Bruno Blog

Time should stop every time we meet someone extraordinary. I remember almost every moment I’ve spent with Nadia Ghulam, because from the first moment she entered the agency there was a very special connection, at least on my side. She was a young Afghan who spoke Catalan and had been adopted by a Catalan family from Badalona. I met her thanks to Agnès Rotger, who helped her explain her story in a book: EL SECRET DEL MEU TURBANT (Columna, 2010), which translates as THE SECRET OF MY TURBAN. The work captivated me and I thought I had in my hands the opportunity to give voice to a unique story. Even though at first neither of us was very sure of wanting to present the novel directly to a prize like Prudenci Bertrana’s in 2010, we did it and we won it. That was our first step in this great adventure.

Nadia was moved when I explained to her that I locked myself at home all weekend to read her full story. I especially remember that moment of reading, with the dim light I had in my old dining room, as well as the emotion I felt when I first read this story so personal, true and hard. My heart was racing for the injustice that a girl like Nadia had to endure. Thinking about what she had experienced made me suffer so much that I had to stop reading several times to digest the facts. Nadia is such a brave girl that she even had to pretend to be her dead brother for ten years to help her family move forward. Her experience in Afghanistan was an impressive challenge, as it is a country at war in which the role of women is overshadowed by men. It was in this way that Nadia, with her turban, managed to save her mother and her sisters, who, without men at home, did not know how to survive. It’s inevitable not to be touched by a story like this.

From here, Nadia has not stopped fighting for them, for building a library in her country and for trying to get women treated as they deserve. Ten years have passed since its publication and the book is still alive because Nadia keeps giving talks explaining her experience and her current projects. From the agency, we try to continue to give opportunities to this real story around the world. THE SECRET OF MY TURBANTE has already been translated into 12 languages and relatively recently arrived in Brazil, Lithuania and Romania. Its recent publication in France has given this book a second life and has made it easier for us to have an offer for film rights. For this reason, I have decided to dedicate a new blog to the book. We don’t want to stop encouraging publishers who haven’t yet assessed it, because a novel like this is an example for everyone to know that fighting for what you feel, for what you want, is possible.

Nadia teaches us to be brave, to recognize our fears and to learn to live with them. More and more of us are by her side, helping her to give voice to this story, and we must continue to fight so that more and more readers want to support Nadia. It is a story that cannot leave anyone indifferent and committed editors and readers less so.

Christmas is just around the corner. As everyone knows, this is a time that should be reigned by peace, love and the feeling of wanting to be with your loved ones; it is a time to enjoy with your family and a time when only good things should happen. I confess that I’m in love with this holiday season, with Christmas movies, family meals and gifts. I’ve always said that in my family we’ve experienced it very intensely and it is wonderful to be able to preserve this tradition. However, I must also say that, as you get older, you become more realistic and it seems that this Christmas magic is harder to cultivate. At least that’s how I feel because not everyone has the GOOD LUCK to have what I have: a united family to spend this holiday with.

The words GOOD LUCK are what leads me to write this blog today, in honor of the relaunch of LA BUENA SUERTE (published as GOOD LUCK in English), the book written by Álex Rovira and Fernando Trías de Bes. It is a wonderful story about what luck and good luck are, which, as similar as they might seem, they are not the same. Through this novel, you understand that LUCK ends up passing and doesn’t depend on you, but GOOD LUCK is something you pursue and that lasts forever. This book is, in short, an inspiring work that reveals the secrets to create that path to GOOD LUCK.

The Spanish imprint Zenith now publishes the new version of LA BUENA SUERTE, which may be considered as the largest Spanish publishing phenomenon of recent times with 4,000,000 copies sold. This special edition also includes an original text written by the authors. It is a reference book, highly recommended, with which you will feel accompanied, well and focused to a clear goal. Those of you who already are fans of this book don’t hesitate to reread it: it may seem easy to carve out your own destiny, but sometimes you forget the most obvious things and your path gets dark again.

Do you want to find the magic four-leaf clover? There’s only one way: start looking for it now. LA BUENA SUERTE has been a book translated all over the world and we hope to relaunch it in all possible languages. We believe that if we give the opportunity to read this book in any language, we will help more people get lucky and make the world a better place. Don’t we all want a happier world? Let’s make it happen by cultivating our good luck.

I have never been a fan of the more traditional fantasy genre, but I must confess that I don’t like tags because when I read THE NEVERENDING STORY I really fell in love with that book, even if many people describe it as “fantasy.” Thanks to Michael Ende, I have continued reading more books of this genre and I have liked many of them without becoming an unconditional fan. I am delighted to have given Daniel Pastrana the opportunity to publish his fantasy novel LOS PORTADORES DEL DON (“The Bearers of the Gift”). The young readers of the agency, who do know what works in this genre, were enthusiastic about their reading. I did not hesitate to help this author publish this work that, like many novels in this line, presents a complex story difficult to explain. So, here is a summary of a novel that is worth giving it a try:

In a world totally different from ours, there were two great races: humans and deivos. For a long time, deivos, who possess special gifts, saw humans as inferior and weak beings. The tensions between the two groups ended up generating an arduous battle between the two races, in which the humans ended up winning. Once the battle was over, they went on to pursue the few survivors cruelly.

