Joint Press Statement - Defend The Press NexStar Tegna Announcement

Thursday, March 19, 2026

Contact: Daiquiri Ryan Mercado

Director of Advocacy, National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)

communications@nhmc.org | 703-634-9034

Today, the FCC chose to side with corporate consolidation over local communities, approving a merger that will allow one singular company to control local television stations reaching nearly 80 percent of American households.

This decision comes as Nexstar is already cutting local newsroom staff across the country — including at major stations in New York and Los Angeles — even while reporting it earned $1.56B in profit last year amid ‘better-than-expected’ growth.

This is exactly what consolidation produces: fewer journalists, more centralized control, higher retransmission fees passed on to consumers, and less independent local reporting in the communities that rely on it the most. Congress established a 39 percent national broadcast ownership cap specifically to prevent this level of concentration. In approving this transaction, the FCC is clearly overstepping the legal boundaries set by Congress as a protective measure for the American people.

This merger will not strengthen local journalism. It will accelerate newsroom consolidation, reduce competition in local media markets, and increase leverage in retransmission negotiations that historically translate into higher monthly bills and more blackout disputes for consumers.

The #DefendThePress undersigned organizations are calling for:

• Members of Congress to condemn the FCC’s lawless decision and hold the agency accountable for this blatant disregard for the law through real oversight.

• State Attorneys General to immediately challenge this unlawful, anticompetitive merger.

• Federal courts to review the agency’s action and enforce the statutory 39% ownership cap.

Local journalism is civic infrastructure. It is how residents learn when their water is unsafe, how voters evaluate candidates for school board and city council, and how communities organize in the wake of a disaster. When local newsrooms are gutted, the democratic functions they serve do not disappear — they go dark.

Historically underserved communities lose the most when local stations consolidate: coverage of their neighborhoods shrinks, their voices go unheard, and corporate programming fills the vacuum. The FCC's approval of this merger is a decision about whose communities matter.

The fight for local journalism is the fight for democracy. This approval does not end the conversation. It begins the accountability phase.

Author Q&A: ‘Ways Papi Says I Love You’ by Delia Ruiz and Illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera

Maricruz is excited for her weekend ride with Papi in his truck. She grabs her sombrero and grocery list. Once inside the truck, Papi tells her to put on her cinturón — her seat belt. “It’s Papi’s way of saying I care about you,” author Delia Ruiz writes.

During their drive through el rancho, Maricruz and her father pass colorful concrete homes and stop by to see Maricruz’s aunt. Papi pulls wildflowers from the yard and hands Maricruz a small bouquet. “This is Papi’s way of saying I appreciate you,” notes the author.

Ways Papi Says I Love You (out on March 24 from Charlesbridge) is a tender-hearted look at the different ways love is demonstrated. Ruiz applies a wonderful blend for young readers of accessible text and sprinkled-in Spanish. Each act of love is also bolded for an added effect. Carlos Vélez Aguilera brings colorful charm to Ruiz’s text with his beautiful illustrations.

Ruiz drew from personal experience to tell this story of Maricruz and her papi. She herself has memories of cruising through San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with her father in his 1984 Ford F-150. Ruiz said it was their quality time together.

Ways Papi Says I Love You is a touching story about the many love languages between a parent and child. And it’s a gentle reminder for readers to examine and explore their own ways of expressing love. 

Ruiz spoke with Latinx in Publishing about her new picture book, the different love languages, and more. The book’s Spanish-language edition, Las maneras en que papi dice te quiero, will also be published simultaneously.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Amaris Castillo: Congratulations on Ways Papi Says I Love You. In your author’s note you mention memories of riding in your father’s truck when you lived in a rancho in Mexico. What about those rides inspired you to write this book?

Delia Ruiz: When I drafted this story, I was trying to think about my childhood and what about it brought me joy. One of the things that I thought about was that truck ride, and just riding in the back of my dad’s pickup truck as we went throughout the ranch and waved to the community. It was our quality time together. I wanted to tie in that moment and include more of the other love languages. I wanted to focus on the many ways a parent can express love when those three-letter words are so hard to say. I think having those examples throughout the story can show a child that there’s different ways that love can be shown. There’s no right way or one way that love is expressed.

AC: Your book is very tender in that Maricruz’s father shows his love for her in different ways, like making sure her seatbelt is on, and giving her wildflowers from her tia’s yard. How did you decide which demonstrations of love to include in the book?

DR: I had to think about how to show all the different love expressions for a child. And so I wanted it to be actual things a parent might share specifically during a road trip. In the story, they’re in this rural setting, heading to a store. I first thought about the journey: They’re going through a creek. What happens in the story? They end up losing the (shopping) list, and they stop by a family’s house. How could love be shown throughout that little mini road trip? 

I wanted all these reminders of love to flow as naturally as possible, and to also come from a dad who grew up in a rural setting. I had all these reminders and examples of love shown in a way almost like my dad would do, because he does come from this type of setting and background. Then I wanted to tie in the daughter, to show her love at the end in a way that she felt comfortable and she wanted to express. I thought about the journey first, and then how I could sprinkle in those love examples throughout the way, as they’re heading to the store.

“I hope that readers walk away with a joyous Latine story, and work on those communication skills to strengthen those bonds they already have.”

AC: Obviously we’re talking about the five love languages. Some people know what these are, but others don’t. I found out about the love languages well into adulthood. As an author who writes for children, what considerations did you have in making sure this can be digestible to young readers?

DR: That’s such a great question. Like you, I also was the same way. I didn’t find out about all of that until I was in my adult years. I was playing around with the examples of love expressions. My goal wasn’t necessarily for children to just understand those big words, like ‘acts of service,’ or ‘words of affirmations.’ Those are big words. But I wanted them to recognize, through the illustrations and the simple text that’s outlined or bolded, just how it makes them feel. What makes them feel loved? And I want them to carry that awareness into their settings, into their classroom, so they can start to recognize how others around them like to be appreciated. 

