Last week I posted a list of La Bloga's Latino Speculative Literature Directory. Updated below with
contributions from La Bloga readers, it is still not complete. Following a
chart, I'll describe limitations to the list, some self-imposed. If there are
other lists out there, I'm not aware of them and welcome being notified.
The novels and collections of speculative literature
cover the genres of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, magic(al) realism and fabulist
fiction. I charted the information I had by year. That is followed by my interpretation of what the data might mean.
Yrs
|
1976-89
|
1990-91
|
1992-94
|
1995-99
|
2000
|
2001-03
|
2004
|
2005-06
|
2007-08
|
2009-11
|
2012
|
2013
|
#
yrs
|
14
yrs
|
2
yrs
|
3
yrs
|
4
yrs
|
1
yr
|
3
yrs
|
1
yr
|
2
yrs
|
2
yrs
|
3
yrs
|
1
yr
|
1
yr
|
Books
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
7
|
4
|
latinAs
|
1
|
1
|
2*
|
2
|
2*
|
asterisk (*) = co-authors of one book
Some interpretations of
this data:
• In 16 years from 1976-91, 2 latino novelists were published.
• In the last 2 years (2012-2013), 11 latino spec authors were published, equal to the 11 published in the prior 16 years (1995-2011).
• In 33 years (from 1976-2008), 2
latinAs were published. In the last 5
years (2009-2013), 6 latinas were
involved in published books, triple the
number in approx. 1/5 of the time.
• The overall numbers
are not great. 26 latinos first-published in
the U.S. market.
• The trend in the last 2 years, compared to the
previous 33 years, is Bien Suave!
Some limitations of this
chart and the list below:
• Only novels and
collections are included; anthologies need to be added.
• In most cases, only
an author's first printed novel is listed; they may have published other spec
books, as Mario Acevedo has.
• No children's books
are listed; only 2(?) Young adult (YA) books, so far.
• Authors who publish
novels with non-latino plots and don't consider themselves latino, are not
listed. Example: Diana Gabaldon, who has clearly stated such.
• Books printed in
Spanish by U.S. latino authors have not been included, yet.
• Self-published books
are not included at this point. This may change.
• Graphic novels are
not yet included.
• Much info in the list
below is lacking--websites and story synopses, for instance.
• La Bloga recognizes
that the chart and list information is incomplete in other respects. The next stage will include all authors' spec books.
I believe the best
thing to be drawn from this list is that 2014 and beyond may indeed continue la
gran entrada of U.S. latinos into the U.S. spec market, as Chicano author
Ernest Hogan predicted a couple of years ago. This could be a great time to
polish up that discarded spec manuscript you thought wasn't publishable. Or the
month to begin writing or completing that idea for a spec novel.
Anglo fantasy sci-fi dominates U.S. fiction markets, as well
as television and movie industries. But Latinos are the new face in spec lit. And the proliferation of sci-fi fantasy in
Hollywood and on the tube means it is caliente and we are in a position to add
the picoso.
Please continue helping
La Bloga to develop this information. I can be reached at
RudyPuntoCHPuntoGarciaALAgmailPuntoCom
La Bloga
Spec Lit Directory 1/25/13
[Self-described: Chicano, Hispanic, Mexicano,
Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Sudamericano,
American y más, expanded as needed. Publisher
in parens.]
 |
| 1st latino spec? |
1922 Campos de
Fuego - breve narración de una expedición a la
región volcánia de "El Pinacate", Sonora Gumersindo Esquer [M]. "A Mexican Jules Verne."
This came out after the Border got put up, but we could claim Esquer as a
precursor.
1969 Afro-6, Hank Lopez. [MA?] (Dell Publishing)
According to his NYTimes obit, Lopez was "born in Denver of parents who
had emigrated from Mexico." A futuristic thriller about a Black, armed
take-over of Manhattan. [Copyright includes Harry Baron, not listed as
co-author.]
1976 Victuum, Isabella Rios. (Diana-Etna
Inc.) Where psychic development
epitomizes with the encounter of an outer-planetary being. O.O.P.
