Source (in Spanish): Here is my quick translation:
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, author of The Shadow of the Wind, will publish next April 17, his new novel, with a print run of one million copies, according to an announcement this morning (February 28th) by Editorial Planeta. The publisher considers that this print run will reach a historical landmark in Spain.
The number of copies (printed) surpasses the 525,000 for World Without End by Ken Follet, of which, in its day, the publisher Random House Mondadori explained that it was about "the most number of books ever placed in Spanish bookstores in a single day," and that it found "was more than the number for the Harry Potter series."
Ruiz Zafón's new work, untitled [now known to be El Juego del Ángel], will tell a story of ambient intrigue in the Barcelona of the 1920s and will return to submerging the reader in the Cementery of Lost Books, scene from his previous book.
Ruiz Zafón is considered by his publisher to be the Spanish author most read in the world. The Shadow of the Wind, published in May 2001, has been published in 50 countries and sold more than 10 million copies. This new entry (in the planned tetralogy around the Cementary of Lost Books), which is published 7 years after its predecessor, will form part of a tetralogy. The publisher has chosen this date for its publication to fall on Saint George's Day.
Sadly, it's not yet available for purchase on Amazon, but trust me, as soon as I can, I'm getting a copy of it and I'll review it to give people an idea of the book's quality well in advance of its releases en otros idiomas.
Edit: While it'll likely be a year or longer before the English translation is released, for those of us who can read Spanish, there is an official website for the book now up. Not much yet, but there is a place where you can have information sent to you (in Spanish, of course) regarding updates on the author or any other author on Planeta's roll.
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7 comments:
Nice. I loved Shadow of the Wind.
Any word on how long it will be before we get an English translation?
Btwm have you read The Spanish Bow? Is it any good?
I would guess 6 months to 2 years for the English translation to appear, since the first book was such a big seller (that one took 4 years between original publication to the English translation being released).
No, I haven't read that book you mentioned, but I might look into it.
Great news--I enjoyed Shadow of the Wind a lot (though as you say on Jeff's blog, it didn't quite live up to expectations from some of the reviews I'd seen). Any idea if they'll be releasing a Spanish-language version here in the states before the translation comes?
Planeta (the publisher) is a multinational one, so I'm certain there'll be copies made available on Amazon, just as there was for La sombra del viento (which I bought from Amazon). It might be a few days or weeks from now, though, depending on how quickly Amazon moves to order copies, etc.
I've read The Spanish Bow and enjoyed it, however it's a straight historical novel about a talented boy who rises from a sort of "impoverished middle class" background" in the Spanish countryside of the late 19th century to become a famous cellist. It's compelling and held my interest throughout, but it lacks the "magic" that made Shadow of the Wind a special book.
Liviu
Hrmm...well-written historical novel, huh? I suppose I could read one of those sometime ;)
The Angel's Game is scheduled for release in April of 2009. Zafon talks about it - and his writing in general - in the latest edition of Three Monkeys Online.
Interview is here:
http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/als/carlos_ruiz_zafon_shadow_of_the_wind.html
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