HarperCollins Publishers & Grupo Planeta announce co-publishing agreement.

HarperCollins Publishers and Grupo Planeta announced a co-publishing agreement to develop a line of Spanish-language titles that will be published in the United States by the Rayo imprint of HarperCollins. The new venture will launch in the fall of 2006 with two previously published novels by international bestselling Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

“Grupo Planeta is a premier Spanish-language publisher. Our award-winning Rayo imprint is the perfect home for Planeta’s acclaimed authors in the United States,” said Jane Friedman, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide.

The first titles to be published under the partnership will be El Príncipe de la Niebla and El Palacio de la Medianoche by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The two novels, which were originally published in the 1990s, are scheduled for release on November 21, 2006, marking the first time these books will be widely available in Spanish in the United States. Carlos Ruiz Zafón is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Shadow of the Wind.

“This co-publishing agreement with HarperCollins is a major opportunity for Spanish-language authors throughout the world. Our recognition of our partner lay not only in the continued growth and creativity they have long demonstrated, but also within the professional and personal values of their entire team, wonderfully lead by Jane Friedman” said Jesús Badenes, CEO of Grupo Planeta. “Our partnership with Rayo is deemed to mark a new age in the evolution of the US Spanish-language market.”

In the future, HarperCollins will publish, in English, a select number of Planeta titles for distribution throughout its English-language territories. Planeta will also have the option to publish, in Spanish, a select number of HarperCollins titles throughout its own Spanish-language territories.