AGP Executive Report

Publishing & AI: Brazil’s National Association of Newspapers, Mexico’s Alianza de Medios and Argentina’s ADEPA joined the SPUR coalition, which now has more than 80 members working to set rules for publishers’ content use by AI companies. Cuban Letters: Cuban novelist and journalist Manuel Pereira, a disciple of José Lezama Lima who later found freedom in exile, died in Mexico at 77. Bibliography: Mexican scholar Manuel Suárez Rivera won second prize in the ILAB Breslauer awards for his history of the Royal University of Mexico’s library. Latin American Publishing: Empire Publishing hired Emilio Morales to lead its regional expansion. Reading & Literacy: Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred donated 50 books to inspire young readers, while a cartonera publishing festival held a hands-on book-cover workshop.

AI & Publishing: Brazil’s National Association of Newspapers has joined SPUR, a publisher coalition developing standards to track and license AI use of members’ content. The group now has more than 80 members across 20 countries. Literary Recognition: Curaçao writer Frank Martinus Arion has been honored with a memorial in Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Kerk, featuring a poem in Papiamentu. The tribute brings the language into a prominent Dutch literary monument. Books & Heritage: A new book, Artifacts to Art, examines how Mesoamerican antiquities were marketed to museums and collectors in mid-century Los Angeles, including the role of a gallerist who sold stolen objects. Regional Reach: Empire Publishing has hired Emilio Morales to lead its expansion in Latin America. Cuban writer María Elena Llana is also among the contenders for the 2026 Cervantes Prize.

Translation & Co-publishing: Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre announced 14 projects with partners in seven languages, including Portuguese and Spanish, opening new routes for Arab books to readers in Brazil and beyond. Independent Publishing: Cartonera Publishing Fest held its first cover-making workshop, celebrating hands-on bookmaking. Young Readers: Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred donated 50 books to inspire children in her home country. Literary Recognition: Cuban author María Elena Llana was nominated for the 2026 Cervantes Prize. Industry Expansion: Empire Publishing hired Emilio Morales to lead its expansion in Latin America.

Reading Access: Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred donated 50 copies of Peanut and the Julien Alfred Visit, a children’s book about her journey, to support school libraries and young readers. Book Fairs: Mexico City’s FIL del Zócalo opened with more than 350 publishing imprints, offering books at accessible prices and spotlighting writer Rosario Castellanos and Chiapas. Feminist Publishing: Meaghan Beatley’s new book, Sex and Dissent, draws on feminist resistance in Argentina, Chile and Mexico, tracing movements including Argentina’s #NiUnaMenos. Literary Recognition: Cuban writer María Elena Llana is nominated for the 2026 Cervantes Prize, becoming the third Cuban to contend for the leading honor in Hispanic literature.

Colombian Publishing: Bogotá’s Placeres magazine has launched its second issue and plans to publish quarterly from January, betting on leisurely reading and long-form stories about food, travel, art and culture. Cuban Literature: María Elena Llana, 90, has been nominated for the 2026 Cervantes Prize, the highest honor in Spanish-language literature. The veteran writer’s books include Casas del Vedado and Castillos de naipes. Books in Translation: Sarah Schulman’s Conflict Is Not Abuse is being released in Spanish a decade after its original publication. In a new interview, she says its arguments resonate with today’s politics, including the rhetoric of Argentina’s Javier Milei.

Brazilian Adaptation: Carlos Saldanha’s film 100 Days, based on Amyr Klink’s memoir One Hundred Days Between Sky and Sea, will close the Rio Film Festival, bringing the explorer’s 1984 Atlantic crossing to the big screen. Mexican Publishing: A book by basketball coach Joe Betancourt, La Teoria, has sold more than a million copies across Mexico, Latin America and Spain, though it is now out of print; its 40th anniversary has renewed attention on the author and his youth basketball work. Publishing Partnership: Vietnam’s news agency and Mexico’s Labour Party are working together on a book featuring articles and speeches by a party leader. Latin American Fiction: Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Bewitching threads three stories of witches, family curses and horror writing—an atmospheric new-season pick from the Mexican-Canadian author.