Berthal and Helga are two brothers of different blood who live in a small village. One day, the Cathartids, an order of knights of family titles who persecute the deivos, arrive to the village of Berthal and Helga and execute a three-year-old girl live. While Berthal shows his admiration for the Cathartids, Helga is reluctant to this cruelty. When the little deivo attacks the knights and seeks refuge in Helga’s arms, the Cathartids see the stepbrothers as a threat to hunt down.

When they hunt Helga they realize that she is also a deivo who possesses one of the most precious gifts: she can repress the gifts of others. Berthal, trying to help Helga, realizes that he also has powers: can summon fire. Helga has been protecting them both repressing their powers and giving them the opportunity to have a free and normal life. In this way Helga ends up being imprisoned by Sissel, the leader, who wants the girl to join them in their fight to kill all the damned. On the other hand, Berthal decides to flee the town to save his sister from the order of the Cathartids.

LOS PORTADORES DEL DON is a novel of races, of powers, of battles, well hatched, fast-paced and with the necessary ingredients so that readers can engage in the adventure that the two sisters live. Many times in real life I think I would like to have super powers to be able to change many things, but it is seen that, if you do not know how to handle the power granted well, greed ends up surpassing goodness and the gift can turn against you.

Happy holidays: a suitcase and a book, at least.

This is the last Bruno’s post until September. It is always a pleasure to write a post every week and recommend a book, because it is truly a privilege to recommend a reading. However, it is not an easy job: this is why in this last post I made a collection of the different books that I wrote about in this blog. A collection classified into genres and above all, very visual, so you can easily remember the covers of each of the stories, books that we presented with the goal to discover new readers and publishers from other countries who wish to find extraordinary stories without thinking too much of the numbers. Literature moves you, it claims you, it makes you feel and at the end, this is what you get. The publishing world is a business but we cannot afford to lose the best of the values: giving the opportunity to each great story that is capable of moving you, like all the books we have here, so I hope you enjoy more than one on these holidays. As Bruno says, there is no better company than a book. Happy holidays and on our return, new books to finish an extraordinary trimester, indispensable to keep growing as a persons.

A good thriller in which the reader is the protagonist trying to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, or even a psychological thriller.

An extraordinary story, I need no more, with amazing characters and a lot of love, in all senses.

A historical novel that would help me to discover more of this world through a proper use of fiction.

A book for the little ones, who will enjoy a funny story, learn new things and discover new worlds.

A book that will help me this September with new healthy lifestyles to put into practice.

A funny book to disconnect from reality or a one-day read story full of deep thoughts and love.

Enjoy your holidays!

[Book launch: September 2018]

Reading the last Nuria Pradas’ book Contando nubes (counting clouds) has reminded me of my summers when I was a teenager, where the beach, the friendship and the laughter were the protagonists of these fifteen days I used to spend in Sant Pol, where the problems did not exist, or at least I am not able to remember them. Not only did I find true friends that I still keep, but also it became a place of first experiences: first loves, family meetings in our terrace by the sea with my parents, my siblings and my granparents that I will never forget. Moments that filled this little box in which we all keep our memories and that they are already part of our life.

Maria, the main character, decides to spend the summer with her grandmother in the little village where she used to enjoy her childhood, but now it’s different: Maria’s decision to move there is to try to get over a tragedy. With only nineteen years old, Maria had a terrible car accident in which her boyfriend lost his life and she almost did. She is now depressed and going back to that little village with her old friends will help her even more than going to theraphy, and without realizing, she will find herself in love again and counting clouds as she used to do when she was a child. However, things are not always so easy and a new conflict blows up due to a love triangle full of regrets.

The novel is extraordinary, ideal for any teenager who may feel identified with the pages of this book, and wishes to never stop counting clouds. Actually, after reading it, I will start counting clouds again from my terrace so I can connect with the most pure and real happiness, the one you feel when you are a child. Thank you Nuria for such a tender and loving story, that will move you regardless of your level or taste in reading. Once again, you proved yourself to be a great writer both for teens and adults books, and with your three novels ‘La noia de la biblioteca’, ‘Sueños a medida’ and ‘El aroma del tiempo’ you reached a loyal audience who asks for more. In my opinion, Nuria Pradas is one of the best writers nowadays, so I encourage everyone to include one of her books in your summer list. You will not regret it.