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 protagonists together to solve a mystery. The books that will serve as the basis for future films and/or TV programs are: The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz, a finalist for the Edgar Awards; The Ballad of Gato Guerrero; The Last Client of Luis Montez; Blues for the Buffalo; Brown-on-Brown; Desperado; The Skull of Pancho Villa and Other Stories; My Bad; The Golden Havana Night and Angels in the Wind.
Manuel Ramos is often called the “Godfather of Chicano Noir,” and his work has been widely praised:
- Publishers Weekly called his Luis Montez Mystery series “a powerful, distinctive series.”
- Ilan Stavans, a critic and professor of Spanish at Amherst College, said, “One thing is almost as certain as death and corruption: Manuel Ramos’ Chicano angst. You’ll find plenty of all three in his jazzy, fast-paced and delirious whodunits, which stand as an unparalleled achievement in American crime literature.”
- The Los Angeles Times said, “Ramos puts Latinos back in the picture. He is known as a crime writer, but that doesn’t quite capture what he does. His books are love stories, political dramas, mordant cautionary tales.”
His books have received the Colorado Book Award and the Chicano/Latino Literary Award from the University of California, Irvine, and have been finalists for two of the most important awards for books of mystery and suspense, the Edgar Awards and the Shamus Award. Inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame in 2021, he lives and works in Denver, Colorado.
ARTE PÚBLICO PRESS is the nation’s largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by US Latino 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 program provide the most widely recognized and extensive showcase for Latino literary arts and creativity. For more information, please visit www.artepublicopress.com.
