6 people doing great work

Today I only want to add my grito to the great things others are doing.

Mobilizing a Teen Army to Save the Planet

"14-year-old Xiuhtezcatl Martinez calls himself an 'indigenous, environmental, eco hip-hop artist activist.' Anyone who supports green policy and climate change awareness will likely call him a hero.

"Despite his age, Martinez is a growing, influential voice in the climate change movement. The young Coloradoan has given TED Talks on his conservation efforts, addressed the United Nations on the global water crisis, and earned a 2013 United States Community Service award from President Obama.

"When he's not trekking across the globe to rile up his socially-conscious youth generation, he's at home producing anti-frakking rap videos. Martinez says he's not waiting around for his elders to enact change. The future can be now. Kids, it turns out, are listening to him. Working with his organization Earth Guardians, Martinez is rallying teens from across 25 countries to demand greener policy from our world's leaders."

Many of my generation once loved to rally, march, demonstrate and move to support Change. If you still feel that way, do whatever you can to support Martinez and Earth Guardians. He's what we once were. Better, really.

La Bloga authors honored for their art

Nominations for The International Latino Book Awards came out this week, and they include four more(!) of La Bloga's contributors:

Children’s Picture Book – ¡Jugemos al Fútbol y al Football! by René Colato Laínez

Chapter Book – Letters from Heaven by Lydia Gil 

Nonfiction – Things We Don’t Talk About by Daniel A. Olivas 

Poetry – Syllables of Wind | Sílabas de Viento by Xánath Caraza

Also, my friend Matt de la Peña's book,The Living, was nominated for the Young Adult Fiction award. Matt, like René, is doing more than most Latino authors as far as creating books for Latino kids. Especially boys. Buy his books, give them to kids. Spread our words.

Es todo, hoy,

RudyG

Latino writers, workshops, books, art, anthology, calls for stories

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Matt de la Peña YA workshop. Quiñones, the journalist. Picacio's Lotería artwork. Kick-ass Latino noir. Will Big Book include Latino spec authors? PoC Time-travel anthology.

Matt de la Peña. YA & children's books author

I'll soon review Matt de la Peña's The Living, a plot-driven YA thriller that was total, Bam! Bam! Bam! If I were younger, I would've read Living in one night. Matt's one of the few spec-authors who feature Chicano protagonists in their books. In the meantime, here's a note from Matt about a Sept. workshop that will quickly fill up.

Advanced Writer Weekend Workshop:

Digging Deep: Exploring Narrative and Character Depth

with novelists Matt de la Peña and Margo Rabb

Sept. 24-27, 2015

Matt de la Peña is the author of six critically-acclaimed young adult novels (including Mexican WhiteBoy, The Living and The Hunted) and two award-winning picture books (A Nations Hope and Last Stop on Market Street).

A long weekend of lectures, craft exercises, and workshop in Austin, Texas. Matt's workshop is entitled: The Magic of Narrative Balance: Showing Patience and Restraint in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

"In this workshop we will discuss the author/reader relationship and reader psychology and the function of the narrator in novel writing. How and when do we back off and allow the characters to drive scenes and conversations? When do we the thrust the narrator forward? We will break it down using examples a wide range of published work."

If interested, you should apply today.

Sam Quiñones, journalist, novelist and ??

Primo journalist and chignón novelist Sam Quiñones wouldn't call himself a hero. It's such a cheap term now--used to describe over 1.6 million armed, U.S. employees--I won't call him that. But for years this Chicano has investigated, interviewed and written about Border issues that get Mexican journalists disappeared or assassinated. So, you pick the term you feel describes him. Quiñones recently sent us this about his article: Boxer Enriquez, the Mexican Mafia, LAPD – What’s the problem?

"There’s been a dust-up recently over a meeting that LAPD investigators held with Rene “Boxer” Enriquez, a former influential member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, in which he explained to them the inner workings of his former crime pals.

"Why would you not want a former Mexican Mafia member to be educating police brass on the workings of one of the most influential, and little-known, institutions in Southern California life today? I’ve interviewed Boxer Enriquez extensively. That’s what he does, and, an articulate fellow, he does it pretty well. He’s co-author of the book, The Black Hand.

"Far from being a 'giant waste,' this seems to me to be essential work. The Mexican Mafia is Southern California’s first regional organized crime syndicate, one of the most important institutions in Southern California, particularly in communities with large Latino populations and gang problems." [Read the entire article here.]

"Also, the new Tell Your True Tale; East Los Angeles book is out, the product of a workshop I did with a great group of eight new writers. Their stories are again fantastic — about Albert Einstein in East L.A.; a Czech 'almost blind' boy growing up in a Communist boarding home; a young man going to Tijuana to help a deported friend return; a woman on her deathbed remembering the last time she saw her kids; and a girl on her way to Mexico, a child bride. Check it out, on sale at Amazon.com for only $5.38 hardcopy or $2.99 as an ebook.

