Abril Publishing House Turns 30

Abril, a Cuban publishing house specializing in children and youth literature, is turning 30 in 2010

Abril (April), the publishing house of the Young Communist League of Cuba (UJC), is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Abril was founded in 1980 with the objective of uniting under a single label the publication of a series of books and magazines targeting children and adolescents.

“Abril is one of those peculiar publishing houses that have managed to survive with few resources,” said comic book artist Jose Oliver Medina the author of the Zunzún (The Hummingbird) comic, published by Abril.

Editor in Chief Niurka Dumenigo told Juventud Rebelde that it is a privilege to be entrusted with the mission of educating the millions of Cuban children, adolescents and young people who read Abril magazines and books, for they are, she said, not only the largest section of Cuban readership, but also the most revolutionary and polemic.

Currently, Abril publishes six magazines, several books and tabloids each year, while running seven websites.

Dumenigo noted that there is still much to be done. “Sometimes we publish books that fail to attract the attention of our public, and in the case of the magazines we need to be more sensitive to the interest of the students.”

Of the myriad of activities scheduled to celebrate this anniversary, is a kiosk dedicated to the Abril Publishing House that will be set up at the 19th Havana International Book Fair beginning this month, with more than 70 books published by Abril –including 69 first editions.

Some of the titles that Abril will be launching at the fair —in which Russia will be the country guest of honor— are Endless Russia, by Irene Hernandez, In Defense of Books and Russians in Cuba, by Alexander Moiseev, and Agustin de Betancourt: Cuban Secrets of a Russian-Latin American Engineer, by Olga Egorova.

Other remarkable titles are Así es Fidel, by Luis Baez and the songbook Con la mano extendida, by late Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque. In addition to lyrics, the book also includes the scores of songs written and composed by Juan Almeida Bosque.

On sale at the fair there will also be comics, posters and postcards of famous characters from Abril magazines, which are very popular among Cuban children.

In April, the publishing house will be organizing gatherings with the readers, launching magazines and releasing a book of speeches given by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro to members of the UJC.

During the summer, Abril will take part in the ninth congress of the UJC where they will present a documentary on the history of the publishing house.