International Latino Book Awards 2009

11th Annual International
Latino Book Awards
May 28, 2009

Nominations continue to come in for next year's International Latino Book Awards (ILBA). This is the earliest ILBA has ever received nominations. Judging from these early entries, it looks like there will be strong competition in all categories.

The 2009 ILBA to be held at the Javits Center in New York City on the afternoon of May 28. Each year the awards ceremony is held in conjunction with BookExpo America, the country's largest book publishing industry trade show.

Publishers, authors, publicists and all friends of literacy are invited to nominate their favorite books from 2008. There are 62 categories open for nominations: English and Spanish language categories covering everything from fiction to self-help to children's and young adults. Books must have been published in calendar year 2008 to be eligible.

For the 2009 awards, there are four new categories, including Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation (A11 & A12), (B19 & B20), a general fiction category, Best Popular Fiction (C37 & C38), Best Gift Book (B19 & B20) and Best Graphic Novel (C47 & C48). Please consider all the categories carefully before deciding which ones best fit your submissions.

You will find nominating forms and instructions in both English and Spanish here. The nominating process lasts until March 13, when the books will be sent to a diverse panel of judges.

L. A. Live
New Home of the Los Angeles Latino Book & Family Festival
August 29-30, 2009

The new home for the Los Angeles Latino Book & Family Festival starting in 2009 is L.A. Live. Home to the Nokia Theater, Club Nokia, the Grammy Museum, the Conga Room, Lucky Strike Lanes, the AEG Broadcast Studio, the ESPN studios and restaurants such as Trader Vics, Wolfgang Puck's, Lawry's and the ESPN Zone, L.A. Live will also feature two world class hotels, the Ritz-Carlton and the JW Marriott. This entertainment complex is revitalizing the downtown Los Angeles scene and quickly becoming the Times Square of the West. As the new, preferred venue for major events and concerts, including the 2008 & 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards, L. A. Live is perfectly located in downtown Los Angeles, just across the street from the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The Festival exhibit area will occupy the Nokia Plaza and Chick Hearn Court (the street that runs between the Plaza and Staples Center). A floor plan will be available shortly. This dramatic new Festival venue demands a brand new start for the Los Angeles Festival. Look for more celebrities, more authors and more literacy based initiatives than ever before.

The Los Angeles festival has had its greatest successes when held in late August and positioned as a "back-to-school" event, so we are also very excited about staging the event at this great facility the last weekend of August.

Reserve your space for LBFF L.A. Live today!

Click here for the
2009 Sponsors & Exhibitors Kit

Books are the pathway to a better future for our kids. Please support this effort.


Lisa Alvarado