"My next Tell Your True Tale workshop begins Saturday, Jan. 31, at 10:30 a.m. at the East Los Angeles Public Library, in the Chicano Resource Center. I hope to soon expand them, with the county library's support, to Compton, South L.A. and elsewhere."

John Picacio, spec-lit artista

Two weeks ago, I wrote about a "taste of what is happening in the world of Latino speculative writers." The opportunities for Latino spec continue, like from Chicano artist John Picacio, a San Anto, Tex. homie who went spec-viral.

Picacio won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist in 2012 and 2013 for his illustration in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His accolades include the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, five Chesley Awards, and two International Horror Guild Awards, all in the Artist category. I have his Calavera poster in my living room and wish I could cover my rincón with the others, like the Sirena below. Here's news from Juan:

Many people have requested that I make my Loteria Grande cards available for online sale -- and to produce new ones. I worked until the last day of 2014 to produce new artwork and cards -- and that last push has now paid off because they're now available! Supplies are limited.        

Here's purchase details for The Loteria Grande Once Set of eleven cards, only available until Wed., Feb. 4th. I'll be actively posting on my new blog, the Lone Boy website, and here's the first post with more details on today's product announcement.

In Loteria We Trust,

John Picacio

Daniel José Older, NY Latino spec author

For years, Daniel José Older has been rising in the spec-fiction world, getting  stories published in Strange Horizons, Flash Fiction, Crossed Genres, and The Innsmouth Free Press, even though others have ignored him. Whatever kind of Latino he is, the dude's first novel is going to burn up U.S. spec literature, much like Junot Díaz scorched "literary" fiction with his novels.

I mentioned him two weeks ago and am now halfway through his Half-Resurrection Blues, the first in his Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series. I can already say: You. Should. Read. It. It's more than horror or noir. More than spec mystery. And definitely Latino. I don't how he performs in public, but if he shows up in Colo., I'll be there. His first novel is one page after another of 21st Century prose, and not regular "horror." I'll leave the rest for later, but here's a note from the writer that Publishers Weekly hailed as a “rising star of the genre, striking and original.”

"I'm so excited to announce the release of my first novel, Half-Resurrection Blues, about a half-dead hitman in Brooklyn trying to uncover the secret behind his mysterious life and death. Order it here." You can read about him.

How many Latino stories by us will The Big Book of Science Fiction contain?

Best-Book lists and anthologies of "the best" repeatedly come out with few or zero Latino authors. All we can do on our end, besides write great stories, is jump on opportunities that appear. Whether the gate-keepers let us in is of course another story. But here's an invitation from Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer. They are editing The Big Book of Science Fiction for Vintage and are soliciting suggestions until the end of March for a massive anthology of more than 500,000 words, scheduled for 2016 publication.

"The Big Book of Science Fiction will contain short stories originally published during the period 1900 to 2000, any work of fiction under 10,000 words. Works under 6,000 words will have the best chance. We define “science fiction” very broadly, from realistic hard SF all the way to surreal material with a science fiction flavor. This includes what might be called “science fiction myths.” However, we do not define SF as including traditional stories about ghosts, zombies, werewolves, vampires, unicorns, etc.

"We are very interested in international SF originally written in English and in existing translations of international SF originally published in a language other than English. We will commission a limited number of new translations and would love recommendations if you read in a language other than English and have encountered a mind-blowing story. We have translator resources in place already."

If you're a Latino who's written such stories, get the word out to your fans. Latinos' stories will not make the cut if the readers do not suggest any. Check out the details.

PoC Time Travel anthology

La Bloga received a request to spread this news:

Co-editor, Heidi Durrow (NYT best-selling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky) and I are putting together an anthology about Time Travel. Have you ever wanted to time travel? It sounds fun, unless you're from an under-represented community and then it might be not only NOT fun, but downright dangerous. Imagine being Japanese American during World War II, mixed during slavery or in the Jim Crow South, or LGBTQ, well, at any point in our history.

We are looking for writers to submit proposals for short stories (5–10 thousand words) featuring a character from an under-represented community, traveling to some time period before this one. And that's where you come in. We were hoping you could help spread the word to all of your writers and contacts. Please send proposals or questions to: Time.Traveling.4.All.of.Us ALA gmail.com. Deadline for proposals is Feb. 14, 2015. Details on the flyer.

Sincerely,

Koji Steven Sakai [Koji’s debut novel, Romeo & Juliet Vs. Zombies, will be released by the fantasy imprint of Zharme Publishing Press in 2015.

Alfredo Vea – un chisme

An Internet rumor going around regarding spec genres: "I just read a manuscript by Alfredo Vea that's going to blow the roof off that subject when Oklahoma University Press publishes the novel."

