"It's very hard to give a generalization for the whole market," said David Ecklebarger, SEPA's executive director and president of Miami-based Editorial Unilit. "But I'd say it is holding its own. In its parts there are some very encouraging areas, and some that are really struggling. One word to describe the attitude of the buyer: 'cautious.' "

However, the overall mood at the conference was "very positive," Ecklebarger added. "There was a spirit of confident optimism. There were many new delegates, and their enthusiasm was contagious."

Marie Tamayo, a SEPA board member who represented Expolit—the largest trade show in the U.S. for Spanish-language Christian products—at the event, said that the "spirit of camaraderie" was evident among suppliers and distributors.

Andrés Schwartz, director of Tyndale Español, which co-sponsored the event with Editorial Mundo Hispano, noted that Spanish-language publishers are "doing well, but distributors need to get up to speed technologically, especially in regards to data systems. They need a better ability to manage inventory and provide sales data to publishers. And stores still need to get modernized."

During the summit, the SEPA board of directors decided to fund an expansion of the reading campaign "Si no leo me aburro" (If I don't read, I get bored), which encourages Hispanics to read more books.

SEPA's 19th annual Expolit convention is set for May 19-24 at the Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel and Convention Center in Miami.

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