The entry of Juan Goytisolo in the American publishing market

Abstract

By the late 1950s, the young writer Juan Goytisolo had become well known in Europe thanks to his publication in France by Gallimard. However, in the USA, he remained unknown until the Hispanist John Rust, on his own initiative, undertook a translation of Goytisolo's first novel. Alfred Knopf was the first publisher to show interest in the work of Goytisolo. After a long discussion about the high investment that publishing Goytisolo would involve, and the unknown degree of interest that he would draw from American readers, Knopf finally decided that The Young Assassins (Juegos de manos) was worth publishing. An intense marketing campaign followed the decision to publish, and, later, the publishing company began to prepare Goytisolo's other books, Fiestas and Island of Women (La isla). The current article describes the publication process that Goytisolo's works went through based on the unpublished internal documentation of the publisher, Knopf, and the correspondence between Alfred A. Knopf and Juan Goytisolo, which are available in the Harry Ramson Center of the University of Texas in Austin.