1990 Cortez on
Jupiter, Ernest Hogan [Ch]
(Tor Books) A Ben Bova Presents
publication. "Protagonist Pablo Cortez uses freefall grafitti
art--splatterpainting--to communicate with Jupiter's gaseous forms of
life." http://www.mondoernesto.com
1992 High AzteCH,
Ernest Hogan [Ch] (Tor Books)
Renegade Chicano cartoonist Zapata creates a virus capable of infecting human
minds with religion. http://www.mondoernesto.com/
1992 Mrs.
Vargas and the Dead Naturalist, Kathleen Alcalá [Ch] (Calyx Books)
1995 The Fabulous
Sinkhole, Jesus Treviño [Ch]
(Arte Público Press) "Stories into magic realism: spunky teen Yoli Mendez
performs quadratic equations in her head." Film/TV Director/Writer of Prison Break, Resurrection Blvd. Star Trek
Voyager, Babylon Five, Deep Space Nine. http://chuytrevino.com/
1997
Chupacabras and Other Mysteries, Scott
Corrales (H) (w/M. Davenport) (Greenleaf Publications)
2000 Places left
unfinished at the time of creation, John
Phillip Santos [Ch] (Penguin Books) "A girl sees a dying soul leave
its body; dream fragments, family remembrances and Chicano mythology reach back
into time and place; a rich, magical view of Mexican-American culture."
http://provost.utsa.edu/home/Faculty_Profile/Santos.asp
2000
Soulsaver, James Stevens-Arce [PR] (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) www.stevens-arce.com
2001 Smoking Mirror Blues, Ernest Hogan [Ch] (Wordcraft of Oregon) Tezcatlipoca, the Mirror that
Smokes warrior/wizard god of the Aztecs--Western Civilization thought it wiped
him out centuries ago. He's back. http://www.mondoernesto.com/
2004 Devil Talk: Stories, Daniel A. Olivas [Ch] (Bilingual Press) These twenty-six stories bring us to a place once inhabited by Rod
Serling . . . only the accents have changed; Latino fiction at its edgy,
fantastical best. http://www.danielolivas.com
2004 Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys,
Xavier Garza (Piñata Books)
2005 The
Skyscraper that Flew, Jesus Treviño (Arte Público Press). An enormous
crystal skyscraper mysteriously appears in the Arroyo Grande's baseball field.
Then the stories begin. http://chuytrevino.com/
2006 The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, Mario Acevedo [Ch] (Rayo Harper Collins) http://marioacevedo.com
2006 Gil's All
Fright Diner, A. Lee Martinez [A] (Tor) Born in El Paso, he has other
books, but may not consider his books or himself anything latino.
http://www.aleemartinez.com/
2007
Firebird, R. Garcia y Robertson [A]
(Tor)
2009 Lunar
Braceros, Rosaura Sanchez, Beatrice Pita & Mario A. Chacon. (Calaca
Press)
2012
Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall [Ch] (Tu Books) Pura Belpré Award
winner; Andre Norton Award nominated. http://www.guadalupegarciamccall.com.
2012 The Closet of Discarded Dreams, Rudy Ch. Garcia [Ch]. (Damnation Books) A Chicano alternate-world
fantasy. Honorable Mention, SF/F category, 2012-13 International Latino Book
Awards. - discarded-dreams.com
2012 Joe Vampire, Steven Luna (Booktrope Editions) [??] thestevenluna.wordpress.com
2012 Roachkiller
and Other Stories, R. Narvaez
[PR] (Beyond the Page Publishing)
Winner of 2013 Spinetingler Award for Best Anthology/Short Story Collection and
2013 International Latino Book Award for Best eBook/Fiction.
2012 Salsa Nocturna, Daniel José Older [??]
(Crossed Genres Publications) http://ghoststar.net
2012 Dancing With the
Devil and Other Tales From Beyond, René Saldaña Jr. [MA] (Pinata Books)
http://renesaldanajr.blogspot.com
2012 Ink, Sabrina
Vourvoulias [L] (Crossed Genres Publications) http://followingthelede.blogspot.com
2013 The Miniature Wife & Other Stories, Manuel
Gonzales [??]
(Riverhead Books) www.facebook.com/pages/Manuel-Gonzales/110962335695879
2013 Spirits of the Jungle,
Shirley Jones & Jacquelyn Yznaga [H?] (Casa de Snapdragon) Kindle
version, 2012.
