TOMÁS RIVERA BOOK PRIZE FINALISTS
ANNOUNCED BY LARB BOOKS
Guest Blogger, Alex Espinoza
LOS ANGELES, CA - Tom Lutz, publisher of LARB Books, has announced the
finalists of the inaugural Tomás Rivera Book Prize: Maceo Montoya, Toni Margarita
Plummer, and J. L. Torres.
The Tomás Rivera Book Prize
is a unique partnership between the Los Angeles Review of Books and
the University of California, Riverside, committed to the discovery and
fostering of extraordinary writing by an author
whose work examines the long and varied contributions of Chicanx/Latinx in the
United States.
Known for his seminal
collection of stories, …y
no se lo tragó la tierra/ …and
the Earth Did Not Devour Him,
Rivera was the first Latino chancellor of the UC system and a champion of
higher education and social justice. The Tomás Rivera Book Prize honors his
legacy and his belief in the power of education, activism, and stories to
change lives.
The award attracted applications from
writers from California, Texas, the East Coast, and the Midwest.
“The selection committee was impressed by the quality of the manuscripts and the range of voices,” said Alex Espinoza, the current Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at UC Riverside and author of The Five Acts of Diego León, the first title published by LARB’s Libros series. “The three finalists selected exhibit the freshest and most innovative voices in Chicanx and Latinx prose in the country.”
Award finalist Maceo
Montoya is a California-based author, artist, and educator who has published The
Scoundrel and the Optimist (Bilingual Review, 2010); The
Deportation of Wopper Barraza (University of New Mexico Press, 2014); Letters
to the Poet from His Brother (Copilot Press, 2014), a hybrid book combining
images, prose poems, and essays; You Must Fight Them: A Novella and Stories (University
of New Mexico Press, 2015), which was a finalist for Foreword Review’s INDIEFAB
Book of the Year Award; and Chicano Movement for Beginners, which he
both wrote and illustrated. He is currently an associate professor of Chicanx
culture and literature at UC Davis.
Toni Margarita Plummer, a
finalist from Hudson Valley, is the author of the story collection The
Bolero of Andi Rowe and won Honorable Mention for the 2019 Reynolds
Price Prize in Fiction given by the Center for Women Writers. A Macondo Fellow
and graduate of the Master of Professional Writing Program at USC, she is a
contributor to the anthologies East of East: The Making of Greater El
Monte and Latina Outsiders Remaking Latina Identity. She
is a member of Latinx in Publishing and currently mentors a writer in its
inaugural Writers Mentorship Program.
Finalist J.
L. Torres is the author of The Family
Terrorist and Other Stories; a novel, The
Accidental Native; and the collection of poetry, Boricua Passport. He has published stories and poems in numerous
journals and magazines, including the North American Review, Denver Quarterly, Hayden’s Ferry
Review, Eckleburg Review, Puerto del Sol, Las Americas Review,
and the anthology Growing Up Latino.
Born in Puerto Rico, raised in the South Bronx, he lives in Plattsburgh, New
York, where he teaches American literature, US ethnic literatures, and creative
writing at the SUNY campus there. Besides the PhD, he holds an MFA in creative
writing from Columbia University.
The winner of the Prize
will be announced on October 1, 2020, and will receive a $1,000 prize;
publication of the manuscript by LARB Libros, a series by LARB Books dedicated
to highlighting emerging Latinx talent; and 10 copies of the book.
Additionally, the winner will have a book signing at UC Riverside during
Writers Week in 2021. The award's final judge will be Luis Alberto Urrea, Mexican-American novelist, poet, and essayist.
Contact: Jessica Kubinec, jessica@lareviewofbooks.org
FINALISTAS DEL
PREMIO DEL LIBRO TOMÁS RIVERA ANUNCIADOS
POR LARB BOOKS
Bloguero
invitado, Alex Espinoza
LOS ANGELES, CA - Tom Lutz,
editor de LARB Books, anunció a los Finalistas del Premio inaugural Del Libro
Tomás Rivera: Maceo Montoya, Toni Plummer y J.L. Torres.
El Premio del Libro Tomás Rivera es una asociación
única entre Los Angeles Review of Books y la Universidad de California,
Riverside, comprometida con el descubrimiento y el fomento de la escritura
extraordinaria por un autor primerizo o de carrera temprana cuyo trabajo examina
el largo y variado contribuciones de Chicanx / Latinx en los Estados Unidos
Conocido por su colección seminal de historias “...y
la Tierra no lo Devoró,” Rivera fue el primer Canciller Latino del Sistema de
la UC y un defensor de la educación superior y la justicia social. El Premio
del Libro Rivera honra su legado y su creencia en el poder de la educación, el
activismo y las historias para cambiar vidas.
El premio atrajo solicitudes de escritores de
California, Texas, la costa este y el medio oeste.
"El comité de selección quedó impresionado por la calidad de los manuscritos y el rango de voces", dijo Alex Espinoza, Jefe del Comité y autor de The Five Acts of Diego Leon, el primer título publicado por la serie Libros de LARB. "Los tres finalistas la exposición seleccionada muestra las voces más frescas e innovadoras en prosa chicana / o y latina / o en el país ".
El finalista del premio Maceo Montoya es un autor,
artista y educador con sede en California que ha publicado The Scoundrel and
the Optimist (Bilingual Review, 2010), The Deportation of Wopper Barraza
(University of New Mexico Press, 2014), Letters to the Poet from Su hermano
(Copilot Press, 2014), un libro híbrido que combina imágenes, poemas en prosa y
ensayos, You Fight Them: A Novella and Stories (University of New Mexico Press,
2015), que fue finalista del libro INDIEFAB de Foreword Review. Premio del Año
y Movimiento Chicano para Principiantes, que escribió e ilustró. Actualmente es
profesor asociado de cultura y literatura Chicanx en UC Davis.
Toni Margarita Plummer, finalista de Hudson Valley, es
la autora de la colección de cuentos The Bolero of Andi Rowe y ganó la Mención
de Honor por el Premio Reynolds Price en Ficción 2019 otorgado por el Center
for Women Writers. Becaria
Macondo y graduada del Master of Professional Writing Program en USC, es
colaboradora de las antologías East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte y
Latina Outsiders Remaking Latina Identity. Es miembro de
Latinx in Publishing y actualmente es mentora de una escritora en su Programa
de Mentoría de Escritores inaugural.
El finalista J.L. Torres es el autor de The Family
Terrorist and Other Stories; una novela, The Accidental Native; y la colección
de poesía, Pasaporte Boricua. Ha publicado historias y poemas en numerosas
revistas y periódicos, incluidos The North American Review, Denver Quarterly,
Hayden’s Ferry Review, Eckleburg Review, Puerto del Sol, Las Americas Review y
la antología Growing Up Latino. Nacido en Puerto Rico, criado en el sur del
Bronx, vive en Plattsburgh, Nueva York, donde enseña literatura estadounidense,
literatura étnica estadounidense y escritura creativa en el campus de SUNY.
Además del doctorado, tiene un M.F.A. en escritura creativa de la Universidad
de Columbia.
El ganador del premio se anunciará en 1 de octubre de
2020 y recibirá un premio de $ 1,000, la publicación del manuscrito por LARB
Libros, una serie de LARB Books dedicada a resaltar el talento latinox
emergente y diez copias del libro. Además, el ganador tendrá una firma de
libros en UC Riverside durante la Semana de los Escritores en 2021. El juez
final del premio será Luis Alberto Urrea, novelista, poeta y ensayista
mexicano-estadounidense.
Congrats to all!
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