The illustrations really help with this because they’re able to see these examples on the page, and they can relate to how they love to receive love on their own. Do they like hugs? Do they like gifts? Do they like words? And then I did include back matter on the end of the page, just so the conversation could be expanded, so the parents and educators can help the kids with these kinds of conversations. Ultimately, I just wanted kids to understand how love makes you feel, and what are some examples of what it looks like.

AC: The book was illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera, who is from Mexico. Being that it’s set in a rancho setting and is inspired by your own childhood, what kind of collaboration was there to ensure that the setting itself was drawn accurately or close to memory? 

DR: I knew I wanted the story to be set specifically outside of the United States, and I envisioned a very rural type setting. I wanted the illustrator to hopefully either come from this type of background, or know how to draw this type of background. There are many places, even in the Caribbean and throughout Latin America or South America that have rural spots. So for me, it wasn’t such a big worry that they must be from this specific background. I just wanted them to illustrate more of a rural-type scenery. They did give me a list. Carlos was on it. I really liked his portfolio, and he ended up saying yes… I didn’t want a city setting. I didn’t want Cancun, Mexico (setting) or any of these big capital cities. I really wanted the dirt roads. And he was able to do that and make this come to life.

AC: What do you hope readers take away from the Ways Papi Says I Love You?
DR: I definitely want readers to walk away with understanding that there’s not really a right way or one way to express love. I hope that little ones can use this book and see examples of the ways that they enjoy just being cared for. And I hope that parents and educators can walk away with this book and practice that there’s different ways that you can make your kids feel appreciated. It helps create this deeper bond, or strengthen that bond that we have. So I hope that readers walk away with a joyous Latine story, and work on those communication skills to strengthen those bonds they already have.

---

Delia Ruiz is a Latine teacher-turned-author from San Antonio, Texas. Her books include the ¡1, 2, 3 Baila! bilingual board book series and Roqui’s Pandero Beat, winner of the International Latino Book Award. Delia hopes to inspire the next generation of writers who also come from immigrant households. She lives in Puerto Rico with her husband, their son, and their pug. www.aventurasenesl.com 

Carlos Vélez Aguilera is an award-winning illustrator from Mexico City, Mexico, who has a degree from the National University Autonomous of Mexico. He has illustrated more than twenty children's books, and he’s the author/illustrator of Salón Destino. Carlos has been recognized with two illustration awards from the International Children's and Youth Book Fair in Mexico. 

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist and writer. Her debut book, Bodega Stories, will be published in September 2026 from the University Press of Florida. 

Author Q&A: Carolina Ixta Talks Sophomore Novel, ‘Few Blue Skies’

Carolina Ixta’s sophomore novel, Few Blue Skies, follows Paloma Vistamontes — a teenager who embarks on a fight against a major corporation dominating her town. San Fermín is changing drastically. Along its mountains, warehouses from Selva — a massive e-commerce conglomerate — are being built.

“It used to be so easy — a clear view of the earth around me,” Paloma narrates in the first chapter. “But after Selva moved in, everything turned gray. Especially the air we’re breathing.”

Paloma, still nursing a broken heart over her ex, Julio, decides she wants to research the health impacts Selva is having on its workers and the surrounding community. The stakes rise when she learns that the corporation is planning to open one of their warehouses beside her high school.

Few Blue Skies is a poignant YA novel about environmental injustice, morality, labor issues, and more. Ixta, an award-winning author from Oakland, was partly inspired by her time spent in the Inland Empire with her godmother, who lives in Riverside. But by her early 20s, Ixta noticed how much the area had changed. There were now all these gray buildings everywhere — logistic centers for retailers like Amazon and Target.

Ixta spoke with Latinx in Publishing about the extensive research she underwent to write Few Blue Skies, her character’s second chance romance, and much more.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Amaris Castillo (AC): Can you tell us about the research you did about the warehouse industry while writing this book. What was the research like and what did you learn?

Carolina Ixta (CI): It was so intense, and perhaps the biggest part of writing it. One of my good friends, Alberto, is from the Inland Empire. When I was stuck on beginning to write, I called him and he was like, ‘What do you mean you’re stuck? Just call people.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I don’t know anyone.’ And he was like, ‘Let me do it.’ He put me in contact with someone, who put me in contact with someone — and eventually it led to 30 or 40 interviews with community members: parents, art activists, warehouse workers. I interviewed so many people because I wanted to get an almost kaleidoscopic understanding of the problem as someone who is not from there. There was a lot of privilege that I had to be able to talk to these people as almost a journalist, instead of someone who was down there living that experience. 

I was also heavily on JSTOR. There’s a lot of red tape because I no longer have access to an academia email address. But anything that was free on JSTOR, I would download, print, put into a binder, read, and take copious notes on. I have a binder just full of research. I attended a conference with an environmental justice organization so that I could talk to people who led the movement against this warehouse construction by this high school. They wouldn’t answer my emails, so I was like, ‘I’m just gonna drive and I’m gonna find these people.’

When I think back on it now, it was so intense, but everyone was very open to speaking with me, which I feel so grateful for.

“So I hope people learn and I hope people feel seen at the same time. That’s the goal with all of my books: to have folks learn and have language they might not have had prior. ”

AC: Among the stressors of Paloma’s daily life is this great tension between her parents. Her mother wants to leave their town of San Fermín and be closer to her relatives, and her father is a Selva worker on strike. What message were you hoping to send in having this couple sit on the far ends of this issue?

