Celebrates Books By & About Latinos
by Yenni Patiño
Consider entering your book(s) in the next International Latino Book Awards, the largest competition for books by and about Latinos and become part of our efforts to promote and represent Latinos in Literature.
Empowering Latino Futures (ELF), formerly Latino Literacy Now, was co-founded by Edward James Olmos and established in 1998. Through the book awards, ELF has honored 3,470 authors and publishers in categories such as Latino-focused, fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, poetry, translation, bilingual books, ebooks, Portuguese and more. Please visit www.LatinoBookAwards.org for more details and everything you need to know to participate. You can also see the 2020 and 2021 Awards Ceremony, both held virtually. Submission Deadline April 15, 2022.
The International Latino Book Awards introduces the Rising Star Honorees.
The four categories that Rising Star Honorees will be presented in include Children’s, NonFiction, Fiction, and Poetry books. The Rising Stars will be chosen from authors who are not yet making a full-time living as an author and are Gold Medal winners in the appropriate categories for each of the four Awards. A secondary judging process will determine the four winners.
Each winner will receive a $3,500 package including a check for $1,000, distribution of an article about their book to over 625 Latino media outlets, a press release focusing on the four 2022 Rising Stars, receive a special award, and be featured for the press and elsewhere as representing the next generation of ‘Must Read’ authors.
ELF has permanently named 11 of the Awards for people who have both opened the path for writers in the Latino community overall.
The Rudy Anaya Best Latino Focused Fiction Award in honor of the late great Padrino of Chicano literature; The Isabel Allende Best Inspirational Fiction Award in honor of the best selling Latina author; The Alma Flor Ada Best Latino Focused Children’s Picture Book Award for luminary of children’s literature; The Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award for the first Latino U.S. Poet Laureate; The Dolores Huerta Best Community Service Book Award for the woman who has inspired millions; The Victor Villaseñor Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Award for the trailblazing author; and all of them are International Latino Book Award Winners! Winners have also included many literary luminaries from Paulo Coelho, and Gabriel García Márquez to Oscar Hijuelos, Jose Luis Orozco, and Luis Rodriguez. Major winners from other fields have included Gloria Estefan, Cheech Marin, Linda Ronstadt, and Carlos Santana to Henry Cisneros, Oscar de la Hoya, Jorge Ramos, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Just as important, the Awards have honored hundreds of authors, illustrators, translators, and others. These professionals are the future of books by and about Latinos.
The Award Winning Authors Tour gives winners the opportunity to participate in educational, and Latino community events around the USA like the American Library Association, CABE, UnidosUS, and our Latino Book and Family Festival.
The Award Winning Author logo is being recognized as a mark of quality in publishing for Latinos and others. The awards continue to grow every year in the number of entries, winners, and recognition. As one of the 10 most cited book awards in the USA, last year’s press releases of winners were downloaded 1,275 times in the US and Latin America.
The International Latino Book Awards Ceremony recognizing the winners and the ISLA Latino Publishing University, a three-day informational workshop event, will both take place at Los Angeles City College on August 19-21, 2022.
The International Latino Book Awards entry package is available at www.LatinoBookAwards.org. Thanks for being a part of literature efforts to improve our communities.
