Taiwan has always been big on original picture books with simple but enchanting story lines. Jimmy Liao is a prominent author-illustrator who comes to mind in this segment within the Spanish-speaking world. His title Where Will I Be Tomorrow? was recently sold to Fondo de Cultura Economica. In fact, around 20 of his titles are available in Spanish editions, sparking interest not just in his works but also those of other Taiwanese illustrators and writers.

With the expansion of the children’s book market in Mexico, Taiwanese picture books focusing on universal childhood experiences—empathy, farewells, imagination, and separation—that also incorporate animals, nature, and playful narratives have resonated with Mexican children and parents. Wang Wei-Hsuan and Chiang Meng-Yun’s I Want a Pet Tiger and Hsu Jhih-Wei’s Who Will Read with Me? are among those recently sold to Fondo de Cultura Economica and Grupo SM, respectively. Bei Lynn’s Practicing Goodbye, which explores the emotional bond between humans and dogs, has been published by Castillo and has triggered the interest of one publisher in Spain.

Comics is another growing segment in the Spanish-speaking world. In 2023, translated comics represented nearly 87% of its market and were steadily increasing. Of this, 45.3% came from Asia, with Japanese manga occupying the biggest share. As such, Taiwanese comics with artwork influenced by Japanese manga and themes reflecting diverse cultural perspectives have tremendous potential in the Spanish-speaking market, as evidenced by Grupo Planeta’s rights purchases of Nownow’s Guardienne and Chang Sheng’s Yan.

This year, two Taiwanese illustrators— Hsueh Hui-Yin and Ding Pao-Yen—will be attending the Guadalajara Book Fair to showcase their works and meet readers. Hsueh, who enjoys using themes of culture, gastronomy, and nature in her creations and was selected for the 2021 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustration Exhibition, has collaborated with outstanding authors on picture books such as The Cats’ House (now available in more than five languages), The Giant’s Tears, The Boy Walking at Night, Mr. Alzheimer, Phonetic Practices, and Little Monster Digging Holes.

As for semi-amateur manga creator Ding, his interests in dreamscapes, online games, and science fiction have influenced unique works such as CONSOLE, 2073 (which was recently published in French) and the long-awaited English debut Not Ready for Real Life. He exhibited at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2023 and has been published in Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.

The Spanish-reading world is discovering Taiwanese culture not just through its classic literature and poetry but also from the island’s contemporary literary voices, particularly on universal themes such as urban memory, history, and identity. Lin Yi-Han’s Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise, for instance, was not only licensed to HarperVia (U.S.) but also to Itineraria Editorial in Spain. Other works recently sold include Chu Tien-Hsin’s The Old Capital and Jiao Tong’s Recetas Afrodisiacas to Serapis (Argentina), Lee Chia-Ying’s A Perfect Day to Put Your Head in the Oven to Lumen/Penguin Random House (Spain), and Kuang Feng’s The Suncake Pastry Shop to Urano (Spain).

This year—Taiwan’s 13th outing at the Guadalajara Book Fair—will see the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) highlighting nearly 100 original titles curated from 25 publishing houses. These include Kevin Chen’s novel Ghost Town, which has been translated into at least a dozen languages, with the English edition longlisted for the 2023 PEN Translation Prize; Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s photo essay A City of Sadness: 33th Anniversary Edition that provides rare stills, behind-the-scenes photos, and archival materials of the film of the same name; picture books from Chen Chih-Yuan (The Featherless Chickens Met the Hungry Wolf ) and Xianya Huang (The Museum of Tears); and comics from Wu Shih-Hung (Oken) and Chang Sheng (Yan).