CI: In some ways it was inspired by my own parental dynamic. My dad, when he was still in my life, was a delivery worker. I saw the wear and tear it had on his body. He broke his neck once and he shattered his rotator cuff twice. He had physical wear from doing that type of work. And it sounds like such simple work: you drop off the package but, over time, those people are subject to such barbaric treatment. My mom, to this day, is hyper vigilant when it comes to money and is very wise with a dollar and knows how to stretch a dollar. She taught me about money from a very young age, which I feel incredibly grateful for. 

So I was thinking about a strike, and how I wanted a parental dynamic with a person who leads with her head, which is mom — and a person who leads with heart, which is dad. And how those two things, in a situation like this, are at strife. I think an easy thing would be to go, ‘Paloma’s dad is working for the greater good of the people.’ But what does that mean for Paloma’s mother? I had never seen that dynamic explored — that strikes are selfless in many ways because we’re all stopping work for a goal, but usually someone has to pick up the slack at home.

AC: I also want to take a moment to talk about this incredibly slow burn between Paloma and her ex, Julio Ramos. What role did you see their relationship playing in the book when you have all these very heavy issues?

CI: The first draft of the book was so heavy. There was no book I could really pick up to help me. I’m not saying I am the first. There are multiple different books that I picked up for different reasons: I picked up Esperanza Rising (by Pam Muñoz Ryan) for the strike. I picked up Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin to talk about air quality. I couldn’t figure out the pacing of the book because of its undertaking. My friends were like, ‘If I were 17, I would not really care too much about a strike in the warehouse. I would care about what’s going to happen with these two young people. Are they going to date again?’ So I picked up the romance as lightness, to give the book levity. And as a hook, for kids to go, ‘Damn. This is a really terrible situation that these kids find themselves in. It seems like they’re both on the same page. Are they going to date again?’... I need kids to feel some type of lightness when they’re reading it. It’s like a good pause for the destruction and chaos happening around them.

AC: What do you hope people take away from Few Blue Skies?

CI: I hope people learn. I think that’s my discipline as an educator: I want people to learn as much as they possibly can about an experience that may be different from theirs. I recently listened to a really interesting interview with Rosalía where she talks about how great fiction blurs the line between yourself and the other. I would hope that this book blurs it, in the sense that it feels immediate. There are feelings that are ubiquitous through the book, which are loss, grief, love, desire and morality. And there’s the external piece, which might teach you about an experience that you haven’t experienced before, including the place and the destruction of the environment in the location.

So I hope people learn and I hope people feel seen at the same time. That’s the goal with all of my books: to have folks learn and have language they might not have had prior. But also to understand that, despite how different this book might be from their own experience, it’s still rooted in something that’s very familiar, which is love and grief and everything else.

---

Carolina Ixta is a writer from Oakland, California. A daughter of Mexican immigrants, she received her BA in creative writing and Spanish language and literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and obtained her master's degree in education at the University of California, Berkeley. Her debut novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious, was a Morris Award finalist, an LA Times Book Prize finalist, and the winner of the Pura Belpré Award. Few Blue Skies is her sophomore novel.

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist and writer. Her debut book, Bodega Stories, will be published in September 2026 from the University Press of Florida.

Most Anticipated March 2026 Releases

Looking for the perfect read? You’re in luck! Look no further than our list of most anticipated book releases in March for your next epic read. 🍀

El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory by Jazmine Ulloa | NONFICTION

El Paso has been called the “Ellis Island” of America’s southern border, a mountain pass cum border town cum bifurcated metropolis where past meets future, and disadvantage meets opportunity, or so the promise goes.

El Paso is an extraordinary, can’t-look-away reported history; it uses deep research and dozens of new interviews to blow away the myth of this place, where Mexico’s Juarez and America’s El Paso intertwine. It charts the history of El Paso through five families. From the Mexican Revolution and the Mexican Repatriation, to the shifting immigration laws under Reagan and Trump and the violence and bloodshed brought on by the drug war, El Paso captures a place often misunderstood or forgotten by the rest of the country, and the world.

El Paso is a brave new work of narrative nonfiction that gives new voice and perspective to history that has long been checked at the border, or told through the lens of white men alone. Ulloa draws upon meticulous research and reporting and stunning historical detail to craft the intimate narratives of an unforgettable cast of characters.

Diorama by Carol Bensimon | Translated by Zoë Perry & Julia Sanches | FICTION

In 1988, shortly after Brazil reestablishes democratic rule, a state congressman is shot and killed in Porto Alegre. The main suspect: a close friend and colleague in congress, Representative Raul Matzenbacher.

Many years later, Cecília Matzenbacher, his daughter, migrates from Southern Brazil to California, where she finds work as a taxidermist. Her temperament is ideally suited to this type of restoration and the careful reconstruction of a world frozen in time. But as Cecília confronts her own history and the memories of the investigation surrounding her father, her knack for composition frays.

When news arrives that Raul has suffered a stroke and Cecília’s chances to see him again may be limited, her past can no longer stay put, posed like a specimen behind glass. Her story emerges, the past stalking her present, threatening to derail the life she’s made for herself in the United States.

In sleek, arresting prose imbued with the suspense-filled edge of a true-crime thriller, Diorama cements Carol Bensimon’s status as one of the most dynamic voices in contemporary Brazilian literature and demonstrates her narrative gifts at their apex. Fusing police procedural, coming-of-age story, and family drama, Diorama is a moving mystery about how we remember what’s passed, endangering our notions of what is or isn’t still alive inside all of us.

Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea | YOUNG ADULT

Estela Morales is one of the only Latinas who tested into San Francisco’s most exclusive public high school. In her senior year, Estela just wants to keep her head down, eke out a passing grade from her racist Spanish teacher, and get into her dream college. 

But after placing second in the Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest behind a non-Latino student, Estela is thrust into citywide debates about merit, identity, and diversity.

Things only get messier when her family is threatened with eviction. As Estela’s friends organize against bigotry and her landlady increases the pressure, Estela is suffocating and finds release only in poetry and in a breathless new romance. When tensions finally reach their breaking point, Estela must find a way to undrown the community she loves—and herself.