2013 Infinity
Ring: Curse of the
Ancients, Matt de la Peña
[??]. (middle-grade, Scholastic Inc.) "Sera sees the terrifying
future, but can’t prevent the Cataclysm while stranded thousands of years in
the past. The only hope lies with the ancient Maya, a mysterious people who
claim to know a great deal about the future." http://mattdelapena.com
Crossed Genres wants "characters of
color"
Two of
the most recent books by Latino spec authors (Ink by Sabrina Vourvoulias and Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older) were published by Crossed Genres. Below is
the latest info about submitting.
Crossed
Genres welcomes and strongly encourages submissions with underrepresented main
characters: women, characters of color, LGBTQ characters, characters with
disabilities, etc.
Novels & single-author
collections - CGP has re-opened for submissions of novel and single-author short story
collections, with new guidelines.
Payment: $2,000 advance, then
royalties commensurate with industry standard
50,000-100,000 words. Any genres now accepted, not only
Science Fiction & Fantasy, though they’re still welcome. Specifically
looking for submissions that blend multiple genres.
Also check info about submitting to Crossed Genres Magazine 2.0.
A Revolution That Won't Go Away
If you're wondering when la gente will rise up, don't despair. Instead,
read about what some of the poorest and what were thought to be some of the
least powerful people in the world have continued. A Revolution That Won't Go Away was written by a journalist who recently visited a
Zapatista “organizing school” in the heart of the Lacandon jungle in
southeastern Mexico. Qué viva la gente, la gente, la gente!
Es todo, hoy,
RudyG, aka Rudy Ch. Garcia, author of The Closet of Discarded Dreams
16 comments:
I was really grateful to Em Sedano for writing about Ink for La Bloga shortly after its release. He's great, as you are, in focusing attention on Latino writers.
I wonder if the list doesn't beg the question, or, rather, tell only half the story. Don't we need to know how many Latinos/as were/are writing this genre to understand the impact of the "published" numbers? Not saying that we can ever really know that fact, but without it can we have a complete picture of the situation?
Yes, the list tells only half (of half) of the story, if that. Never a complete picture.
If the published latino spec novelists are half of those submitting MSS, we're kicking butt, big time. That's probably not the case.
I believe the numbers reveal Change, not significant in terms of quantity, but in terms of magnitude. Something has happened/is happening.
I'd take the optimistic interpretation and write and submit like una maquina! Pura arte.
RudyG
A generation ago, this would have been considered impossible by a lot of people. I guess we've made some progress. Now, we gotta write some stuff to shake the world!
Definitely pushing forward, but we need to publish more. Keep tabulating. This is fascinating. Thank you!-M. Miranda Maloney
Does anyone have a list of Chicano/Latino children literature in Spanish and or English?
Silvia Moreno-Garcia: 2013 collection This Strange Way of Dying (stories set in Mexico). Her upcoming debut novel: Signal to Noise, out from Solaris in 2015. Also set in Mexico.
Thanks to everyone who's sent me more info.
To Anonymous: about a list of Chicano/latino children's lit in Spanish / English,
Email me so I can send you something later.
RudyG
1997: "Juan and the Chupacabras"?? To the best of my recollection it was called Chupacabras and Other Mysteries, LOL!! I should know, I wrote it :-)
Saludos y gracias,
Scott Corrales
This is a good start, Rudy, and a helpful list for anyone writing in this genre. Thank you.
We have to keep submitting, go to conferences, support Latina/o writers, publicize, etc. etc.
Thank you for the info on Crossed Genres. I know of a young man who writes horror/sci-fi and wants to begin submitting short stories.
Just to clear up a question mark about Hank Lopez who wrote Afro-6--he did consider himself a Chicano, though born in Mexico, he grew up in the U.S. and was very much involved in Chicano movement affairs; I knew him from working with him and many others on such matters as the Mexican American Anti-Defamation committee which took on Frito-Lay over the Frito Bandito ads--anybody remember those except me?
El Bandito lives, on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbYj7ZyqjYY
This seems REALLY low. There must be other LATINOS! that have been published. Add me to your chart. I'm Latino, I was published by Bold Strokes Books in December 2013, my book has numerous Latino characters (Joaquin Moreno, Felix De La Santos, Loca Rosa, Don Humberto), it takes place in Mexico and it involves a Mexican monster.
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