Call for nominations - Latino Literacy Now
Nominations are open for the 2014
International Latino Book Awards.
Next year the awards will coincide with the American Library Association
National Convention in Las Vegas and will take place on June 28 or 29.
The 16th annual International
Latino Book Awards has become one of the largest book awards in the world. There
are changes on tap for next year's awards, including new categories, and a new
venue and hosting organization.
Fill out and return them as soon
as possible to qualify for the discounted entry fees.
2014 will include the inauguration
of the Award Winning Latino Author Tour of the winning titles at a series of events
both literary and cultural in the U.S. and México throughout the year, exposing
the worthy authors to audiences in excess of 250,000, a huge promotional bonus
for winning authors.
The 2014 Latino Books into Movies
Awards will include Screenwriting Categories. The awards are gaining in
importance and acceptance in the Hollywood community. Winning books are
distributed to pertinent Motion Picture Studios, Television Networks,
Producers, and Agents relevant to genre. Information on the awards,
instructions for applying and the nominating forms are here.
This year, first place winner in
the Suspense or Mystery category was Blues for the Buffalo, by bloguista Manuel
Ramos, from Northwestern University Press.
Indie bookstores database for latino authors
Go here to download a text file
of independent bookstores that serve communities of color and use the database to promote your books. You
can help promote independent bookstores, and your website will be automatically
updated when changes are made.
How well do you know Anglos?
Latino writers should write what
they know, and we know plenty about Anglos because we live surrounded mostly by
them. But it's 2013, and what I thought I now know is not what U.S. society
believes. Think more like, 1950.
 |
| Esquire magazine topical logo |
Below, I quote extensively from a
report because, as you will see, Americans aligned in the political center are
in a strange place. This is the population that may determine local and
national electoral issues. They are voters we may have to convince. They may also be part of your readership.
And if you're portraying Anglo American characters, you might want to dip into
the data. If you think we've come a long way, baby, guess again.
From an Esquire-NBC News survey
results comes this: "Everything we are told about politics in America
today—that there is no middle ground between left and right, blue and red, us
and them—is wrong.
"The data provide the richest
and most useful portrait available of the modern political mind, complete with
hidden affinities primed to sway elections in 2014, 2016 and beyond.
"Yes, the 'center' is mostly
white (78 percent) but so is most of the American voting public (72 percent),
and is changing. Already it contains a fifth of African-American voters, one in
two Latino voters, and half the women in America. 'Diversity' is on the rise in
America and people are 'very anxious' about it.
"A third of the center is
worried about how 'increasing diversity' in America will affect the country’s
future, with almost one in five saying diversity makes them 'very anxious'—and a super-majority (65 percent) reporting that diversity inspires in them no
sense of hope in the future, or at least no sense stronger than the anxiety
they reported.
"At the same time, while most
people of the center support laws that protect minorities in the workplace, the
center seems to think that these laws have gone too far: Nearly two-thirds (63
percent) believe that in respecting the rights of minorities, we’ve limited the
rights of a majority of Americans.
"If the center were in power,
it would favor ending affirmative action in hiring decisions and college admissions
(57 percent) and requiring all voters to show photo-ID (percent), a move which
disproportionately locks out minority voters. Likewise most of the center (54
percent) is against a path to citizenship for people who came to this country
illegally — and less than a third (32 percent) support such a path as part of
any bipartisan immigration reform.
"The overwhelmingly white
complexion of the center (78 percent) may cast these positions in an
unflattering light, especially when a plurality (40 percent) is worried that 'racial
tensions' will turn violent in the near future. But while the center may seem
unnervingly nativist and almost openly hostile to people of color, say the
pollsters, these data points don’t tell the whole story. The center voted
for Obama by a decent margin in 2012.
"Overall, the results suggest
that for most Americans, class now trumps race as the defining obstacle of
upward mobility, a sentiment strongly reflected in other studies. The income
and education gap between blacks and whites has narrowed in recent years while
the same gaps have grown into chasms between those born-rich and born-poor,
regardless of color or country of origin.
"The center seems to feel
this opportunity gap acutely, with only 5 percent of the new majority strongly agreeing
with the idea that America remains a land of
opportunity for all — and almost a third (31 percent) doubting
the statement that everyone has a chance to work themselves into the middle
class, while the rich keep getting richer at the expense of everyone else (70
percent).
"If the center had its way,
supporting paid sick leave (62 percent); paid maternity leave (70 percent); tax-subsidized
childcare to help women return to work (57 percent); and a federal minimum wage
hike to no less than $10 per hour (67 percent).
Go here to read the entire report,
along with worthwhile, supporting information and articles.
Quote of the Week - our gov't
"We have forgotten what this
country once understood, that a society based on nothing but selfishness and
greed is not a society at all, but a state of war of the strong against the
weak." - from the NY Review of Books
Es todo, hoy,
RudyG
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