Last month, Oprah Winfrey announced her book club’s next big read, Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera (El amor en los tiempos del cólera). Her selection conveniently coincides with the November release of the film version of this classic love story, originally published by Editorial Oveja Negra in 1985 and translated into English in 1988 by Knopf. The Colombian Nobel laureate already drew Oprah’s eye once before; she picked One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad) in 2004.

Soon after the news hit, Vintage, which publishes the paperback edition in both languages, announced that the Spanish-language edition will also carry Oprah’s Book Club seal on the cover, a first in the industry. I’m very pleased that the publisher of this latest pick is going to take full advantage and promote not just Oprah’s actual selection (the English-language translation) but the original as well. It’s no secret that Oprah sells books, and regardless of any criticism for previous selections and literary scandals such as the James Frey blowup, she has done wonders for the book industry. It will be interesting to see what the Oprah seal of approval will mean for the Spanish-language edition. That is, if it means anything. The book, after all, is already a best seller in English, and the Spanish-language version also dominates online best sellers lists.

Of course, García Márquez is García Márquez—everyone should read his works and many have. He’s been translated into numerous languages and read around the world. The privilege of having a book club (and being Oprah, I suppose) is the right to pick any classic work or author. But I think she’s missing out on even more fun by not digging into the many wonderful novels flowing out of Latin America these days.

Her pick is more proof of one of my problems with the book market today: we continue to rediscover the Spanish language’s literary jewels of decades past. Each rediscovery is a discovery overlooked.

Latin America’s literature is rich and constantly evolving. In a recent example, Bogotá39 showcased 39 of the best Latin American writers under 39 years old. Interestingly enough, many of those writers were unknown outside their native countries for a variety of reasons (distribution, marketing, etc.), but now they are being talked about throughout Latin America, and publishers here should be paying attention, as should Oprah.

To be fair, Oprah is limited by what’s published in English, so my plea is more accurately directed at U.S. publishers and editors. You need to look under the radar to find contemporary literature that portrays Latin America’s current literary landscape. Then you need to publish it well.

Indeed, there are publishers, editors, and agents who have had the foresight to translate works by less famous authors, but it doesn’t happen often and certainly not as soon after original publication as it should (and as it does in Latin America). They need to be aggressive, to stay abreast of what is going on beyond the U.S. market by working with literary scouts and agents, hiring Spanish-language readers and editors, and attending international book fairs.

That said, I’m eager to see what happens when the Oprah imprimatur makes its Spanish-language premiere, whether it’ll affect the U.S. Spanish-language book market and how Spanish-language media will handle the news, and, most importantly, whether it will inspire U.S. publishers/editors to (re)discover the next big Latin American novel. May Oprah’s love for García Márquez lead her, and those who wait for her thumbs up, back to the many writers who follow him.

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