government subsidies for exportation and, in general, everything that may be of interest for the Spanish publishers.
International Book Fairs
The participation of the Federación in several international book fairs aims to increase the presence of the Spanish book in the countries of the European Union and to consolidate the growth achieved over the last few years, to improve exports to Eastern and Central Europe countries, to start actions in order to gain some presence in North America, to ensure our presence in the Latin American market and to expand our presence to markets such as the Japanese and the Far Eastern.
Rights Catalogue
The Federación publishes a catalogue of new books whose rights for languages other than Spanish are for sale.
Spanish Language
For the Federación is of utmost importance the defence and promotion of the Spanish language throughout the world and in the media. Foreign universities with a department of Spanish, public libraries, Institutos Cervantes, international media in Spanish or the cultural departments of the Spanish Embassies are active elements in promoting the Spanish language. Within its possibilities, the Federación has helped to the common objective of spreading the Spanish language around the world, promoting its unity and stimulating its use in those fields, such as economics, trade, science or computers, where there is a growing tendency to use but one language to the detriment of the richness and variety of the linguistic culture.
Area of free circulation for books published in Spanish
The top officials of the Spanish and Colombian government, together with representatives of the private sector of both countries, met at Bogota the 14th and 15th of September, 1998 on occasion of the official visit of the President of Spain, José María Aznar, and made a recommendation to lift the customs and administrative barriers for a free trade of the book. If the countries involved with this proposal were to join the Florence Agreement (1950) and the protocol modifying it (1976), this would guarantee the basic conditions for a free circulation of the book in Latin America.
Presence of Spanish authors in significant events
In 1998, an agreement was signed between the General Directorate for Books, Archives and Libraries of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Spanish International Development Agency of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Federación de Gremios de Editores de España with the aim to promote Spanish culture in Latin America with the attendance of Spanish authors to important events. The Federación tries to have important Spanish authors (novelists, poets, historians, essayists, philosophers) participating in conferences, meetings, trade shows, universities or relevant events. The collaboration of these authors is beneficial for both sides, since on the one hand it enhances considerably the image and presence of Spain, and on the other it is a promotion for the writers themselves.