Now I Surrender by Álvaro Enrigue | Translated by Natasha Wimmer | FICTION

Orchestrated with a stunningly imagined cast of characters, both historical and purely fictional, Now I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction. Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past.

Part epic, part alt-Western, Now I Surrender is Álvaro Enrigue’s most expansive and impassioned novel yet. It weaves past and present, myth and history into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty—and an homage to the spark in us that still thrills to its memory.

Could You Ever Smile with Axolotls!? by Sandra Markle | Illustrated by Vanessa Morales | CHILDREN’S

What if you could spend a day with your favorite animals? What would you eat? How would you play? Would you ever want to leave?

Get ready to smile with axolotls in the fourth book in the Could You Ever... series! Learn all about this unusual animal -- what it eats, where it lives, and more! This innovative book places kids right into the action as they learn all about these amazing creatures.

With imaginative, interactive text from bestselling author Sandra Markle and engaging art from Vanessa Morales, this book is sure to be a kid favorite!

The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa | FICTION

Vanessa Cordero used to run a profitable side gig: For a reasonable fee, she’d date your crush . . . and make his life miserable. Too clingy? Check. Jealous? Check. A parent's worst nightmare? Triple check. By the time Vanessa was done with him, your guy was practically begging for you. 

Enter Jason Torres, a certified commitment-phobe who doesn't plan on getting married anytime soon, much to his mother’s dismay. What he needs is a temporary girlfriend. A totally inappropriate girlfriend. Someone his mother will hate, so she'll finally abandon her dream of getting him to the altar.

Vanessa's younger sister, Lisa, has her eye on Jason, and convinces Vanessa to come out of retirement for one last starter ex engagement. The rules are simple: no touching, no fooling around, and definitely no falling in love. But nothing's going according to plan. Because Vanessa can't ditch Jason no matter how hard she tries to scare him away. And the longer they're around each other, the more neither of them wants to be apart.

Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See by Anthony Gomez III | NONFICTION

Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See was a slow, reluctant success. Pushed by Capitol Records as an album for teenagers to make out during, as a record about girlhood, and as music for those uninterested in the era's male aggression, the album's reputation has been plagued by these forced connections ever since.

Not that the band's Hope Sandoval or David Roback ever publicly cared to dispel these notions. They preferred to disdain publicity and offer their art without introduction. But there is far more to the Mazzy Star story than media-reluctant musicians and corporate-generated narratives.

By tracing the hurried development of their second record, this book revisits how imposed mythologies have contributed to the marginalization of Hope Sandoval's Mexican American background, and the band's place in the larger tradition of Chicano music. It combs through the histories of musicians involved in Sandoval and Roback's prior projects to highlight how Mazzy Star formed partly in response to the rising violence and gentrification of their hometown Los Angeles. Along the way, it ascertains the band's interest in the American Southwest, 1960s psychedelia, and a surrealism which conjures the strange, dark shadows of everyday life in the US.

March 2026 Latinx Releases

On Sale March 3

Provincetown Stories by Russ López | SHORT STORIES

Provincetown Stories captures the eccentric charm of Ptown and the stunning beauty of Cape Cod. Set in a densely packed, three-block-wide, three-mile-long seaside town, these stories unfold across its vibrant clubs, sun-soaked beaches, bustling streets, and sparkling waters-where drama, humor, and heart are always in full supply.

From longtime locals to fleeting visitors, unforgettable characters bring Provincetown to life: Aurora, the town's gentle healer of broken hearts; Jackson, a self-absorbed demon twink; Cee, a quiet soul searching for a place free from judgment; and Luna the immortal, who holds the town's chaos at bay.

Some stories will make you laugh, others will move you or highlight deeper social truths. But at the heart of them all is the town itself-its natural beauty and the extraordinary people who call it home regardless of whether it is for a lifetime, a season, or just a night or weekend.

To Love Like Venus by Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos | FICTION

Alita Melusine is the embodiment of desire. Her appetite for pleasure drives much of her twenties and is deliciously displayed in her roller-disco dancing, a niche retro craze in Manhattan's 2050s-itself a scene of gentrified cyberpunk. That her heart remains untouched by Eros's arrow is one of the many attributes Jean loves about her. Yet her aged Casanova-like mentor is also the first to point out Alita's greatest flaw: Though Alita is a whiz at making sense of datasets detailing the sexual habits of the city at her job assisting artificial intelligence, she's less certain of her own personal life. Despite what Jean tells her, she's always believed that somewhere in relationships there is room for love.

Now she's ready to try this theory out, despite Jean's objections-no matter what the cost. So when she pairs with the winsome Kaveh, she finds herself on uncharted roads-and facing the rabid objections of Kaveh's mother, Claire, who disapproves of Alita and her shameless flaunting of selfhood in the roller-disco rink. When the latest superstorm hits the city, Alita's world begins to unravel. Jean's imprint on her life is more than she realized-as is, unfortunately, Claire's. On an island where life is lived in a rave of niche fantasy, in the midst of a surrender to environmental collapse, Alita must put together the pieces of her mosaic to confront the woman she really is-and learn what it means to love like the storms of Venus.

Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea | YOUNG ADULT

Estela Morales is one of the only Latinas who tested into San Francisco’s most exclusive public high school. In her senior year, Estela just wants to keep her head down, eke out a passing grade from her racist Spanish teacher, and get into her dream college. 

But after placing second in the Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest behind a non-Latino student, Estela is thrust into citywide debates about merit, identity, and diversity.

Things only get messier when her family is threatened with eviction. As Estela’s friends organize against bigotry and her landlady increases the pressure, Estela is suffocating and finds release only in poetry and in a breathless new romance. When tensions finally reach their breaking point, Estela must find a way to undrown the community she loves—and herself.

