Simon & Schuster Launches Hispanic-Targeted Titles.

Judith M. Curr, Executive Vice President, Publisher, Atria Books, announced that Atria would launch a new Hispanic and Latino publishing program. At the same time, Ms. Curr announced the appointment of Johanna V. Castillo to the position of Senior Editor, specializing in Hispanic and Latino books. Ms. Castillo will join Atria on Tuesday, February 1st and will report directly to Judith Curr. Ms. Castillo’s principle responsibility will be to acquire titles for the Hispanic-Latino and Spanish language market. The list will launch in Spring 2006 and will include fiction, non-fiction and lifestyle titles, some of which will simultaneously be published in English and Spanish.

Ms. Castillo, who is a leading Latina literary agent in the United States, will be leaving Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, where she built a list of 30 prominent Latino writers in less than two years. She sold a six-figure deal for a non-fiction book written by a Latino, the first hip-hop novel by a Latina and represented the most famous romance writer in Latin America. Ms. Castillo has been featured in Boston Globe, Latina, Newspaper La Prensa to name a few.

Judith Curr says “I’m thrilled that Johanna Castillo will join us. The Hispanic-Latino community is an increasingly powerful part of America’s cultural and economic life, and Hispanic Latino publishing is a rapidly growing segment of our industry. Johanna is the perfect candidate to spearhead our efforts in this area: I know that Johanna will create an extraordinary list that will surprise and delight Hispanic and Latino audiences, and which Atria will publish with the same verve we apply to our current list.”

Ms. Castillo notes, “I am very excited to join the wonderful team at Atria Books and I am looking forward to contributing to their effort to bring great books to the Hispanic-Latino readers in the U.S.”