HOUSTON, TX—With an eye to the future, Arte Público Press has promoted Executive Editor Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura to deputy director in what Director Nicolás Kanellos called “a long-overdue recognition of her dedication and commitment to the work of Hispanic writers.” 
Baeza Ventura began working for the press as a research assistant while studying for her doctorate in Spanish at the University of Houston, which she completed in 2001. Now an associate professor of US Latino literature, she became the full-time managing editor in 1999 and executive editor in 2000.
“This is such an honor,” Baeza Ventura said of her promotion. “Having worked closely with Dr. Kanellos for many years, I look forward to continuing Arte Público’s mission to promote Latino literature and expand community outreach through our various publications and programming.”
In addition to overseeing the editing of Arte Público’s publications, Baeza Ventura has translated over 50 picture books and 12 volumes for young adults, including Jorge Argueta’s Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water, a poetic ode to the importance of water that was named a Junior Library Guild Selection and won the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española’s inaugural Campoy-Ada Award in Children’s Poetry. She is the co-editor of The Penguin Book of Latina Writings (Penguin Random House, 2024) with Dr. Carolina Villarroel and A History of Latino-Focused Journals and Collaborative Research (University of Texas Press, 2017) with Elizabeth Martínez, among other works.
Actively involved in the study of Latino literature of the United States, she is a board member of numerous organizations and publications, including , the Association for Documentary Editing and the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Project. She is co-director, along with Dr. Carolina Villarroel, of the US Latino Digital Humanities Project, which serves as a venue for scholarship focused on the US Latino written legacy that has been lost, absent, repressed or underrepresented. The USLDH Center provides a physical space for the development, support and training in digital humanities projects using a vast collection of newspapers, photographs and other materials, while creating opportunities and facilities for digital publication of Latino-based projects and scholarship.
Arte Público Press is the nation’s largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by US Hispanic authors. Its imprint for children and young adults, Piñata Books, is dedicated to the authentic portrayal of the themes, languages, characters and customs of Hispanic culture in the United States. Books published under the imprint serve as a bridge connecting home and school to support family literacy and elementary education. Based at the University of Houston, Arte Público Press, Piñata Books and the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage project provide the most widely recognized and extensive showcase for Hispanic literary arts and creativity. For more information, please visit www.artepublicopress.com.