Latino books booming

* This is good news. VL

By José Morales, Being Latino

The international book market has long been dominated by American (i.e. Stephen King) or British (J.K. Rowling) authors. But according to the International Latino Book Awards’ submissions this year, the market might be seeing an increase in books written by and for Latinos. In 2014 alone, Latinos have spent well over $500 million in books both in English and Spanish. The market is primed for Latino authors.

The American Library Association believes this phenomenon to be deeply rooted in the fact that classrooms are more diverse in this day and age. Because of this, students are drawn to books that better reflect their roots and culture. With the Latino demographic being steadily on the rise for the past couple of decades, publishers and authors have taken note of this and a movement to raise the profile of books for Latinos has grown over time. From bilingual children’s stories to young adult fiction, the Latino book market is booming and becoming recognized.

Even Edward James Olmos, well known both in the movie industry and Latino community, believes that the rise of the Latino author and book market is important to our overall culture. Having started the Latino Books Into Movie Awards, to create and award more scripts for Latino-themed movies, the premise is to ensure we are represented in Hollywood. In the end, the International Latino Book Awards could be seen as a springboard for Latino authors in the current market; and the very idea of Latino literature will become part of our own unique pop culture.

This article was first published in Being Latino.

José Morales is a Being Latino Contributor

[Photo by bernat…/Flickr]