Dr. Nicolás Kanellos

Founder/Director, Arte Público Press and the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Project

Marina Tristán

Assistant Director & Marketing Supervisor

Arte Público Press Receives Prestigious National Literary Award

Houston, TX January 2019— The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) has announced that Arte Público Press, the nation’s largest publisher of U.S.-based Hispanic authors, has received the prestigious Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award. Named after the first president of the NBCC, the award is given annually to a person or institution with an extensive history of significant contributions to book culture. “The award comes as a total surprise because it typically goes to authors,” said Dr. Nicolás Kanellos, founder and director of Arte Público Press. “This recognition will help us amplify voices in Latino literature throughout the United States.” The National Book Critics Circle Awards, considered among the most respected literary awards in America, are bestowed by a jury of working critics and book-review editors. Past recipients include Margaret Atwood and Pulitzer Prize-winner Toni Morrison. “The University of Houston has given Arte Público Press an intellectual space in which to …

Author on the Airwaves: Alex Temblador

Arte Público Press Author Alex Temblador featured on Houston Public Media Houston Public Media radio host Eric Ladau interviewed Temblador for its website’s “Arte Público Press Authors” feature, and along with the transcript, their conversation is available to listeners on the station’s interactive site through on-demand audio streaming here. Click here to see all Arte Público authors featured on Houston Public Media. About the Author: ALEX TEMBLADOR, a freelance travel writer, is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe and received an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. Born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, she lives and works in Dallas. Secrets of the Casa Rosada is her debut novel. About her new book, Secrets of the Casa Rosada Sixteen-year-old Martha and her mother move constantly, never staying anywhere for long. So she knows better than to ask if they’ve been evicted again when her mom …

Author on the Airwaves: Xavier Garza

Arte Público Press Author Xavier Garza featured on Houston Public Media Houston Public Media radio host Eric Ladau interviewed Garza for its website’s “Arte Público Press Authors” feature, and along with the transcript, their conversation is available to listeners on the station’s interactive site through on-demand audio streaming here. Click here to see all Arte Público authors featured on Houston Public Media. About the Author: XAVIER GARZA is the author of numerous books for kids, including Zulema and the Witch Owl / Zulema y la Bruja Lechuza (Piñata Books, 2009), Juan and the Chupacabras / Juan y el Chupacabras (Piñata Books, 2006) and Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask (Cinco Puntos Press, 2005). He lives with his family in San Antonio, Texas. About his new book for children, Just One Itsy Bitsy Little Bite / Sólo una mordidita chiquitita “I love pan de muerto,” Joaquín says as he and his mother …

Festive Children’s Books Ignite the Holiday Spirit!

Are you looking for holiday gifts that are both educational and fun? Look no more! Below, we’ve assembled a brief collection of holiday-themed stories that will teach the little ones in your life about Christmas and El Día de los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day. These books are filled with vibrant illustrations that will engage children, while leading them to ask more questions. The Case of the Three Kings: The Flaca Files / El caso de los Reyes Magos: Los expendientes de Flaca by Alidis Vicente Flaca, or Detective Flaca as she prefers to be called, is pleased with her Christmas gifts. Finally, she has the tools needed to do her job: a fingerprint-taking kit, a police-quality mini flashlight, and most exciting of all, police tape to block off crime scenes! However, she is not at all pleased with the airline tickets to Puerto Rico she and her sister La …

Author on the Airwaves: Jasminne Méndez

Arte Público Press Author Jasminne Méndez featured on Houston Public Media Houston Public Media radio host Eric Ladau interviewed Méndez for its website’s “Arte Público Press Authors” feature, and along with the transcript, their conversation is available to listeners on the station’s interactive site through on-demand audio streaming here. Click here to see all Arte Público authors featured on Houston Public Media. About the Author: JASMINNE MÉNDEZ is a poet, educator, performer, and award-winning author. She is a Macondo and Canto Mundo Fellow, as well as a Voices of Our Nations Arts (VONA) alumna. Her collection of essays and poetry, Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays and Poetry, was published by Arte Público Press on April 30, 2018. Her first multi-genre memoir, Island of Dreams, was awarded Best Young Adult Latino-focused Book by the International Latino Book Awards in 2015. She received her B.A. in English Literature and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the …