From Digital Pages to Paper Books

From Digital Pages to Paper Books / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Regina
Coyula
Posted on September 3, 2014

Note from Translating Cuba: Regina Coyula turns to the crowdfunding site
INDIEGOGO to bring books by Cuban writers from a warehouse in Spain to
the Miami Book Fair. PLEASE HELP HER. No donation is too small! (And you
get a book or books! Or artwork by Rebeca Monzo! Or a handmade case for
your glasses!)

14ymedio, Havana, Reinaldo Escobar, 2 September 2014 — Regina Coyula
combines her work on the blog La Mala Letra (Bad Handwriting) with
collaboration on various digital media. She is not determined to bring a
mountain of books by Cuban authors from a warehouse in Spain to the Book
Fair in Miami. Among the maelstrom of tasks involved in coordinating
such an initiative from Cuba, she found a few minutes to chat with the
readers of 14ymedio.

Question: Your name is associated with blogs, daily vignettes, and
social criticism. We've learned that you're now involved in a publishing
project. Do you find it a very different scenario from independent Cuban
blogs?

Answer: I've found myself in this project, #Desevillamiami (From Seville
to Miami). This is me, I like books and editorial work, especially after
coming to know the Renacimiento publishing house. Most companies in the
book business turn unsold books into pulp, but Abelardo Linares, who
runs this publishing house, saves them and has two warehouses full of
them. In some cases he has ten or a hundred copies left, but he doesn't
destroy them. And from there the idea of this project arose, basically
to retrieve the books.

Q: To those who believe the virtual world is divorced from paper
literature, how do you explain that you are using these digital tools to
get physical books into the hands of readers?

A: I am a reader of digital books, but for me that way of reading
doesn't provide the pleasure of having a book in my hand, not even with
a tablet. I think many readers feel the same, so I'm taking advantage of
these digital tools to save physical books.

Q: And what books are these?

A: In particular, books by Cuban writers living wherever they live.
There are 43 authors, some of them with several titles, but it's fewer
than 100 titles altogether. There are living writers, deceased, in
exile, living on the island… there is everything.

Q: Why did you choose the crowdfunding option to raise the necessary
funds? And why Indiegogo?

A: Doing this project from Cuba has been a challenge for me. Indiegogo
is the first platform of this type that emerged on the web. It has the
advantage of working in the United States, Europe and the rest of Latin
America, and a lot of cultural and technology projects have been run
through it and collected a lot of money. It was recommended to me not to
use Kickstarter, despite it being the largest of them all, because
having "Cuba" in the project name could affect it because of the
restrictions imposed by the American embargo.

Q: What will be the journey of the books" At what stage is the process?

A: The books are packaged and awaiting a response from the shipper to
determine if they're sent to Valencia or Barcelona and from there they
will leave on a ship for Miami, where there are already people waiting
for them, for the Book Fair that is held in November every year in that
city.

Q. Why not send them to Cuba?

A. Because it would be impractical, first because of the restrictions
imposed by the embargo and also because of the new Cuban customs
measures which would classify them as commercial shipments, which are
not allowed in our country from independent shippers.

Q: There is little time left to collect the money necessary to pay for
the freight and other project needs. Do you think you will succeed?

A: I am short on time to raise the $7,000 I aspire to. I've only managed
to raise $500 so far, but I requested an "open fund" and this means that
I will get whatever is collected. In any event, we have the site. I have
faith that there are people who will be sympathetic to this project. I
don't doubt I will find them among the readers of 14ymedio.

Source: From Digital Pages to Paper Books / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar,
Regina Coyula | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/from-digital-pages-to-paper-books-14ymedio-reinaldo-escobar-regina-coyula/