Latino anthology needs your support. Now.

On Thursday, bloguista Ernesto Hogan's posted Chicanonautica: Latino/a Rising about the prospective publication, Latino/a Rising, called "the first collection of U.S. Latino/a science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative genres."

 

Editor Matthew David Goodwin already accepted stories by Kathleen Alcalá, Ana Castillo, Junot Díaz, Ernesto Hogan, Daniel José Older and Sabrina Vourvoulias, among others. If I can cut a story of mine down, and it makes the cut, the anthology will include my cross-genre Chicano/Mexica/alien/Diné SF/F/folklore tale, whose title doesn't matter yet. But even if mine doesn't make the cut, the anthology deserves and needs more support, not only mine.

 

Latino/a Rising currently has 66 Backers who've pledged $2,553 of the $10,000 needed to reach their goal. Only 14 days remain. Thus, this first-time Latino publication will happen only with more backers. With your support, whoever and whatever you are. Here's where you can go to do exactly that.

If you're a spec lit reader, fan, author or artist, you already have your own reasons for kicking in to ensure it reaches its goal and gets published.

If you've read the works of the authors listed above, you have your own reasons for seeing more of theirwork reach print.

Whatever you call yourself--latino, chicano, mexicano, Mexican-American, Hispanic, pocho, puertoriqueño, dominicano, or quién-sabe-qué-más --you should contribute to support your gente reach a readership that we have been historically shut off from.

If you want to see latinoheroes and heroines on the big screen, instead of the dominant Anglos or acceptable Asians, supporting latino lit can get such stories in front of the film industry. For instance, before it was a movie, Blade Runner was a short story. It happens to short story writers, just not often for latino writers. Yet. You can help change that.

heroeshttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2019038492/latino-a-rising

Even if you individually are not sure you like science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative genres, but want your kids, young relatives and all latino youth to have such stories available to them, you should support this. We, and especially the youth, need more diversity in literature. Like Junot Díaz explains, we especially need Inclusion, where the main characters are latinos, not just the minority guy who's going to be the first one killed by the monster.

This Kickstarter campaign has the usual incentives--copies of the E-book, the print edition, T-shirts, etc.--so if for no other reason, your contribution will add goodies to your stash of Xmas or birthday gifts.

Now, for all of you non-latino readers and writers, here's the last suggestion. If you basically agree that latino writers should have more access to publication, you can contribute to this anthology to make that a reality. Period.

I'd guess that whoever contributes, for whatever reason, the present line-up of authors and the explosive possibilities of spec lit will make your contribution worth more than you can imagine. Maybe even more than the authors did. I'm already imagining what a book-signing event of Latino/a Rising will look like with authors Kathleen Alcalá, Ana Castillo, Junot Díaz, Ernesto Hogan, Daniel José Older and Sabrina Vourvoulias up front. [Check it out--so many women?] And maybe me. If I can just make this damn long story shorter...

Please help spread the word by Sharing and forwarding on your networks. Gracias.

Es todo hoy, because I have a story I have to trim. Chingos.

RudyG, aka Rudy Ch. Garcia, possibly appearing in an upcoming anthology you made possible