HOUSTON, TX—Arte Público Press will launch its new book award, the Cristelia Pérez Award for Latino Young Adult Literature, in 2025. The goal of this recognition is to stimulate the work begun by the press’ imprint, Piñata Books, which is dedicated to the publication of children’s and young adult literature that authentically portrays themes, characters and customs unique to US Hispanic culture. According to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, just 379 of the 3,203 children’s books it received that were published in the United States in 2023 were written by Latinos; only 291 were about Latinos. Diversity statistics for 2024 are not yet available. In addition to the publication of the book and royalties from sales, the winning author of the Cristelia Pérez Award will receive a $5,000 prize. Submissions are accepted year-round. The winner will be announced shortly before the publication of the book. This new prize is named …
Chicano Author’s Literary Work Optioned for TV/Film
HOUSTON, TX—Warner Bros. Television, a division of WB Studio Enterprises, Inc., has optioned rights to the work of Manuel Ramos to produce a TV series or theatrical film(s). “For almost forty years, Chicanos have been the focus of my novels and short stories,” Ramos said. “I look forward to giving my characters a bigger stage and introducing Luis Montez and Gus Corral to new audiences through my partnership with Warner Bros. and Arte Público.” Ten of his books—nine novels and one collection of stories—are included in the agreement. Five of the novels make up the Luis Montez Mystery series that features a Chicano attorney and civil rights activist in Denver, Colorado—much like the author himself—who finds himself involved in cases that impact his Mexican American community, including gentrification, discrimination and police violence. Four feature Gus Corral, a native of Denver’s Northside neighborhood, and one book, My Bad, brings the two …
UH Professor and Publisher Receives National Humanities Medal
HOUSTON, TX—Dr. Nicolás Kanellos, the Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Literature at the University of Houston and the founder/director of Arte Público Press and the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage, has been recognized with the National Humanities Medal for his work to make available the writings of contemporary and historical Latinos. The medal was presented by President Joseph R. Biden on Monday, October 21, 2024. “The medal has my name on it—and I am so proud of that—but in reality it honors all the hardworking and mission-driven people who for some forty years have searched for and preserved Latino cultural history and made it accessible to schools, universities, libraries and the public at large,” Dr. Kanellos said. “Here at UH, the entire Arte Público Press and Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage team of professionals and students is assiduously working to create new humanistic knowledge through cutting-edge technology, traditional scholarship and outreach to the …
Call for Submissions: Children’s Book Awards Support Latino Authors
HOUSTON, TX—Generations of Hispanic children in US schools had to do without books reflecting their culture and heritage. In 2023, according to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, only 398 of the 3,491 children’s books published in the United States were written by Latinos (11.4%); only 300 were about Latinos (8.6%). To fill that gap, Arte Público Press is accepting children’s book manuscripts to be considered for two awards: the Salinas de Alba Award for Latino Children’s Literature and the Reyes-Olivas Award for Best First Book of Latino Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Both seek to stimulate the work begun by Arte Público Press and its imprint, Piñata Books, which is dedicated to the publication of children’s and young adult literature that realistically portrays themes, characters and customs unique to US Hispanic culture. In addition to the publication of the book and royalties from sales, the winning authors will receive a …
Trilingual Picture Book Celebrating Mother Earth Honored as a 2024 Américas Award Commended Title
HOUSTON, TX—The Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) has named the fourth book in Jorge Argueta’s acclaimed Madre Tierra / Mother Earth series, Tierra, Tierrita / Earth, Little Earth, a 2024 Américas Award Commended Title. CLASP founded the Américas Award in 1993 to encourage and applaud authors, illustrators and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean or Latinx cultures in the United States. Up to two annual book awards are offered along with a list of commended titles, all of which are recognized for their distinctive literary quality, cultural contextualization, potential for classroom use and exceptional integration of text, illustration and design. More than 200 books were submitted, and Tierra, Tierrita / Earth, Little Earth was noted as “remarkable” for all of these attributes. Beautifully illustrated by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara, this poetic children’s picture book depicts the interdependence of life in …
Fitting In Is Hard to Do: Children’s Picture Book Wins Prize
HOUSTON, TX—The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey has named Do I Belong Here? / ¿Es este mi lugar? (Piñata Books, 2023) the co-winner of the 2024 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People. Awarded to the most outstanding book for young people published in the previous year, the book tied for the prize in the Pre-K-Grade 3 category with Ted Kooser: More than a Local Wonder by Carla Ketner. It comes with a cash award. Immigrant, educator and acclaimed Salvadoran-American author René Colato Laínez artfully explores the experiences of immigrant children in his award-winning book. An immigrant boy stands “in the middle of a whirlwind of children,” and wonders where he is supposed to go. Finally, a woman speaks to him in a language he doesn’t understand and takes him to his classroom. A boy named Carlos helps orient him, but later when he reads …
Children’s Book Celebrating Mexican Folk Art Wins Prize
HOUSTON, TX—A bilingual picture book loosely based on the life of artist Pedro Linares, Pedro and the Monster Eaters / Pedro y los devoradores de monstruos by Xequina María Berbér (ISBN 978-1-55885-991-3, hardcover, $18.95), is the winner of the 2024 Salinas de Alba Award for Latino Children’s Literature. Forthcoming May 31, 2024, this strikingly illustrated story shares with young readers the fascinating origin of one of Mexico’s most well-known folk arts: the alebrije. According to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, just 351 of the 3,173 children’s books it received that were published in the United States in 2022 were written by Latinos; only 231 were about Latinos. Diversity statistics for 2023 are not yet available. The Salinas de Alba Award seeks to stimulate the work begun by Arte Público Press and its imprint, Piñata Books, which is dedicated to the publication of children’s and young adult literature that authentically and …
Chicana Author to Share Testimony During Book Reading
HOUSTON, TX—Acclaimed LGBTQ+ author Emma Pérez will read from her new book, Testimony of a Shifter, at Brazos Bookstore (2421 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005) at 6:30 pm Friday, April 26, 2024. This fascinating speculative narrative delving into gender transmutation and discrimination has been lauded by Booklist as the “queer, feminist dystopian novel readers [fans of Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood] have been searching for.” Imprisoned by the totalitarian government, Dr. Benito Espinoza practices for his weekly interrogations by recounting his story to his thirteen-year-old daughter. He tells her about turning his back on his ability to shift his gender from male to female—to Alejandra—to become a scholar in the Grand Library. Most academics are Residents who inherited their seats and believe Descendants like Ben don’t have the intellectual ability to be a person of letters. Ben conforms to the laws against transmuting, so he manages to secure …
Bank Street College of Education Honors Three Piñata Books as Best of 2024 in Spanish
HOUSTON, TX—The Bank Street College of Education Children’s Book Committee named three new Piñata Books to its Best Children’s Books of the Year in Spanish list for 2024: Mariano’s First Glove / El primer guante de Mariano by Robert Casilla, Do I Belong Here? / ¿Es este mi lugar? by René Colato Laínez and Tierra, Tierrita / Earth, Little Earth by Jorge Argueta. Additionally, Colato Laínez’s and Argueta’s books were both starred as exceptional for cultural authenticity, engaging style and appealing illustrations, among other characteristics. In Mariano’s First Glove / El primer guante de Mariano, Robert Casilla shares the life story of New York Yankees relief pitcher and closer Mariano Rivera, from his childhood in a small fishing village in Panama to the Baseball Hall of Fame. A School Library Journal review said, “The realistic illustrations depict not only his life but the many hours he spent practicing; the bilingual …
Arte Público Executive Editor Promoted to Deputy Director
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 …
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