Anagrama definitively renounces publishing the book in which Bretón confesses to the murder of his children

BarcelonaAnagrama publishing house issued a statement this Wednesday announcing that it is terminating the publishing contract for the publication and distribution of the book. Hate, where the writer Luisgé Martín collects the letters he exchanged with José Bretón in which he confesses to the murder of his two children. These facts he had not acknowledged until now and for which he is serving a prison sentence. Thus, the publisher definitively renounces it and will not publish the book, which has caused a strong controversy after the case reached the courts.

Although the courts have not yet made any final decision on the matter, the publisher has announced the termination of the contractual relationship in a statement explaining that "all rights to the work, previously assigned to the publisher, return to the property of the author." In the statement, Anagrama also maintains that, since its founding, the publisher "has committed to literature that invites reflection and debate on both ethical and social levels."

In this sense, in the same note the publisher explains that it believes that "in a democratic society there must be a balance between creative freedom as a fundamental right and other moral principles" and that, precisely for this reason, "it considers that works inspired by real events require a double dose of respect and sensitivity."

A publication in the hands of the courts

Before the controversy broke out, Anagrama had planned to launch Hate On March 26th, however, a few days earlier, it announced that it was suspending publication, as the children's mother and Bretón's ex-partner, Ruth Ortiz, sent the publisher a burofax announcing that she had requested an injunction from the Prosecutor's Office to halt distribution of the book. In fact, hours later, the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office also sent a letter to the publisher warning that it was considering taking legal action for a possible violation of the children's right to honor, privacy, and image.

With the book now on hold by Anagrama, The Prosecutor's Office itself asked a Barcelona court to issue a precautionary measure preventing publication the book until a court proceeding had clarified whether to distribute Hate could violate children's rights. that justice rejected, would have prevented the publisher from distributing the book beyond the decision it had already made, which Anagrama has always defended as voluntary.

The first-instance court that received the Prosecutor's request considered that without knowing the full content of the book, it could not decide whether to order a halt to publication without waiting for the trial. An appeal from the Prosecutor's Office brought the request to the Barcelona Court, and meanwhile Anagrama reiterated that it was keeping the publication indefinitely halted. The Barcelona Court upheld the first court's decision, and ruled out halting distribution ofHate without studying the full text and going all the way to the end of a legal proceeding that could take months to resolve.

The last legal move before Anagrama announced it was breaking the contract to publish Hate Just before Sant Jordi, the Prosecutor's Office had been in charge. Having been denied the precautionary measures it requested, the Public Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit to move the case forward. Among other things, it asked the judge to require the publisher to hand over a copy of the book so it could be analyzed.