Bruno Blog

Literary life never stops. Books always accompany us. But this autumn comes strong with one of the authors I admire the most, for her simplicity, humility and patience. Three great virtues that, if one wants to devote oneself to writing, I believe are fundamental. However, Susana Rodriguez, like a good ant, in silence and working together with the agency, has managed to sell more than 40,000 copies of her trilogy, which is still on the market and I hope soon with film options.

Now, she publishes a new novel, A BULLET WITH YOUR NAME ON IT, by the hand of Harper Collins Ibérica who has bet on this voice that has captivated a lot of readers, one by one, and that is going to consolidate them with this new novel that has taken off like a torpedo.

Zoe Bennett has an anodyne and routine life. In her forties, she is a serious woman, lonely and with a sad past, who takes refuge in her work as a restaurateur in the prestigious Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In a boring party for donations, she meets Noah, an attractive young waiter with whom, almost without realizing it, she starts a crazy, torrid relationship. Too handsome to be true? That’s what it looks like.

One night, Noah convinces her to visit the restoration workshop when the museum has closed its doors. Hours later, the tranquility of her life explodes in a thousand pieces to become a dangerous whirlwind of greed and violence where she will not be able to trust anything or anyone and that will awaken in her some instincts and a force of will unknown until then.
 
Again, a strong woman, love and violence make the perfect cocktail to keep adding sales to Susana’s track record. Great book to start the fall, indeed.

I am very thrilled to start my return to work with a new author of the agency, Berta Jardí, with a short but fascinating novel that tells us the story of the Joan Miró painting, the Portrait of Heriberto Casany. From her family memories, the author draws the life of her grandmother’s brother, the main character of the book: Heriberto Casany. A witness marked by the history of the 1930s, but above all, by his friendship with Joan Miró. The portrait he painted was meant to immortalize him and this story reminds us how extraordinary a plain life can be, something that made me fall more in love with this well written book. Art and literature merge together, two  different worlds but with obvious parallelisms.

Berta also inaugurates publisher label, UNIVERS, that belongs to Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, with the great publisher Esther Pujol. The new house has the aim to give voice to writers like Berta Jardí, writers who have already started a career, and help them to consolidate it. Berta is a writer that deserves it without any doubt. This Sunday begins the Catalan Books Week in Barcelona and it’s a great opportunity for the readers to get to know Berta Jardí and other Catalan authors of the agency. It is indeed the perfect plan for the weekend to discover the new voices of the Catalan literature.

Summer arrives and we go on holiday, even though because of my work holidays as itself has not existed in my life for a long time now, because books are part of it and one thing is linked to the other. However, I try to read some books for pleasure and not for work, which is already a record, but I cannot abandon this good vice that is reading.  For this reason, our summer campaign on the social media, which I would love you to follow on Twitter and Instagram, talks about different places where we can go, disconnect, enjoy, but always with a book under your arm to help you break out routine and make you “travel” to those fictitious worlds.

Some prefer pure adventure, others paradises or cosmopolitan cities, but everything is valid if you know how to take advantage of it. We have 18 proposals that will surely help to choose the best book according to your destiny, all novelties of this 2019.

• PONTE EN MI PIEL by Emma Lira: the Canary Islands.
• LA LLAVE 104 by Paz Castelló: the Costa Blanca.
• A MI AMIGO ESCOCÉS by Maria Barbal: field trip.
• LA NOIA DEL VIOLONCEL by Jordi Campoy: London.
• EL ÚLTIMO VAGÓN by Ángeles Doñate: Mexico.
• AMOR by Álex Rovira: Rome.
• ICHIGO ICHIE by Francesc Miralles and Héctor Garcia: Japan.
• EL OBRADOR DE LOS PRODIGIOS by Sílvia Tarragó and Christian Escribà: Barcelona.
• LA PRINCESA DE MÁRMOL by Malenka Ramos: Madrid.
• LA BILBIOTECA DE LA LUNA by Francesc Miralles: India.
• UN SECRETO by Alejandro Palomas: Germany.
• 13 CANASTAS PARA GANAR EN LOS NEGOCIOS DIGITALES by Ferran Martínez: Los Angeles.
• MONEY MINDFULNESS by Cristina Benito: France.
• UNA BALA CON MI NOMBRE by Susana Rodríguez: Boston.
• 1816, EL AÑO QUE NO HUBO VERANO by Jordi Tello: Indonesia.
• L’ABISME by Carla Gracia: the Costa Brava.
• L’HOME DEL BARRET by Berta Jardí: Mallorca.

I wish you a happy summer and see you in September with renewed energy and many literary novelties so that books will never be missing in our environment, because books are life.

