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Latino/a writers and artists: where are they?
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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 04:48:01 -0600
On 2/26 HarperCollins editor Rosemary Brosnan wrote:
"Randall Wright asks about Latino/Latina children's authors: "Are the books simply not being written or is there a reluctance on the part of publishers to acquire these books?" I have been asking this question for years, and I think that one of the biggest problems is that Latino and Latina authors don't know which editors would be interested in their stories--in other words, there is difficulty connecting authors with the right editors..."
I've noticed that an unusually large number of authors prominent for literary works published for adult readers have also written books for children or young adults. I'm thinking of writers such as Rudolfo A. Anaya, Pat Mora, Julia Alvarez, Francisco X. Alarcon, Nicholasa Mohr, Victor Martinez, Juan Felipe Herrera, Sandra Cisneros, Gary Soto, Gloria Anzaldua - and there are many others. I'm thinking of artists such as Simon Silva, Raul Colon, George Ancona, David Diaz, and Carmen Lomas Garzas. This is not a complete list, and it certainly doesn't include writers known primarily - to me, at least - as writers for young readers, e.g., Lulu Delacre, Pam Munoz Ryan and Alma Flor Ada.
I've always wondered if each writer primarily known for her/his adult works was initially contacted by an editor of books for young people, or if he/she had a particularly vigorous agent who saw that there was room - oh, my, how much room - for books by Latino/a writers. If not, what brought each to children's/Y.A. books in the first place? Certainly they weren't walking into bookstores or libraries seeing an abundance of Latino literature for children and young adults and then thinking, oh this is something I can do, too. There was no such abundance to be seen.
Rosemary continued, "I'm happy to say that last fall, the children's and adult divisions of HarperCollins launched a new imprint, Rayo, which I am coordinating for the children's department. Under the Rayo children's imprint, we publish books of Hispanic interest in English and/or Spanish by Hispanic authors, bilingual books, and Spanish translations of our classics. The list includes picture books, I Can Reads, middle grade novels, young adult novels, nonfiction, board books... In other words, it is a very diverse list. Our mission statement is: "Rayo will publish books that embody the diversity within the Latino Community, in both English and Spanish-language editions, connecting culture with thought, invigorating tradition with spirit."
I'm happy to hear about the imprint Rayo, and I hope it's wildly successful. I hope that the works of new and established authors alike will be attracted, nurtured, and promoted by Rayo and also within the more general lists of most - or can we hope for all - publishers. Certainly there's a market, not only Latino families and schools and libraries serving the Latino populations to which others have referred, but a mainstream market, too, of families of all other cultures and races.
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu Cooperative Children's Book Center www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ A Library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin Madison
Received on Wed 27 Feb 2002 04:48:01 AM CST
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 04:48:01 -0600
On 2/26 HarperCollins editor Rosemary Brosnan wrote:
"Randall Wright asks about Latino/Latina children's authors: "Are the books simply not being written or is there a reluctance on the part of publishers to acquire these books?" I have been asking this question for years, and I think that one of the biggest problems is that Latino and Latina authors don't know which editors would be interested in their stories--in other words, there is difficulty connecting authors with the right editors..."
I've noticed that an unusually large number of authors prominent for literary works published for adult readers have also written books for children or young adults. I'm thinking of writers such as Rudolfo A. Anaya, Pat Mora, Julia Alvarez, Francisco X. Alarcon, Nicholasa Mohr, Victor Martinez, Juan Felipe Herrera, Sandra Cisneros, Gary Soto, Gloria Anzaldua - and there are many others. I'm thinking of artists such as Simon Silva, Raul Colon, George Ancona, David Diaz, and Carmen Lomas Garzas. This is not a complete list, and it certainly doesn't include writers known primarily - to me, at least - as writers for young readers, e.g., Lulu Delacre, Pam Munoz Ryan and Alma Flor Ada.
I've always wondered if each writer primarily known for her/his adult works was initially contacted by an editor of books for young people, or if he/she had a particularly vigorous agent who saw that there was room - oh, my, how much room - for books by Latino/a writers. If not, what brought each to children's/Y.A. books in the first place? Certainly they weren't walking into bookstores or libraries seeing an abundance of Latino literature for children and young adults and then thinking, oh this is something I can do, too. There was no such abundance to be seen.
Rosemary continued, "I'm happy to say that last fall, the children's and adult divisions of HarperCollins launched a new imprint, Rayo, which I am coordinating for the children's department. Under the Rayo children's imprint, we publish books of Hispanic interest in English and/or Spanish by Hispanic authors, bilingual books, and Spanish translations of our classics. The list includes picture books, I Can Reads, middle grade novels, young adult novels, nonfiction, board books... In other words, it is a very diverse list. Our mission statement is: "Rayo will publish books that embody the diversity within the Latino Community, in both English and Spanish-language editions, connecting culture with thought, invigorating tradition with spirit."
I'm happy to hear about the imprint Rayo, and I hope it's wildly successful. I hope that the works of new and established authors alike will be attracted, nurtured, and promoted by Rayo and also within the more general lists of most - or can we hope for all - publishers. Certainly there's a market, not only Latino families and schools and libraries serving the Latino populations to which others have referred, but a mainstream market, too, of families of all other cultures and races.
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu Cooperative Children's Book Center www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ A Library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin Madison
Received on Wed 27 Feb 2002 04:48:01 AM CST