Diorama by Carol Bensimon | Translated by Zoë Perry & Julia Sanches | FICTION

In 1988, shortly after Brazil reestablishes democratic rule, a state congressman is shot and killed in Porto Alegre. The main suspect: a close friend and colleague in congress, Representative Raul Matzenbacher.

Many years later, Cecília Matzenbacher, his daughter, migrates from Southern Brazil to California, where she finds work as a taxidermist. Her temperament is ideally suited to this type of restoration and the careful reconstruction of a world frozen in time. But as Cecília confronts her own history and the memories of the investigation surrounding her father, her knack for composition frays.

When news arrives that Raul has suffered a stroke and Cecília’s chances to see him again may be limited, her past can no longer stay put, posed like a specimen behind glass. Her story emerges, the past stalking her present, threatening to derail the life she’s made for herself in the United States.

El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory by Jazmine Ulloa | NONFICTION

El Paso has been called the “Ellis Island” of America’s southern border, a mountain pass cum border town cum bifurcated metropolis where past meets future, and disadvantage meets opportunity, or so the promise goes.

El Paso is an extraordinary, can’t-look-away reported history; it uses deep research and dozens of new interviews to blow away the myth of this place, where Mexico’s Juarez and America’s El Paso intertwine. It charts the history of El Paso through five families. From the Mexican Revolution and the Mexican Repatriation, to the shifting immigration laws under Reagan and Trump and the violence and bloodshed brought on by the drug war, El Paso captures a place often misunderstood or forgotten by the rest of the country, and the world.

Now I Surrender by Álvaro Enrigue | Translated byNatasha Wimmer | FICTION

Orchestrated with a stunningly imagined cast of characters, both historical and purely fictional, Now I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction. Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past.

The Supreme Gift: Love Is the Greatest Thing in the World by Paulo Coelho | Translated by Margaret Jull Costa | NONFICTION

The Supreme Gift is an invitation for reflection, a clear and concise response to life's biggest questions. Inspired by a 19th century sermon by Henry Drummond offering a deeper understanding of love, here Coelho explains love as the culmination of nine elements, which we can incorporate into our everyday lives for an instant connection to life's most important gift:

1. patience,

2. kindness,

3. generosity,

4. humility,

5. gentleness,

6. dedication,

7. tolerance,

8. sincerity, and

9. innocence.

Could You Ever Smile with Axolotls!? by Sandra Markle | Illustrated by Vanessa Morales | CHILDREN’S

What if you could spend a day with your favorite animals? What would you eat? How would you play? Would you ever want to leave?

Get ready to smile with axolotls in the fourth book in the Could You Ever... series! Learn all about this unusual animal -- what it eats, where it lives, and more! This innovative book places kids right into the action as they learn all about these amazing creatures.

Rhea's Rodeo by Laekan Zea Kemp | Illustrated by Raissa Figueroa | CHILDREN’S

Rhea LOVES Rodeo Day!

She loves the boots and buckles and ruffles. She loves riding her trusted steed, Galleta, alongside her mighty girl teammates. But more than anything, Rhea likes to WIN! As she and her friends stampede through the arena, Rhea can almost taste victory. But will she be able to get back in the saddle if they don’t take home the coveted trophy?

On Sale March 10

Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros | CHILDREN’S

Quetzalcóatl Castillo—Queso for short—has had an ache in his heart that won’t go away ever since his father’s death. More than anything, he wishes he could spend time with his dad again.

After whispering that wish one night under the light of the moon, Queso wakes up the next morning in 1985. With twelve-year-old Pancho—the kid who will grow up to be his dad.

Even though he has no idea what to do, Queso is just happy to be by his dad’s side again. But while Pancho is confident when scoring on the foosball table or standing up to bullies, he doesn’t think he’s smart enough to reach for his dreams.

If only Pancho believed in himself the way Queso does, who knows what his story could be? 

Mystery on Macaw Mountain by María José Fitzgerald | CHILDREN’S

Nico and his cousins don't have much in common, but they're all excited to visit the Mayan ruins at Copán and witness the release of the scarlet macaws. Nearly extinct in Honduras, eight of these majestic birds are about to be introduced to a brand new bird sanctuary. But on the eve of the big day the birds are stolen!

Who could have planned this bewildering bird heist—and why? Nico and his cousins are determined to find out—and anyone could be a suspect: poachers, developers, Mama's annoying novio . . . The investigation will take them from bustling downtown Copán to the mist-shrouded ruins of Macaw Mountain, uniting the cousins as they unravel a plot far stranger than any of them could have imagined.

No Way Never Sisters by Chantel Acevedo & Natalia Sylvester | CHILDREN’S

Melisa Flores and Roxy Romero are not fans of each other. Roxy is sporty while Meli is artsy. Meli keeps her friend circle small while Roxy is pals with everyone. Their little brothers might get along like fruit in a delicious smoothie, but Meli and Roxy do not mix.

So when their parents announce their engagement, the girls are horrified. Previous experience has told them they’ll never be friends, much less sisters. Meli and Roxy decide they have to do something to prevent this future blended family from ruining all their lives.

The girls scheme to show their parents exactly how incompatible their families are by sabotaging the renovations of the house they’re supposed to live happily ever after in. From home improvement store catastrophes to disastrous paint jobs, it’s clear the girls are good teammates when it comes to causing chaos. Could it be enough to convince their parents to call off the wedding?

But as the girls plot to show their parents exactly how incompatible their families are, they start to actually like each other—causing major complications when their plan begins working a little too well…

Forest En Familia / El Bosque En Familia by Cynthia Harmony | Illustrated by Renata Galindo | CHILDREN’S

Emilia and her family are gearing up for their first forest en familia day in a big, beautiful park! Emilia thinks her little brother, Nico, will fit right into the wild, but will she? With Abue Tita's reminder to keep her ears, eyes, and heart open to surprises, Emilia finds that nature is a perfect fit.

