Latino authors ignored by key traditional publishers

By Grace Flores-Hughes

In the last fifteen years, the number of authors of Hispanic background has grown dramatically. Many of them, however, are published by small, independent companies and ignored by large, key, traditional publishers.

The idea that larger, traditional publishing houses—like Simon & Schuster, Alfred K. Knopf and MacMillan—are passing over Hispanic authors, despite the quality of work and incredible niche in the book market, is disappointing.

This disappointment was shared during the 15th anniversary of the International Latino Book Awards, held May 30, 2013 at the Instituto Cervantes in New York City. Dubbed the Academy Awards of Latino literature, this is the U.S.’s largest award ceremony celebrating authors of Hispanic background. This year, the event honored 190 authors—the majority of which were published by small independents—and publishers from the Latino community in categories ranging from children’s books to poetry, to fiction and non-fiction stories. Among the winners was the memoir “A Tale of Survival” by yours truly, awarded Honorable Mention in the Non-Fiction Inspirational category.

Hispanic authors left to small publishers

A few years ago, when I began thinking of writing my memoir, a fellow author warned that my book would never be published because of the history of major publishers ignoring Hispanic authors. I naively pressed on to secure an agent and sent my proposal to the larger publishing companies in New York, but, much to my disappointment, my friend’s prediction came true.

Admittedly, there are some Hispanic authors whose works have been picked up by big publishers, but for the most part, Latino literature is primarily published by small independents, university presses and, as of late, an increasing number of authors are choosing the route of self publishing or e-books. There could be any number of reasons why the publishing industry chooses to bypass Hispanic authors. One reason that I’ve heard over and over from fellow authors is that editors don’t think Hispanics read books and in turn buy them. We know that the book business, like any other business, is about making a profit—you can’t build a product if no one buys it.

The growing number of Hispanic readers

But, if the awards ceremony of May 30 is any indication of the number of outstanding works being written by Hispanic authors, the stereotype that Hispanics don’t read should be buried in the concrete basements of publishing companies forever. In 2012, for example, Latinos in the United States spent over $500 million on books alone. The Hispanic community has an array of mechanisms to ensure writings by Hispanic authors are increasingly read—and not just by Hispanics, but by non-Hispanics and foreigners as well. One major organization is Las Comadres Para Las Americas, founded by Nora Comstock of Austin, Texas. Las Comadres is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Latinas to build networks across the Americas. More importantly, it’s dedicated to promoting Latino literature through its nationally recognized book clubs. Latino Literacy, founded by the actor Edward James Olmos, another organization dedicated to promoting literature in the Hispanic community.We have a ways to go to win our way into the editorial rooms of large publishing companies, but as the Hispanic community grows, so does our writing ability and book-buying power. Our rich culture and the enormous contributions of Hispanics throughout the Americas is being recognized everyday—most of it provided through the efforts of talented Latino writers. Latinos must support their fellow Latinos’ work, or we end up the losers.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Over 3 decades, Grace Fores-Hughes has served in the administration of three presidents, including that of President George W. Bush who appointed her to the Federal Service Impasses Panel. In 2011 she published her memoir, A Tale of Survival.