Publishing houses are taking advantage of their birthdays for profit. This year, it was the turn of Tusquets y Anagrama (50), Planeta (70), and Acantilado y Minúscula (20).

Spanish culture doesn't remember, but it goes crazy over commemorating, wrote Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio almost three decades ago. His improvised aphorism fits like a glove this 2019, a year in which many publishing houses are celebrating major milestones. Tusquets y Anagrama turns 50, Planeta turns 70, Acantilado y Minúscula is 20. So are certain titles; El tiempo entre costuras, by María Dueñas, is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and Albert Camus' The First Man, is 25, to name just a couple of examples.

And what happens when a publishing house or a book hits a certain age? Alongside the celebrations, a new investment is made on the title in question, when it's a book, or the relaunch of part of its catalogue, which can then bring in more profit, when it's a publisher. These same machinations are repeated over and over and it leads one to think of the difference between this sector and say, classical dance; in the book world getting older is profitable.

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