Packing treats, driving to the park, meeting a friendly ranger at the gate, hiking a trail, and picnicking under a welcoming tree--Emilia's day is full and so is her heart.

Little Awa by Mrinali Álvarez Astacio | CHILDREN’S

Awa lives in a small house in a peaceful and quiet village - too quiet.

When the village elders gather to solve the mystery of the silence, they turn to kind Little Awa - who has a special way with nature - to find a solution.

As she embarks on her journey, she is helped by "the ones" in the ground and in the sky.

One day she finds herself covered in feathers.

She dreams she is flying over her village, delivering the one thing that has been missing - the beautiful and long-forgotten songs of the birds.

But this is not the end of Awa's journey in this moving tale.

Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo | FICTION

Guls can be brutal. Few know this better than Ariadne, who lost half her body to their appetites, but their brutality is a predictable constant amid Brazil’s political chaos. Now, she treats them in the specialized clinic she inherited from Erik Yurkov—the mentor who rescued her as a child, trained her in medicine, built her prostheses, and disappeared without a trace.

Ariadne’s routine is disturbed when Quaint knocks on her door: a charming, tattooed gul claiming to be Erik’s oldest friend. Quaint suspects foul play in Erik’s disappearance, and they soon discover Erik sought asylum at Cabaré, an infamous club in Rio de Janeiro frequented by the gul elite.

Together, Ariadne and Quaint will unravel the conspiracy behind their friend’s disappearance, navigate the labyrinthine world of Ariadne’s memories, and discover what Erik means to them—and what they are starting to mean to each other.

You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado | FICTION

When Papi Ramon, the patriarch of the wealthy Abreu family dies, he gives the family one last message in the will: “One of you is el bacà, the demon that I made a deal with. Get rid of them or you will be damned.” Xiomara, the uncontested favorite of Papi Ramon (and therefore the least liked in the family), watches as everyone dismisses this as the joke of a senile old man and demands the lawyer obtain the previous will Papi wrote.

While the lawyer drives back to his office, a storm breaks out, forcing the entire family—Xiomara’s aunts and uncles and cousins—to remain in the house. And the words of Papi’s will hangs over their heads even heavier than the rain clouds. Over the course of the night, scandal after scandal is revealed to the public about the family. Suddenly a tense few hours of surviving her family turns into a vicious night of recrimination, violence, accusations…and murder.

Xiomara is faced with an impossible task: uproot a demon and somehow kill it or excise the ghosts that linger within her own family.

And the clock is ticking...

The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa | FICTION

Vanessa Cordero used to run a profitable side gig: For a reasonable fee, she’d date your crush . . . and make his life miserable. Too clingy? Check. Jealous? Check. A parent's worst nightmare? Triple check. By the time Vanessa was done with him, your guy was practically begging for you. 

Enter Jason Torres, a certified commitment-phobe who doesn't plan on getting married anytime soon, much to his mother’s dismay. What he needs is a temporary girlfriend. A totally inappropriate girlfriend. Someone his mother will hate, so she'll finally abandon her dream of getting him to the altar.

Vanessa's younger sister, Lisa, has her eye on Jason, and convinces Vanessa to come out of retirement for one last starter ex engagement. The rules are simple: no touching, no fooling around, and definitely no falling in love. But nothing's going according to plan. Because Vanessa can't ditch Jason no matter how hard she tries to scare him away. And the longer they're around each other, the more neither of them wants to be apart.

Second Chance Duet by Ana Holguin | FICTION

Celia García has always had one goal: to compose film scores. But after a decade of advertising jingles, that dream couldn't be further out of reach--until an old college friend presents her with a life-changing opportunity. A big-name director so desperately needs a composer for his TV debut that he'll take a chance on someone new. There's only one catch. Celia has to work--and live--with her college nemesis, Oliver Barlowe.

Celia remembers Oliver as arrogant, rude, and entitled--the picture-perfect scion of Hollywood royalty. Soon, though, late nights and long days together reveal how much Oliver's changed, sparking new feelings and the discovery that their rivalry wasn't quite as mutual as she thought. But in an industry where she needs to work twice as hard to be seen as half as good, a romance with Oliver could end Celia's career just as it's starting.

Frida's Cook by Florencia Etcheves | Translated by Beth Fowler | FICTION

A hidden painting. A buried past. A legacy waiting to be uncovered.

Mexico City, 1939: Young and determined Nayeli Cruz flees from her Oaxaca home to arrive in Mexico City with neither friends nor prospects. Alone and armed only with her sharp wit and extraordinary talent in the kitchen, she finds herself in front of La Caza Azul, the home of Frida Kahlo. As she begins work as the artist’s cook, Nayeli is pulled into Frida’s world of pain, passion, and defiance. But it isn’t long before amid the vibrant tapestry of flavors, scents, and colors, the two women form a deep bond—one that will shape the course of Nayeli’s life and leave behind a secret buried in art.

Buenos Aires, Present Day: Paloma, Nayeli’s granddaughter, stumbles upon a mysterious painting depicting her grandmother as a young woman. The artist’s identity is unknown, but the artwork’s existence threatens to unravel long-held family secrets. As Paloma delves into her grandmother’s past, she uncovers a tale of passion, betrayal, and resilience that challenges everything she thought she knew about the one woman who raised her.

On Sale March 24

Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See by Anthony Gomez III | NONFICTION

Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See was a slow, reluctant success. Pushed by Capitol Records as an album for teenagers to make out during, as a record about girlhood, and as music for those uninterested in the era's male aggression, the album's reputation has been plagued by these forced connections ever since.

Not that the band's Hope Sandoval or David Roback ever publicly cared to dispel these notions. They preferred to disdain publicity and offer their art without introduction. But there is far more to the Mazzy Star story than media-reluctant musicians and corporate-generated narratives.

