Some Exciting Fall Updates and the Comadres and Compadres Writers Conference!

As I encourage you to once again to sign up for the fast-approaching Comadres and Compadres Writers Conference on September 27th, I would like to share some news for fall, in part, to offer an incentive by showing you some of the many wonderful things that can happen to writers when they share their works with others and take that all-important step toward turning their writing passion into a career.

Here are some updates from my clients, who, for the most part, are being published for the first time:

Debut picture book author Katheryn Russell-Brown's LITTLE MELBA AND HER BIG TROMBONE (Lee and Low) has received three starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal since its publication this September! The book has also just been listed among The Huffington Post's "50 New Picture Books for Fall 2014" and received accolades from the NY Journal of Books and The Horn Book's "Calling Caldecott" blog! I'm very excited for Katheryn, who, on a recent interview for The Brown Bookshelf, shared her book's "Back Story," a piece that offers a nice glimpse into how books get published these days. To learn more about this fabulous book and its author, visit Katheryn's website.

The amazing ballerina and star of the ballet documentary FIRST POSITION, Michaela DePrince's memoir TAKING FLIGHT: FROM WAR ORPHAN TO STAR BALLERINA and its Step Into Reading companion BALLERINA DREAMS (both from Knopf and co-written with her mother, Elaine DePrince), will debut in the US on October 14th. The memoir has already received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and received quite a bit of online buzz.  The Dutch edition just launched in Michaela's current home city of Amsterdam on September 13th at the Dutch National Ballet's Annual Gala event to celebrate the opening of company's  2014-2015 season. Posters promoting TAKING FLIGHT can now be seen all over Amsterdam, I am told! The Dutch is one of TEN upcoming editions of the memoir to be published worldwide. A very exciting time for another debut author! For more about Michaela, and her books, visit her website.


Eric Pierpoint, whom you may know from his other gig as an actor and his  roles in Park and Recreation and Heart of Dixie among many others, is also a very talented children's book writer! His debut historical fiction adventure THE LAST RIDE OF CALEB O'TOOLE (Sourcebooks) received the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association's "Reading the West Award" in the Children's category this summer! Read an interview with Eric about his inspiration for writing the book, and a sneak peek at his next one! For more information about Eric and his books, visit his website.

And speaking of awards, debut children's author Angela Cervantes won her first one this year for her funny, heartwarming middle grade novel, GABY, LOST AND FOUND (Scholastic). Angela and Gaby won First Place in the Chapter Book category at this year's International Latino Book Awards, presented at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, this summer. I'm happy to report that Angela is also working on her second book with Scholastic! For more information about Angela and her books, visit the author's website.





Petit Collage founder Lorena Siminovich's YOU ARE MY BABY: GARDEN (Chronicle) two-in-one board has just been listed among Parenting.com's "24 Best Baby Books of All Time!" While Lorena is a veteran illustrator with many books under her belt, You Are My Baby is the first board book series that she writes AND illustrates! Look for many more books in the YOU ARE MY BABY series, and another darling series of board books coming from Lorena and Chronicle in 2016!

I feel very fortunate to work with such talented folks and overjoyed about their success. I hope that they inspire you as much as they inspire me every day. And of course, I hope that this will provide the little extra push you need to join our conference on September 27th. I'd love to meet more talented folks whose work I can display on another post next year!

Celebrate El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) on April 30th, and Every Other Day of the Year!

By now, most of us know that 1 out of every 2 children born in the US is of Latino heritage, and that by 2050 nearly 30% of this country’s population will be Latino. What some of you may not know, is that studies have revealed that children who are read to from an early age (preferably before they begin school), do better once they get to school. And a child who does better in school is more likely to stay in it, and go on to college, and become a contributing member of society. So if we want to ensure a bright future for our Latino children as their numbers continue to grow, we should make an effort to read to them as much as we can, and to make that a priority in our lives. El día de los niños/El día de los libros provides us with a perfect opportunity to celebrate children, books, and the act of reading!

Founded in 1996 by author Pat Mora, “Día” as it is commonly called, is “a daily commitment to link all children to books, languages and cultures.” Día is housed at the American Library Association, and there are Día celebrations held at libraries all across the country on or near April 30th. To learn more about Día and its celebrations, get a brochure of recommended books, and much more, visit Día’s official website.

This is particularly exciting year for Día, because its founder, Pat Mora, has released her first ever Día themed bilingual picture book, entitled Book Fiesta!, illustrated by the amazing Rafael López. LibreríaLectorum.com recently interviewed the author about Día and her new book. Click here to read that interview. To learn more about Pat Mora, Día, and the book, visit the author’s website.

I have listed some Día events in my calendar. That, along with the information and resources found in the websites mentioned above, should provide you with many options for celebrating Día today, this week, this month, and this year. So tell your friends and family to celebrate, read to their kids, and buy books by Latino authors! That is the best investment we can all make in our future!

The titles below belong to a list of Día recommended titles put together by The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) - a division of the American Library Association (ALA), REFORMA - the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, and the Association of American Publishers’ Publishing Latino Voices for America (PLVA) Task Force. It includes books in English and Spanish, as well as in the popular bilingual format. I think that it provides a nice variety of titles to help you begin to build your library. Enjoy!

¡Feliz día de los niños y los libros!

Tell Your Story to NPR!

Hello everyone! I know that I've been a little MIA lately (busy, busy!), but I have been updating the calendar of events, so I hope that you are taking a look every so often, since it is updated very, very often. Check it out, or you may miss out on a writing workshop by Liliana Valenzuela, or a memoir workshop by Ana Castillo, to name only a couple! I get announcements about events from many sources, and I am making every effort to let you in on those through the calendar, as part of this blog's promise to provide you with "an insider's perspective" on the Latino market, so take advantage of it, and support Latino literature by attending the events whenever possible.

And here is an exciting opportunity for those of you who want to share your stories:

To any and all book lovers who have a good story to tell about how a book or librarian infused a child's life with joy or purpose. NPR's Latino USA is planning a feature to air before El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/ Book Day) in April that will share some of these stories about the power of books. Do you have a story or can you help us find one? We are in search of all voices: young, old, in Spanish, Somali or any language. Write to us and tell us the story, and we may call you up for an interview. Others will be included on our web site. We are especially interested in stories about Latino and immigrant children. Or the kids themselves if they'd like! Please send them to Katie Davis: KDavisDC@aol.com. Good luck!