Trotalibros Celebrates 5th Anniversary with 51 Titles, 'Goodbye, Mr Chips' Leads Sales

**Trotalibros marks fifth anniversary with 51 titles, led by enduring sales of 'Goodbye, Mr Chips'**

Andorran publisher Trotalibros is celebrating its fifth anniversary, having released 51 volumes since launching with Nikos Kavadias's *La guardia*, the sole novel by the Greek poet. Founder Jan Arimany described the debut title as an unlikely success: a stark portrayal of misogynistic sailors' conversations on a ship, revealing hidden vulnerabilities amid themes of life, women, rootlessness and solitude. Despite expectations of failure, it has become a cult favourite, with a limited 1,500-copy special edition for the anniversary selling out rapidly.

*Adiós, señor Chips* by James Hilton remains the label's bestseller, with over 7,000 copies sold and a fifth edition released last year. Close behind are Elizabeth von Arnim's *Vera*, which examines psychological abuse, and *Expiación*, exploring early 20th-century women's lives in England. Arimany admitted struggling to predict commercial outcomes, noting surprises like the modest reception for Janet Frame's *Cuando canta el búho*—a family trauma narrative he expected to be a standout—despite strong sales for her earlier *Cares enmig de l’aigua*. Other unanticipated hits include works by Kostas Taktsís, Rose Macaulay and Dodie Smith, which underperformed against hopes.

Operating solo, Arimany focuses on overlooked classics from around the world, prioritising literary merit over nationality. The catalogue lacks Andorran authors for now, as the emphasis remains on long-forgotten gems, typically by deceased writers. He reads local literature, recently enjoying Jorge Cebrián's *L’estafador que va ser rei* and Teresa Colom's *Tot va passar alhora*, but sees no immediate plans for Andorran titles or living authors. Specialist Andorran publishers already fill that niche effectively, he said.

Titles appear in Catalan, Spanish or both based on market dynamics and recovery potential. Spanish editions sustain viability, allowing Catalan ones to pursue passion projects, such as rare pre-Civil War translations like Guy de Maupassant's *Bel Ami* or James Baldwin's previously unavailable works in Catalan.

Challenging projects included Halldór Laxness's 700-page *Gente independiente*, translated directly from Icelandic, and Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Scottish trilogy, with its dialect-heavy oral style. Arimany eyed non-fiction expansion this year, favouring biographies—like Stefan Zweig's *El món d’ahir*—explorers' lives, social essays and titles such as Henry David Thoreau's *Walden*. Two autobiographies already feature: Konstantin Paustovsky's *Historia de una vida* (with more volumes possible) and von Arnim's *Todos los perros de mi vida*.

Missed opportunities include Jerzy Kosinski's *L’ocell pintat* and Joan Sales's *Incerta glòria*. Arimany praised imprints like NYRB Classics, Persephone Books and Acantilado for their personality, exquisite selections and excellence in translation and editing. He tracks his reading in a spreadsheet—75 books last year—and expressed dismay at recent literary prizes, criticising their transparency while acknowledging exceptions like Documenta and Llibres Anagrama. A recent Planeta win for Juan de Val's *Vera* inadvertently boosted von Arnim's original.