By tracing the hurried development of their second record, this book revisits how imposed mythologies have contributed to the marginalization of Hope Sandoval's Mexican American background, and the band's place in the larger tradition of Chicano music. It combs through the histories of musicians involved in Sandoval and Roback's prior projects to highlight how Mazzy Star formed partly in response to the rising violence and gentrification of their hometown Los Angeles. Along the way, it ascertains the band's interest in the American Southwest, 1960s psychedelia, and a surrealism which conjures the strange, dark shadows of everyday life in the US.

Ways Papi Says I Love You by Delia Ruiz | Illustrated by Carlos Velez Aguilera | CHILDREN’S

When Papi, who is always busy working at el rancho, asks Maricruz to jump in the truck with him to go get groceries for Mami, she grabs the list and sprints! During the drive, they wave to the people in their community and enjoy each other's company. But when they make a turn down a particularly bumpy road, they lose their grocery list. Fortunately, an unexpected friend shows up to save the day!

Inspired by the author’s own truck rides with her father through a ranch in Mexico, Ways Papi Says I Love You connects the love languages between a father and daughter and shows the many ways love can be expressed and received.

On Sale March 31

Starside by Alex Aster | FICTION

Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals—the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside is where mortals fight for scraps of that magic.

Every fifty years, the gates between them open, and fifty challengers are allowed to journey across Starside on a deadly quest to access a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life. Everyone has their reasons for entering, but Aris has only one: vengeance. As a child, a goddess set fire to her village, killing her family. Aris isn’t after the gods’ magic—she’s going to kill them.

First, she must survive the Culling, the king’s deadly competition to choose his fifty challengers. An orphaned blacksmith’s apprentice, Aris doesn’t have the superior weapons of the heirs from the Great Houses. But the greatest swords—ones that contain power—are not inherited or bought, they are claimed, by both sides. And when Aris claims a great sword, it makes her not just a real competitor—but a target.

Getting past the gates is only the beginning. Starside is deadlier than it seems. If the ancient creatures, magic-wielding beasts, and bloodthirsty immortals weren’t dangerous enough, a new peril has even immortals fearing what rises from the ground at night. With a blade most would kill to claim, Aris can’t trust anyone. Especially not Harlan Raker, the merciless and mysterious king’s guard who betrayed her years ago—and who may now be the key to her survival.

But Aris is hiding a secret tied to her family’s death. And when it’s revealed, not even the gods will be able to stop what’s coming…

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen | Illustrated by Violeta Encarnación | CHILDREN’S

Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful reverso poem that tells two deeply resonant stories across time. It begins with a Japanese American girl sent to an internment camp in Oklahoma during World War II. Read in reverse, it reveals the journey of a Latina girl detained in the very same camp decades later, during the U.S. policy of migrant family separation. Harrowing and emotionally charged, this poetic narrative compels us to confront a haunting question: What have we truly learned in the past 80 years about how we treat the most vulnerable among us? With haunting symmetry and striking parallels, Barbed Wire Between Us is a moving meditation on justice, memory, and the echoes of history that still shape our present.

13 New Romances By Latinx Authors To Pick Up This 2026

¡Feliz mes del amor y la amistad! We hope you spread the love amongst friends and loved ones the whole month of February. 💝 Although the month is coming to an end, our love for romances is year-long.

A great romance will give you passion and excitement, joy and friendship, and of course, charming romantic interests. Fake dating? ✅ Forced proximity? ✅ High Priestesses? ✅ Star-crossed loves? ✅ Check out our list below for a variety of titles that will surely feature your favorite tropes and feed your love for romance all 2026.

The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa | On Sale March 10

Vanessa Cordero used to run a profitable side gig: For a reasonable fee, she’d date your crush . . . and make his life miserable. Too clingy? Check. Jealous? Check. A parent's worst nightmare? Triple check. By the time Vanessa was done with him, your guy was practically begging for you. 

Enter Jason Torres, a certified commitment-phobe who doesn't plan on getting married anytime soon, much to his mother’s dismay. What he needs is a temporary girlfriend. A totally inappropriate girlfriend. Someone his mother will hate, so she'll finally abandon her dream of getting him to the altar.

Vanessa's younger sister, Lisa, has her eye on Jason, and convinces Vanessa to come out of retirement for one last starter ex engagement. The rules are simple: no touching, no fooling around, and definitely no falling in love. But nothing's going according to plan. Because Vanessa can't ditch Jason no matter how hard she tries to scare him away. And the longer they're around each other, the more neither of them wants to be apart.

Second Chance Duet by Ana Holguin | On Sale March 10

Celia García has always had one goal: to compose film scores. But after a decade of advertising jingles, that dream couldn't be further out of reach--until an old college friend presents her with a life-changing opportunity. A big-name director so desperately needs a composer for his TV debut that he'll take a chance on someone new. There's only one catch. Celia has to work--and live--with her college nemesis, Oliver Barlowe.

Celia remembers Oliver as arrogant, rude, and entitled--the picture-perfect scion of Hollywood royalty. Soon, though, late nights and long days together reveal how much Oliver's changed, sparking new feelings and the discovery that their rivalry wasn't quite as mutual as she thought. But in an industry where she needs to work twice as hard to be seen as half as good, a romance with Oliver could end Celia's career just as it's starting.

Daughter of the Hunt by K Arsenault Rivera | March 17

Iphigenia Pelops lives only to serve her family. As the eldest child, it is her responsibility and privilege--as well as the only safeguard against the family curse. So when Artemis, Queen of the Court of the Wild, demands a sacrifice from the Pelops in exchange for her blessing in a dangerous power struggle, Iphigenia is the natural choice.

However, Artemis is horrified when she learns that Iphigenia's family offered Iphigenia without her consent. As recompense, she takes Iphigenia as her disciple and teaches her the ways of the hunt--and soon, the ways of the body, as feelings blossom between them.

