Department|BOOKS IN SPANISH
Spanish editions of books written by
such esteemed authors as Marc Brown,
P.D. Eastman, Ian Falconer, Patricia
Polacco, Dr. Seuss, and others. Many of
these books were translated by Mlawer
for the U.S. Hispanic market.
After leaving Lectorum, Mlawer
launched Teresa Mlawer Publishing
Services to provide personal consulting
and guidance to companies wishing to
enter the Hispanic publishing market.
Due to her exten-
sive knowledge of
the children’s and
YA publishing
industry, she was
frequently tapped
to present at global
industry confer-
ences and events.
Yanitzia Canetti,
a Cuban-born
author, translator,
and editor in
Boston, offered this
remembrance of
Mlawer: “I met
Teresa in the early 1990s, at a CABE
[California Association for Bilingual
Education] conference in San Diego.
Before that first meeting, we had
spoken on the phone and worked
together on the translation of a book,
Amelia Bedelia, published by
HarperCollins. Immediately, a deep
empathy connected us beyond just the
fact that we were both Cuban, we
worked in the publishing industry, and
we were passionate about books. From
that day on, we collaborated together
on numerous projects and strengthened
a bond so deep that I began to feel like
she was my mother.”
José Ignacio Echeverria, president ofT
eresa Mlawer, one of the
most recognized and
respected people in the
Hispanic publishing
industry in the U.S., died
March 21 due to cancer. She was 75.
Mlawer was an entrepreneur, editor,
translator, writer, teacher, wife, mother,
grandmother, sister, friend, and a tireless
worker. During the years I worked with
her, I found that she was the person who
taught many of us about
the Spanish-language
book industry and was not
shy about calling us out
when missteps were taken.
Mlawer’s soft-spoken voice
and impeccable profes-
sionalism made you listen;
she never minced words
and always encouraged and
expected those around her
to do better.
Mlawer was born in
Havana and came to the
U.S. in 1962. As noted on
her website, she started in
a clerical position at Macmillan, where
she rose to become sales manager for
Latin America. From there she moved
to vice president at Regents Publishing
(a division of Simon & Schuster). In
1976 she was named president of
Lectorum Publications, the oldest and
largest distributor of Spanish-language
books in the U.S., which was acquired
by Scholastic in 1996 and then bought
by Alex Correa and his brother and
partner, Luis Fernando, in 2009.
While heading Lectorum, Mlawer
launched a successful publishing pro-
gram of Spanish and bilingual books for
children. As noted on her website, she
negotiated the rights and published the
Remembering
Ter e s a M l awer
The former president of Lectorum launched a successful
Spanish-language publishing program for children
Grupo Iberoamericano de Editores,
from Mexico City, shared this memory:
“My first meeting with Teresa was in
1986, and it was a rather rigid meeting.
Teresa was courteous but cold, which
was the opposite of what I expected
from a person of Cuban origin. Time
passed, and we became very good
friends. We had much in common: we
were both migrants, refugees, and had
an immense passion for children’s books.
I wish I could live through it again.
Goodbye, Teresa, I will miss you very
much.” ■WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 19Leylha Ahuile