Bruno Blog

This week’s blog post is special because, exceptionally, I’m not recommending any book, today I am asking you for a bit of charity. I’m very proud that one of the million ideas that run through  my mind, has finally come true, and today, November the 14^th we are celebrating LA LITERATURA QUE ALIMENTA’s fifth birthday. An idea I had while watching Educos’s advert, one of their first when they were getting popular, and as I have always loved helping, I thought that from the agency we could all join forces and fusion literature and charity, the perfect union. This is how this campaign was born, and thanks to all of those who follow us, our authors, loyal to our proposal to collect money each year for this NGO which strives every day to assure no kid is left without a warm plate a day by getting them food.

This publishing world keeps growing everyday with more and more people joining us, as editors, book sellers, readers, designers, and they help us in making this dream grow, step by step, so that we are able to collect more money and so be able to help those who need it the most. I’m really happy to see we have come a long way and we are not tired, we haven’t surrendered, on the opposite, every time I look more forward to preparing this charity party, and although it is not easy to reunite people, prepare the meeting, the details, and to think about the event, illusion is on top of all of this and seeing the power of this little drop is really worthy it and really does make me happy. It really moves me when I see the unconditional support of my friends, those who belong to the editorial world and those who don’t, to become part of this team, who are trying to help these families who are unable to give their children a warm plate. Although it may seem impossible there are families living under these conditions because, even though we may think economic crisis is over, it is not, and we must take conscience that there is people that do need help.

Life, for me, makes no sense if we don’t give what we have to those we love, those who need it. And it would not make sense if I didn’t Thank those who have helped and supported this little idea, directly coming from my heart, to become true and to become a Literary Party and charity in this literary world. So this afternoon I’m hoping to see many of this year’s T-shirts so that this year we can help more than 400 children. Let’s color this day black and yellow, the colors of our literary charity, to get a new record, and make of 2018 a year full of books that feed souls, that will, for sure, make us be better. Literature not only feeds wit, wisdom and humor, but also gives those who need it the most. LET’S MAKE A TOAST WITH A SMILE ON OUR FACES.

We’re going on holidays: it’s time to rest, to be with our friends and family, and have time to do what we love the most. I hope most of you, among the many things that you want to do, choose reading as one of them. Don’t forget that reading a book is having a great travel companion, either for a sunny day on the beach or a picnic in the mountain –or any resting place. Dedicating time to read is a magical moment for us readers that like to explore other people’s worlds. I know you know what I mean.

I leave you with great quotes from literary personalities, with whom I wholeheartedly agree. You all know, for those of you who follow this blog that my go-to sentence is: Reading is life because life without books would be meaningless.

I wish you all a great summer holiday with good company, and I’ll see you back in September with many novelties to face the beginning of the course with books that will help us move forward.

HAPPY SUMMER!

“I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.” – Groucho Marx.

 “Let others pride themselves about how many pages they have written; I’d rather boast about the ones I’ve read.” ―Jorge Luis Borges.

 “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” ― Walt Disney.

 “Reading is living much longer and much better! Reading doesn’t kill my time, reading fills me and adds value to my life” ―Emili Teixidor.

We have some days to rest and recharge batteries in order to be in full swing after Easter Holidays. These past few months have been hectic, with the London and the Bologna Book Fair, and tons of hard work so that every book can find a publisher.

We come back on Tuesday 18^th of April with our best smiles and with Saint George’s day around the corner. We hope we can live once again a wonderful book day celebration.

Therefore, the team of Sandra Bruna’s Literary Agency wishes you a happy Easter. Don’t forget to open your mind and travel with a great book!

Check my recommendations and catalogues in our webpage.

This week I’m writing from London, a city that I like more each time I come. It was the first city where I travelled alone, to do an internship in the Blake Friedmann agency when I was just 19 years old and it was, truthfully, an experience that helped me a lot, although at nineteen it was hard for me to know that, and I could never imagine I’d get to where I am today. It made me grow up suddenly, as I had to get out of my comfort zone and sharpen my wits. I was fearful, but I had to do it to improve my English and travel to Frankfurt, my first Book Fair, in 1993. It was intense, I missed my family, my friends, but I don’t regret it and, with time, I see that there are moments in life that come as challenges you must overcome, and that was one of them.

Today, unfortunately, Carole Blake is no longer with us, but I’ll always be grateful to her for having taken me in with such kindness, and for having been able to see live the work of a foreign literary agency. The literary world is fascinating, but difficult, and agencies have a difficult role in its inner workings. As years go by, I understand much better some of the attitudes my predecessors had, because the road ahead is not easy, and you need a certain kind of character to succeed -and a little bit of magic, I can assure you. I’ve been lucky to have met lots and different agents from whom I’ve learnt, and still there’s much to do and magic to discover.

This week I’ll leave you with the link of our London Book Fair catalogue, with all the novelties that we believe can travel more easily to other countries. As always, our selling team is in London with tons of excitement and illusion to get as many translations as possible, so I send you lots of positive energy to live another fair with a smile so we can achieve those dreams. And let’s not forget our motto: “There’s a book for every publisher, and a publisher for every book”. Our mission is to find them and connect them. The magic comes with us, and it’s in our pockets.

Have a good fair everyone!

The weekend before departing to Frankfurt is always crazy, hours are missing all around, and I tend to go to the agency when there is none. When I open the door, with everything dark, and in silence, I stop at the same door and listen to nothingness. I almost cannot believe that I have built this small factory of dreams, with the help of a great team. Because one is none on its own, if not with the support of important people and, in this particular case, I am so lucky that the important ones are my family, those who never fail. My mother has been, from the very beginning, pioneer with me in this project, which we saw start and we are now seeing grow; and my brother, always by my side, with his unconditional support during the good and the bad times. And, at last, my father, who doesn’t even need a presentation because he already has the publishing world in his pocket; and my sister, the last one to get in the ship, but the one who has helped me give our work the right direction; because, sometimes, it is easy to get lost, or to be in the danger of sinking. Without them, this wouldn’t have been possible, and that is the reason why I am so thankful of having managed to get this far together.

In the solitude of the agency, I get a feeling of pride and vertigo at the same time. During fifteen years, we have seen everything; and, truly, the publishing world is as beautiful as it is complicated. Nothing is easy, and having to be always mediating, I would say, is fantastic because it always keeps you in tension, there is no single boring minute. But it is at the same time exhausting, and you need to be able to have your space to focus and not lose hope. For this job, it is essential to like books, to love them, to feel a magic relationship with them, and to work for vocation. Therefore, it is attitude what matters the most. The rest can be learnt as long as there is willingness, and willingness comes from personal attitude. When you see an important title you feel butterflies vibrating in your stomach, which means you have the attitude of getting excited and wanting to sell that book above all. Luckily, every day, I am still capable of feeling this magical tickling that keeps my hope active and, if I don’t feel it one day, I worry, because that is the key to be able to defend your clients with energy and strength, and always, always, with a big smile; which, as you may know, is the brand of the house.

For this reason, you can find attached a link to our catalogue, full of stories that will make all readers fall in love and awake different emotions that I am certain will bring you something good. Because reading is life, and gives to each of us what we need at each time. Happy fair! To those of you who are going, it will be a pleasure to see you in tables 5i and 6i, and to those who are not coming, we will tell you all the news when we are back, without leaving anything behind.