Catalan boom in publishing industry

Public aid to Catalan book industry ended a few years ago, scaring publishers, which after this had to depend fully on their sales to survive. Nonetheless, this had a positive effect, as it promoted better quality books and Catalan literature was forced to become interesting for readers in order to sell enough and become a standard business. And now, good news has emerged for Catalan readers. One of the most powerful international publishing companies, Random House Mondadori - formed by the Italian company Mondadori and the German company Bertelsman - recently announced the launching of a new Catalan-only trademark, which will use the name “Rosa dels Vents” - Rose of Winds. The new trademark will publish both Catalan originals and translations of foreign writers. Rosa dels Vents aims to make money with a language that has consolidated a strong market and has a high level of loyalty among its readers. Random House Mondadori is one of the largest publishing companies in the world. It is the second largest publisher of Spanish books, and owns many small companies that sell everything from poetry to novels. The intention of this new project is to give new writers a chance, but it will also sell Catalan versions of international best–sellers. The first books of the project are already in the stores, with an initial round of six books. This first round includes four Catalan authors and two foreign authors, including Danielle Steele's “The Wedding”, which has sold over 440 millions copies worldwide. Furthermore, a small publishing company from Valencia, called Bromera, has decided to start a new collection for children with a very special intention. The new collection will be called “The Elephant” and will publish books from authors that use different varieties of Catalan.