As I started working in the publishing world at a very early age, combining it with my philology studies, I have a lot of memories of these events that there were authors such as Eduardo Mendoza, who I admired because I read his book at school, SIN NOTICIAS DE GURB. Or when I talked to Juan José Millas, whose books fascinated me (LA SOLEDAD ERA ESTA or EL DESORDEN DE TU NOMBRE). Or when I lived in first person the success of Laura Esquivel’s first novel COMO AGUA PARA CHOCOLATE.

All beginnings can only be lived with illusion. When you do something that you like, being able to be next to people you admire and who are idols for you, it’s like a dream to devote yourself to that precious value that books are. And even though I’ve been involved in this world for 28 years now, I’m still thrilled to be able to represent authors who have been an influence to me, as is the case of Maria Barbal.

An affectionate woman, and one of the best writers in Catalan, comparable to Mercè Rodoreda or Montserrat Roig. Her longseller PEDRA DE TARTERA has been translated into 15 languages and constantly being republished because it has been compulsory reading in schools (sixty printings in catalan!). Perhaps reading a book because is compulsory is not the best thing, but whoever does not discover Maria Barbal at first, will do it later if they value good literature. And a good opportunity is reading her new novel TO MY SCOTTISH FRIEND.

The idyllic landscapes of the Lleida Pyrenees and Benet’s youthful ambition to fall in love and make a living off his drawings give him plenty to dream about, but, like most people, he is forced to reconcile his hopes and dreams with the demands of reality and the expectations of his family. Caught in the middle of his parents’ marital strife and constantly on the move to find work, Benet struggles to find his place in the world. The delicate strings that hold Benet’s life together will finally be blown apart by the onset of civil war in 1936, when everything is turned upside down. However, in Benet’s darkest hour, when he is reeling from an injury from the front, he will meet George, an outspoken Scotsman, whose friendship will be Benet’s only consolation in his battle to overcome the physical and psychological trauma of war. Though fleeting, Benet’s time together with George will leave a lasting impression on him, and he will carry the memory of his Scottish friend, and the war they fought in, with him forever.

To My Scottish Friend is a story about friendship, love, war, memory, and regret.

In summary, it is an honour to be able to have such prestigious writers in the agency and to try to promote their work internationally, which is not easy. But when something is good we can’t give up, because I firmly believe that every good book has a good publisher. Our mission is to find him so that the books of this great Catalan author can be reached all over the world.

There’s a moment in life where you must choose who you want to be and where you want to work. There are people who have it very clear since the beginning, but those who not, it’s a very important moment, because our education system makes you choose your career very early. Which elective courses, if you prefer humanities or science, etc. And sometimes what you want does not match what’s best for you, so these become the first important choices one should face. I was clear about it: pure humanities, but I didn’t know back there that life would lead me to the publishing world. I loved reading and writing but I never thought this would become my career, much less that I would be able to run my own company. I started very young, working in Mercedes Casanovas, who taught me this difficult job. The world of books fascinated me, but I didn’t know back there how difficult it can be to find that author, that book, that topic to sell. I’ve been wrong many times, and I’m sure I will make many more mistakes, but it’s a job where the margin of error and the risk are high. You need to have a good head for business and be brave enough to take risks.

With Alejandro Palomas, I was very close to make a mistake because I told him that I didn’t like the script he sent me, so I wouldn’t represent him. Luckily, Alejandro is more stubborn than me, so he challenged me and told me he would bring a new script I wouldn’t reject. And so it was. He brought a lot of life and I was fascinated by his characters and also by him, because Alejandro is an intense man but very captivating. After 15 years together, I am thankful to his stubbornness for giving me another opportunity.

Today Alejandro has achieved what he deserves: to be on the top. UNA MADRE has already published 22 printings and Alejandro was awarded the National Prize for Children’s & Young People’s Literature with UN HIJO (a son), with that boy named Guille who wanted to be Mary Poppins, not a fireman or a footballer. I can’t stop recommending these two novels because they mean Alejandro’s claim to fame but his book TANTA VIDA (so much life) and the first part of the trilogy EL TIEMPO QUE NOS UNE (the time that unites us) still my favorite ones. It’s been already six printings in a very short time, since we have recovered Alejandro’s backlist in his early years. We had to work a lot together to gain the publishers trust , because talent was there; we just had to reveal it.

This summer, those who haven’t discovered this fantastic author, I recommend you to do it, and for those who are already fans, remember you have UN SECRETO (one secret) as a novelty. It is the continuation of Guille’s life, who has also stolen my heart, but this time the book is through a feminine strong voice that will not leave you indifferent. Nazia now lives with Guille and his father because her family is in a very delicate situation. It seems that the fact of her parents being in prison didn’t affect Nazia, and her happiness remains intact. But, is it really this way? In this story, we will discover that children talk especially when they are silent, and where it will lead us Nazia’s obsession with the character of Cinderella. 

Variety of the Alejandro Palomas’ world but I must tell you something: once you’re inside, you won’t be able to get out.