Editorial Juventud is an independent publishing house founded by José Zendrera in 1923 in Barcelona. From its beginnings, Editorial Juventud stood out for the originality of its collections, with which it won over a large part of the general public. It consecrated in Spanish the eminent masters of the biographical genre (Stefan Zweig, Emil Ludwig, Axel Munthe...) and launched popular editions that were the precursors of paperbacks. It was also one of the first publishers to specialize in nautical subjects: it published accounts of the exploits of the great pioneering navigators (Joshua Slocum, Bernard Moitessier, Sir Francis Chichester, Vito Dumas...), which over time have become reference books, and it continues to publish the exploits of contemporary navigators (Julio Villar, Ellen MacArthur, Juan Antonio Martín Cuadrado...)...) Its catalog for adults has been enriched with heterogeneous collections aimed at all audiences (History, Travel, Dictionaries, Biographies, Guides for parents, Crafts and Design Baking...). Conchita Zendrera Tomás, José Zendrera Fecha's daughter, directed the children's department for forty years. With her enormous editorial vision, she contracted Enid Blyton's books, bet on illustrated albums when they were an unknown genre in Spain, and discovered, translated and published the Tintin albums in Spanish. Hergé, who considered José Zendrera "the adoptive father of Tintin in Spain", dedicated this original drawing to him in 1966. The first children's book from Editorial Juventud appeared in 1925 and was Peter Pan and Wendy by J. M. Barrie. Barrie, followed by such far-reaching works as Heidi by Joanna Spyri, Emilio and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Mary Poppins by Pamela L. Travers, Oscar, Secret Agent by Carmen Kurtz, Ronja, the highwayman's daughter, by Astrid Lindgren, the famous author of Pippi Longstocking... (The publishing house had the good sense to give special importance to illustrations and chose the most famous illustrators: Arthur Rackham, Mabel Lucie Attwell, Joan Junçeda, Josep Llaverias, Lola Anglada... and with the publication of The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé, The Club of Five and The Club of Seven by Enid Blyton, it acquired great renown.
Editorial Juventud was one of the pioneering publishers of illustrated albums for children and has established itself today as one of the most prestigious publishers in this sector, featuring the most significant authors and illustrators from all over the world (Helen Cooper, David Wiesner, Roberto Gonsalves, Ángel Domínguez, Jerôme Ruillier, Albert Asensio, Peter Schössow...)) Some of his children's books, such as Cuentos por teléfono by Gianni Rodari, and albums, such as Stelaluna, Sopa de Calabaza, El oso que amaba los libros and El cazo de Lorenzo, among many others, have become small bestsellers in the children's world.
Today, Editorial Juventud is present in all Spanish-speaking countries, and collaborates with all public and private institutions dedicated to the promotion of reading. Our dream is to continue providing quality books for many years to come, maintaining our editorial line and continuing to transmit our passion to thousands of readers.
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