It seems like the definition of an untapped market: Spanish speakers make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, but only 4 percent of books sold in the country are in Spanish.

It's a surprising shortage that has prompted vendors and customers alike to take new steps to prove that there is a viable market for Spanish-language books. This spring, the growing industry organized the nation's first major Spanish-language book fair, called LeaLA, or Feria del Libro en Espanol de Los Angeles.

Chilean author Isabel Allende, who currently lives in California, was one of the many authors who came to speak at the fair. Her most recent novel is Island Beneath the Sea.

No one expected 36,000 people to show up for the event at L.A.'s downtown convention center. But while the number was higher than anyone anticipated, it was still a tiny fraction of the millions of Latinos living in L.A.

Read more here: NPR - WLRN South Florida