Publishing houses upbeat at Spanish product world’s annual gathering; music sales dip ‘noticeable’

In spite of the continuing global recession, attendance was up, all booth spaces were sold and publishers were upbeat at the 19th annual Expolit conference, held May 19-24 in Miami.

Though final attendance figures were not available at press time, registrations for the largest trade fair in the U.S. for the Spanish-language Christian literature and music world—which was also open to the general public—were up 13% from last year, and all 450 booth spaces were sold, according to Expolit Vice President and Director Marie Tamayo. 

Tito Mantilla, publisher of Editorial Portavoz, Kregel Publications’ Spanish imprint, and president of the Spanish Evangelical Products Association (SEPA), said that the company had good sales, despite the challenging economy.

“From our own experience and talking to other publishers, we’re all doing fine,” he said. “Most publishers and distributors reported that sales have increased or they’ve maintained what they have. Distribution also continues to increase, and the number of books published in Spanish keeps growing.”

B&H Publishing Group Vice President of International Sales Jim Cook said that the company has seen its Spanish sales double in the last three years.

Expolit Executive Director and Editorial Unilit President David Ecklebarger said that his company’s sales have been “very good.” “There’s a renewed optimism among the distributors,” he said. “Sales are up and doing well, although we’re not back up to our peak of a few years ago.”

Steve Strang, CEO of Charisma Media, said that the company’s Spanish imprint, Casa Creación, saw 15% growth last year—the fastest-growing part of the organization. The growth prompted several promotions and the relaunch of a bimonthly print version of the Spanish-language magazine Vida Cristiana during Expolit. Vida 
Cristiana, which saw its last print issue in May 2009, recently started a partnership with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. 

 Held at the Doubletree Hotel & Miami Airport Convention Center, Expolit showcased inspirational films for the first time, with a screening of Courageous—the widely anticipated follow-up from the makers of the hit movie Fireproof—which will release in theaters nationwide Sept. 30. The movie features Roberto Amaya, who plays Javier, a Hispanic character.

B&H Publishing Group promoted Vidas Valientes, the Spanish version of Courageous Living by Michael Catt (B&H Books)—senior pastor of Courageous’ film-making brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick’s home church, Sherwood Baptist Church, in Albany, Ga. B&H also spotlighted several other Courageous-related products to be released in the fall. 

Other movies screened in Expolit’s 
ExpoCinema movie segment included Fireproof and Poema de Salvación (The Salvation Poem), a film based on the life of Argentinian rocker Pablo Olivares. 

Also new at this year’s convention was the 8th annual ARPA Awards, which recognized excellence in Spanish-language Christian music. The top winner was Jesús Adrián Romero, who won Best Masculine Album of the Year, Best Composer of the Year and Best Song of the Year with Participating Artists. Danilo Montero won Best Album of the Year and Producer of the Year.

Despite the ARPA awards, Ecklebarger said that the reduced number of music representatives at Expolit was “noticeable” as the industry continued to face challenges from illegal downloading, distribution problems and increasing costs.

Rosalia Najri, a SEPA board member who owns the Immanuel chain of Christian bookstores in the Dominican Republic, said that music sales have slumped there, forcing her to close one of the stores. “But the sales of CDs has dropped the most—75%,” she said. “We’ve decided to limit the sales of music CDs to 20 different singers.”

Mantilla said that the industry faces challenges besides the music dilemma. Book publishing is in “a process of change and transformation,” he said. “Perhaps the electronic book is the most immediate challenge in the coming years. We can see this as a problem, or we can view it as an opportunity to help the industry reach its full potential. Only those organizations that desire to seize these opportunities will be successful in making an impact on the industry in the future.”

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