Es todo, hoy, but debe ser suficiente,

RudyG, not a rising Chicano spec author, apparently more like, floating

Diversity and sci-fi movies

Latinos and other People of Color (PoC) are expanding their presence into more than the White House. The last frontier, what might prove to be the most resistant to our inclusion is speculative literature [fantasy, magical realism, science fiction, horror, fables and myth, and alternate histories]. Por qué?

author N.K. Jemisin

From the growing movement #WeNeedDiverseBooks, to a black female author not attending a conference because of physical and sexual threats, to black author N.K. Jemison's Guest of Honor speech at WisCon, to how POC are caricatured in the 2014 Pulitzer Prize fiction winner, People of Color are pushing an agenda of inclusion, but there's push-back from the White Male Dominated spec-lit hierarchy.          

Among others, two important, interplaying factors might explain the resistance to our inclusion.

Spec lit is BIG money for those within certain cliques

Sci-fi, fantasy and horror are all over the American screens of cable, network TV and movie houses. Good or bad, blockbusters or not, apocalypse or dystopia, a lot of stories are making chingos of dinero, and in certain cases, the road begins in spec-lit short stories or novels. For writers of those stories, the lucrative film-rights would have to be spread around, if POC enter this arena.

The young, including whites, are attracted to the cultures of POC

Forget about backwards caps and low-hanging baggies, reggae and reggaetón--if the spec stories of POC reach the screen, Anglo kids might find more to love than just wearing J-Lo T-shirts.

POC stories can include themes sympathetic towards immigrants, the Chicano Movement, monetary retribution to Native Americans and descendants of slaves, Puerto Rican independence, the Cuban Revolution, the disenfranchisement of mexicanos after Texas's secession and the Mexican American War, families' communal values (instead of Western-ethic individualism), pride in ancient indigenous cultures like the Aztec and Maya (Matt de la Peña's Maya character, Sera, not the savagery of Apocalypto). And that's not a complete list.

If such ideals and beliefs from the novels of POC reach the screen in the most popular genres of speculative fiction, imagine what rebellious, white (and other) teenagers might adopt as their own values. Like, Amy Tintera's Callum Reyes character--"the perfect solider who's done taking orders!" Or, to plug my work, what if teens identify with my fantasy novel's Chicano hero who won't accept "assimilation" and joins others to save and change their world? Nomás diciendo....

It's no longer fantasy to imagine a Latino in the White House (although it's harder to imagine he would be sympathetic toward immigrants, workers' rights and stopping military invasions.) A more frightening possibility to the white-male-dominated establishment is the horror of their children accepting and even advocating for POC in EVERYTHING!

To look at it from the perspective of the white male, spec-lit establishment, as hot as spec lit is now, the old writers feel like they are finally being recognized and rewarded, as never before. For POC to demand entry into this monetary wonderland at this point is just the WORST time!

Hollywood and its young audiences may not agree. Sci-fi, as well as other spec lit, needs new blood, themes and direction, which is what Project Hieroglyph is attempting. Change will come and Latino writers entering these genres can have a great effect on its direction. Vamos a ver.

This Friday, I'll be on NPR, expounding on Latino writers and Sci-Fi, courtesy of Producer Daisy Rosario, Latino USA. I'll let you know info as it comes in.

For that broadcast, here are cites I used:

Latino readers will become more of a significant book market. "Hispanics" make up nearly a quarter of public school students, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, and are the fastest-growing of the schools' population.

Only 1% of the more than 5,000 children's books published in U.S. are about Latino protagonists, and even fewer are written by Latinos. This pattern of discrimination has not changed in the last 20 yrs.

Hollywood directors, producers and film companies generally ignore a significant percentage of their audience-goers by not developing more Latino heroes on-screen. Latino movie-goers equal the total number of all other minorities.

Will there be Latino authors in Big Book of Sci-Fi?

 

Jeff and Ann VanderMeer will be editing The Big Book of Science Fiction for Vintage, an 800-page, time capsule of the last 100 years of sci-fi. They will have an open reading period for reprints when you can submit links or electronic manuscripts of your own work or recommendations of rare or often overlooked stories you think deserve their attention. 

Clearly, to cover a century, they can't just focus on the contemporary scene. They say, "As ever, we’re committed to including work from a diverse array of sources." It may be a few months before setting up the submission process, but they'll make sure it’s widely publicized. It will be up to Latino authors and fans to submit material so this doesn't become another Big White Book of Sci-Fi. Connect with Jeff to make your literary contribution, when it's time.

Es todo, hoy, (but wait to see what mañana brings)

Rudy G, aka author Rudy Ch. Garcia

Whiteness of Santa Barbara shooting. SciFi gags on diversity. BookCon diversity. A Chicano teen does great.

The real question about Santa Barbara killings?

