I attended Book Expo America this year, if for no other reason, to get a glimpse of the publishing industry’s changes. Publishing endured some wrenching upheavals in the previous 12 months. There have been consolidations among companies, staff reductions, and title suspensions to name a few. There has also been an increased presence of the electronic readers such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s reader. Still, there are plenty of paper books out there. Here I am at the Spanish publishing pavilion where some fine examples of printing could be seen.
A Spanish printing company displayed their version of medieval texts, printed and bound seemingly as they were several hundred years ago. It was impressive, but no photos allowed. Books have been growing in popularity in Spain, and I look forward to seeing my own work translated into Spanish soon. Many of my characters are Spanish speakers, from Colombia or elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world.
That’s me up there, grinning like a fool to be among the printed pages. Couldn’t help myself, really, standing in the middle of so many books and people interested in the same. Trade shows are a natural opportunity to network, do business, and gauge trends. At the same time, it’s simply fun to be among like minded souls. Relax and enjoy it.
This book provides plenty of useful information, not to mention dozens of great photographs. There is also a map section, which works well when doing general trip planning. You will need Spanish skills as the book is written entirely in that language. However, it is an opportunity to further your involvement in the culture as you work out your plans.
It was quite startling to come across an American style diner in Spain. Of course, I couldn’t resist taking a look. This place might have been found along any rural highway in the United States. So, taking advantage of such a locale, I promptly sat down and got some writing done. As I’ve said before, one of the joys of travel is coming upon the unexpected. You just never know what’s around the next corner: more of the same, or something completely different. (There was also a McDonald’s there but there’s plenty of them around Spain so we’ll ignore that.)
The Bent Page 
You must be logged in to post a comment.