SOME PEOPLE drink Red Bull or order a double espresso to give them an energy kick; others just talk to Barnes & Noble’s Patricia Arancibia. T e enthusiasm of the editorial director, international digital content at Nook, is infectious and can have the same eff ect. Arancibia’s face is a familiar one at
book fairs and conferences, and she is famously fun (and persuasive) to be around. Earlier this year, the Buenos Aires Book Fair asked its network to vote for “the 50 publishing professionals whose actions and opinions have had the strongest impact on their colleagues over the last years”. Candidates could come from any country but had to be “active in the Spanish-language industry”. T e Professional Section of the Fundacion El Libro, which runs the fair, made the selection and Arancibia was one of fi ve picked from the US. It’s not hard to see why. She has what you might call a “GlowLight” personality. Nook owners will know what that means. She fi zzes with energy and you get the feeling she means what she says. Ask her to sell you the Nook brand
and it’s hard to switch her off : “Nook is the best device for any title in any language and format because it was conceived by and for book lovers. I love using my Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, especially in bed and on airplanes. I love how easy it is to read whatever I want anywhere at any time. I am an avid reader, and with Nook I have all my reading materials with me in a light, sweet device that weighs almost nothing and allows me to use any letter size.” Currently, she is focused on EU
content and acquisition, “although we will gladly work with publishers from all over the world. In terms of languages, my team and I are in charge of any language that is not English, and there are a few of those in Continental Europe”. Needless to say, Arancibia is
18 THE BOOKSELLER DAILY AT FRANKFURT | 12 OCTOBER 2012
multilingual herself, fl uent in Spanish, English and Portuguese and able to read and understand Italian and French (“and I am working on my German”). Before Frankfurt, she was in Liber in Barcelona, as well as meeting publishers elsewhere in Europe. “I love this industry and the people who make it happen.” Born and raised mostly in Buenos
10 million Estimated Nook device sales since launch
46% Rise in digital revenue, first quarter 2012
$1.45bn Barnes & Noble’s overall first quarter revenue
Aires where she went to college, Arancibia has a Masters in Journalism and held several editorial roles with newspapers, magazines, online and TV news before attending graduate school in New York where she received a Masters in Publishing “and became fully immersed in the business of books, e-commerce and digital content”.
Arancibia
Roger Tagholm talks about international expansion and content acquisition with Patricia Arancibia, Nook’s editorial director for international digital content