About the shootings, here's Chauncey DeVega:

"As I often ask, what shall we do with the white people? When an entire social structure has been erected to reinforce the lie that white folks are "normal", and those "Others" are "deviant" or "defective," it can be very difficult to break out of that haze of denial. Such an act requires a commitment to truth-telling and personal, critical, self-reflection that Whiteness, by definition, denies to most of its owners

"White privilege and Whiteness hurts white people. Aggrieved white male entitlement syndrome is killing white folks' children, wives, daughters, sons, fathers, and mothers. Yet, White America stands mute. Again, what shall we do with the white people...especially if they are so unwilling to help themselves?"

Chauncey might also have asked, when will the white people start taking care of themselves? If you have an answer for her, let her know.

Diversity breaking into more lit cons

Author Matt de la Peña put out a call for people attending BookCon to join a discussion today, Saturday. Your voice and input are needed.

Workshop-- The World Agrees:  #WeNeedDiverseBooks

Saturday, May 31, 10:00 am - 11:00 am, Room 1E02
Speakers: Aisha Saeed, Ellen Oh, Grace Lin, I.W. Gregorio, Jacqueline Woodson, Lamar Giles, Marieke Nijkamp, Matt de la Peña, Mike Jung

 
Description: After taking the Internet by storm, the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign is moving forward with brand new initiatives to continue the call for diversity in children’s literature. Join the WNDB team as they share highlights of their campaign, discuss the success of grassroots activism, highlight diverse books and how everyone can diversify their shelves and talk next steps for the campaign. 

Speaking of #WeNeedDiverseBooks, the postings of Cultivating Invisibility: Chipotle's Missing Mexicans are still cooking plenty of menudo picoso. Read and join them.

Damien Walter puts it to the SciFi/Fantasy moguls

How some feel about diversity entering the SF/F world

Latino and other voices in SciFi and fantasy lit raising questions of white privilege, exclusion of minorities and an end to non-diversity seem to be gaining ground. So much so, that a backlash arose around the Hugo awards for best fantasy and sci-fi this year. Here's some of Damien Walter's explanation about this in his piece, Science fiction's real-life war of the worlds.

"For many years, a very particular and very narrow set of authors has dominated SF. But battle for a broader fictional universe is under way. It is no coincidence that, just as it outgrows its limiting cultural biases, science fiction should also face protests from some members of the predominantly white male audience who believed it to be their rightful domain. What the conservative authors protesting the Hugo awards perceive as a liberal clique is simply science fiction outgrowing them, and their narrow conception of the genre's worth.

"The real prize for science fiction is not diversity for diversity's sake (although I happen to believe that would be prize enough). We live in a world of seven billion human beings, whose culture has not been reflected or rewarded in 'the mainstream'. Science fiction – from cult novels that reach a few thousand readers, to blockbuster movies and video games that dominate contemporary culture – has the potential to talk across every remaining boundary in our modern world. That makes it, in my opinion, potentially the most important cultural form of the 21st century. To claim that potential, it cannot afford to give way to the petulant protests of boys who do not like to share their toys."

Read the rest of his piece about this "conspiracy theory" and its losing backers. If you're progressive, you'll love it.

Only 1 of a new species

And you gotta love this kid. An inspiration from the Denver Post this week: "Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez from Boulder, Colo., is only 14 years old, but already he's a seasoned superstar in the world of political and environmental activists. He has given TED talks about his work as a leader of Earth Guardians, a worldwide organization of conservation-minded children and young adults. Last fall, he was invited to speak about the global water crisis at the United Nations. His What the Frack hip-hop video, a catchy anti-fracking song, has more than 2,000 views.

By age 12, Roske-Martinez had organized more than 35 rallies and protests. He helped stop the use of pesticides in city parks, and was among the fiercest advocates for a fee on plastic bags. His was a key voice in a project to contain coal ash, and to end a 20-year contract with Xcel Energy, allowing the city to pursue renewable energy as its primary resource.

His passions include hip-hop, participating in the annual sacred running relay from the Hopi reservation to Mexico, the current Earth Guardian campaign (a tree-planting project in 20 countries) and the summer Earth Guardian campaign to clean and protect potable water.

"This year, we're focusing on protecting one of the four elements every three months. The first quarter, it was Earth, and we did tree-planting. This summer, it will be water, and a group of 500-plus kids in Togo, Africa, will focus on that. This is about us saving the world for ourselves. I share facts about our environmental and climate- change crises. We are fighting for the survival of our generation and the health of the waters, the air, our community. We are fighting for kids everywhere."

Read all about him and forward the Earth Guardians' address to any kids you know. They'll decide what to do with it. And their planet.

HINT: To read the Denver Post article, as soon as the title appears, click the Stop Loading button. They want you to pay a buck, and will block you from it.

Es todo, hoy,

RudyG

a.k.a. Rudy Ch. Garcia

http://www.discarded-dreams.com/