Mexican Comics: A new comic reworks Lovecraft through Mexican stories, bringing a local lens to the horror writer’s legacy. Nobel Watch: A new analysis examines why Latin America’s Nobel record is led by literature and peace laureates. Argentine Papal Writing: The Vatican plans to publish Pope Francis’s private diary in five languages, taking the Argentine pontiff’s personal notes to readers worldwide. Publishing Business: Empire Publishing appointed former Rimas Publishing chief Emilio Morales as SVP of business development for Latin America, as it looks to expand in the region. Belize History: Historian Assad Shoman has launched a sapphire edition of A History of Belize in 13 Chapters.

Publishing Business: Empire Publishing has hired Emilio Morales to lead its expansion in Latin America, signaling a fresh push into the region’s book market. Belizean History: Assad Shoman has launched a sapphire edition of A History of Belize in 13 Chapters, bringing the country’s past to a new edition. Literary Spotlight: A new report examines why Latin America’s Nobel record is led by literature and peace. Meanwhile, coverage of Jorge Zepeda Patterson’s Los corruptores looks at how its Netflix adaptation changes the novel. Poetry and Exile: Chilean poet Cecilia Vicuña reflects on how her poetry helped her win asylum and on life in exile.

Belizean History: Assad Shoman has launched a new edition of A History of Belize in 13 Chapters, adding material on the environment, economy, Guatemala’s territorial claim and human rights. Publishing Expansion: Empire Publishing has hired Emilio Morales to lead its Latin American expansion. Mexican Adaptation: A new analysis compares Netflix’s Inside the Circle with Jorge Zepeda Patterson’s novel Los Corruptores. Cross-Border Publishing: Vietnam’s news agency is working with Mexico’s Labour Party to publish a book of articles and speeches by a Vietnamese leader. Audiobook Reach: Spotify is rolling out audiobooks to more than 180 markets, with 350,000 titles in 120 languages.

Nobel Prize: Canadian poet Anne Carson won the 2026 Literature Nobel, following a week of coverage spotlighting Latin American and Caribbean writers tipped for the prize. A new analysis explores the region’s stronger record in literature and peace than in science. Audiobooks: Spotify says its audiobook service is expanding to more than 180 markets, with 350,000 titles in 120 languages. Publishers have criticized the company’s audiobook bundle as a poor deal for the industry. Publishing Moves: EMPIRE Publishing hired former Rimas Publishing executive Emilio Morales as senior vice-president of Latin American business development. Forthcoming Books: The Vatican plans to publish Pope Francis’s private diary in November. An Argentine photo-only book, Coirón, is also drawing attention as a standout title of 2026. Book Fair: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is set to join Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada for a virtual dialogue at FIL Zócalo.

Audiobook Expansion: Spotify plans to bring audiobooks to more than 180 markets by year-end, including Latin America, with Spanish and Portuguese catalogs among 350,000 titles. Publisher partnerships include Planeta, opening a larger global platform for regional books. Publishing Business: EMPIRE Publishing has hired Rimas Publishing’s Emilio Morales as SVP of business development for Latin America, signaling continued investment in the region’s music-publishing market. Mexican Book Project: Vietnam News Agency is working with Mexico’s Labour Party on a book collecting articles and addresses by the party’s top leader. Caribbean Literary Legacy: A new tribute revisits Trinidadian author Michael Anthony’s life and archive, including the story behind Green Days by the River. Saint Lucian Poetry: Blood, Tears and Politics: Poetry of Roots and Resistance, by members of Soufriere Action Theater, explores identity, history and injustice through poems rooted in Saint Lucia.

