HarperCollins is creating two new Spanish-language publishing divisions: HarperCollins Español and HarperCollins Iberica. With the move, HC will increase the number of Spanish-language titles it publishes, as HarperCollins Español will do roughly 50 titles a year in the Americas, and HarperCollins Iberica will release about 30 titles a year in Spain and Portugal.

The expansion will kick off with the publication of a Spanish-language edition of Harper Lee's second novel, Go Set a Watchman, which will be called in Spanish Ve y pon un centinela. HC acquired world Spanish rights to Watchman in all formats, as well as print and audio rights to To Kill a Mockingbird. The publisher will release the Spanish-language edition of Watchman in the U.S. on July 14, the publication date for the English-language edition of the book. The Spanish-language edition will be released in other markets later in July.

HarperCollins Español and HarperCollins Iberica will both publish titles by regional and global authors, with titles planned from, among others, Daniel Silva, Jorge Posada and Spanish authors like Ismael Cala and Mario Escobar Golderos.

Larry Downs will continue to oversee HarperCollins Español as senior v-p and publisher based in Nashville, while Luis Pugni will remain managing director of HarperCollins Iberica. HC CEO Brian Murray said the move came about because of the "tremendous opportunity in the Spanish-language market around the world." HarperCollins Iberica will use the infrastructure of Harlequin Iberica which has been publishing titles for the Spanish and Portuguese markets for about 30 years. The expansion of Harlequin Iberica is similar to what HC did in Germany when it used Harlequin's offices there to help start HarperCollins Germany last fall.