Audiobooks: Spotify is expanding its catalog to more than 180 markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru. Eligible Premium users in several Latin American countries get 12 listening hours a month; Argentina will access audiobooks through a paid add-on. The rollout renews publishers’ concerns over how Spotify’s bundles affect royalties. Chile in Photos: Dutch photographer Pie Aerts’s Coirón, published in September, documents six years with gauchos in Patagonia, capturing a vanishing rural life in images. New Release: The Vatican plans to publish Pope Francis’s private diary next month in five languages, drawing on three decades of notes. Poetry and Exile: Chilean poet Cecilia Vicuña reflects on exile in Britain and the poetry that helped her win asylum.

Audiobooks: Spotify plans to bring more than 350,000 titles to over 180 markets by year’s end, widening access in Latin America. Eligible Premium subscribers in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia will get 12 listening hours monthly; Argentina’s main option will be the Audiobooks+ add-on. Jamaican History: A renewed look at Alexander Bedward challenges the familiar story that he tried to fly, drawing on Dave St. Aubyn Gosse’s 2022 UWI Press biography to present the preacher as a major Black nationalist. Poetry and Exile: Chilean poet Cecilia Vicuña reflects on exile in Britain after Pinochet’s coup and says her poetry helped her win asylum. Argentine Fiction: A recent review spotlights Diego Muzzio’s novel The Eye of Goliath.

National Book Awards: The National Book Foundation named Edwidge Danticat, Valeria Luiselli and others among this year’s finalists, with Latin America–linked fiction including Luiselli’s Beginning Middle End and Julián Delgado Lopera’s Colombia-set Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You. Publishing & culture: The New Museum announced the 36 artists for its 2027 Triennial, “The Outside Expands,” drawing on Brazil’s anti-dictatorship art legacy and spotlighting artists challenging ideas of territory, identity, gender and sexuality. Latin American media: reVolver Podcasts’ Spanish science show Contacto XIII hit Spotify’s Mexico science chart’s top 50, signaling growing demand for original Spanish-language programming. Books & reading for fall: Halloween-focused lists and reviews keep pushing genre picks, including horror/fantasy recommendations and a spotlight on Aiden Thomas’s Cemetery Boys. Sports meets pop culture: Coverage around Messi’s final international match (Argentina vs Benin) and major media mergers (Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery) show how entertainment news keeps bleeding into book-and-story culture.

Vatican Publishing: The Vatican Publishing House will release “The Private Diary of Pope Francis,” based on notes kept from 1992–2024, with Spanish/English/Portuguese editions via Penguin Random House and a French edition by Albin Michel, landing worldwide on Nov. 24. Latin America Publishing & Culture: Sony Music Publishing will administer the full music catalog of Spanish kids brand El Reino Infantil worldwide through a Leader Entertainment partnership, expanding content across formats and markets. Brazil Politics & Books/Media: Brazil’s election coverage continues to dominate headlines, including reporting on how the vote count works and what the first-round results mean for Lula and Bolsonaro ahead of a runoff. Argentina Sports & Publishing Tie-ins: Messi’s final Argentina appearance vs. Benin is driving major attention, including family-profile features that reference his parents’ published work. Market Watch for Readers: MercadoLibre shares slid despite strong revenue growth, a reminder that Latin America’s commerce boom is still volatile.

Brazil Election Runoff: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says his campaign for the Oct. 25 runoff against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro begins immediately, framing the choice as a contrast in proposals and attacking Bolsonaro over alleged ties to militias and corruption. Publishing & Culture: Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group will release The Private Diary of Pope Francis (translated from Spanish) on Nov. 24, with Vatican Publishing House LEV, offering “hopes and fears, struggles and prayers” from 1992 to 2024. Books & Fandom: P-pop group SB19 launched its photo book Wakas at Simula: A Visual Journey, a 96-page physical “visual journal” of behind-the-scenes milestones. Sports Media: UTMB’s Chihuahua event spotlighted Rarámuri distance-running culture, with Canadian Reid Burrows taking a podium finish. Tech & Travel Content: Lonely Planet rolled out an AI-powered travel app that builds itineraries from its own guide content.