Only Iphigenia cannot forget her precious siblings, doomed to misfortune by the Pelops curse--and freeing them will require a terrible cost.

More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope | On Sale April 7

As the daughter of Cuban immigrants, Isabella Valdes knows three things for certain:

• her late father's restaurant is thriving

• she owns lots of designer things

• both of those statements are absolute lies to make her mother happy

Isabella would do anything to keep her father's legacy alive, including attending her estranged cousin's weeklong wedding extravaganza. Because once Sofia's wealthy fiancé tastes the recipes Isa prepares from her father's cherished journal, he's sure to invest.

To Isa's annoyance, she'll be sharing a cabin with Valentina, the former friend turned rival who ruined her quinceañera. But Val is offering an unexpected deal--she'll help Isa unravel an old family secret found in her father's journal in return for help sabotaging the wedding and winning the heart of the bride.

Saying yes is a bad idea. Isa's perfectionism meets its match in Val's carefree demeanor, but as they work together, the usually responsible Isa can't seem to say no to Val's shenanigans. There's no hiding from Val, no ignoring this complicated but undeniable connection that's changing Isa's beliefs about love, loyalty and just how much she owes to her family--and to herself...

How to Fake a Southern Gentleman by Mayra Cuevas & Marie Marquardt | On Sale April 7

Proud single mom Holly Simmons and ambitious journalist Luisa Martín Moreno have nothing in common—until Atlanta’s most powerful man, Griggs Caldecott Johnson III, turns both their lives upside down. Griggs is threatening Holly’s job as the events manager at the hoity-toity Dogwood Hills Country Club, while Luisa gets fired for trying to expose his scheme to defraud an immigrant family and snatch up their land for a luxury development.

Determined to fight back, the women team up to infiltrate Griggs’s inner circle. Their secret weapon? Elijah Denvil Sweet, a sexy hustler with a knack for reinvention. With a makeover, etiquette lessons, and a little help from Professor Pridmore—a charming, handsome, and single linguistics professor—Eli transforms into “Tripp,” the kind of Southern gentleman Griggs might just trust.

But as the plan takes shape, so do tender and unexpected feelings neither woman saw coming—with the very men helping them get justice.

The Last Page by Katie Holt | On Sale May 12

Ella has grown up at The Last Page, a charming local bookstore in New York City where she now works. Her first kiss was in the women’s health section. A boyfriend dumped her in comedy. The owner is like a second father to her and has begun training her to take over the store. So when he unexpectedly dies and his estranged grandson is left everything in the will, Ella is devastated. 

Henry doesn’t know the first thing about running a bookstore. With his aging mom back in Tennessee, he plans to stay in New York just long enough to ensure things are running smoothly and then head back home. What he never could have counted on was the beautiful, funny bookseller who loves The Last Page more than any place in the world—and who sees him as the villain who’s come to ruin her life.

But when it becomes evident that the store is in deep financial trouble and Henry and Ella are both at risk of losing everything, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and team up—despite the inconvenient chemistry blossoming between them. 

I'm Gonna Get You Back by Eva Des Lauriers | On Sale May 19

Reid Rousseau has always been a winner. Now, he's a former state champion runner with an injury no one can know about and a college scholarship on the line. When he’s invited as the guest of honor for Legacy Weekend, a competitive tradition that welcomes high school alumni back to their small mountain town, Reid would rather run away than face his crumbling future—and the girl who broke his heart.

Clara Suarez’s legacy can’t be failure. A year out of high school and aimless, she has one last shot at getting into her dream film school: creating a Legacy Weekend video interviewing her former classmates—including Reid, her ex—about their explosive senior year and the scandal that capped it off. But any time people return to the mountain, drama follows . . . especially when an anonymous social media account starts airing everyone's dirty laundry.

Reid isn’t the only one hiding something, and Clara isn’t the only one with regrets. Their spark is still strong enough to set off a wildfire, but their secrets might just tear them apart for good.

Running Home to You by Samantha Saldivar | On Sale May 19

When Abby Cruz transfers to Insley University and joins the softball team, it seems the only thing she and Kate Hutchins have in common is their love of the game. Abby’s raw talent and reckless behavior threaten Kate’s carefully controlled world, especially when their coach assigns Kate the unwelcome task of tutoring her rival.

As they learn to work together, they discover their differences are exactly what they’ve been missing off the field. Kate provides Abby with a sense of home after loss and grief. Abby, meanwhile, helps Kate embrace a freedom she’s never known because of her strict religious upbringing. As they chase a national title, it’s not long before the same love they have for the game grows for each other.

But much like on the diamond, their relationship requires perfect timing. While they try and fail to get it right over the next decade, the game keeps bringing them back together—from Puerto Rico to Tokyo, through courtrooms, churches, and Las Vegas casinos—as they fight to shake the weight of generational curses. But when an alumni game returns them to their college field, they must decide if it’s really the love of the game calling them home, or the one in their hearts that they’ve never been able to let go of.

Cursed Ever After by Andy C. Naranjo | On Sale June 30

Love is not for cursed girls. Risa is better off without it.

Risa Porto is a Bad Thing who was born on a Bad Day and is cursed with Bad Luck. After years of taking the blame for every calamity, mishap, and minor inconvenience that befalls the townspeople of Barrow, Risa longs to escape her village. And on her seventeenth birthday, her wish is granted.

Sort of.

Risa owes a (very annoying) witch a favor, and it comes in the form of a quest: She must escort Prince Javi—the youngest, handsomest, and least significant of the kingdom’s princes—through the dark (and deadly) Bosque to his wedding. This measly errand quickly spirals into a struggle with greedy assassins, a murderous cult, a vicious tyrant, and Risa’s own curse.

Most unfortunate of all . . .

Risa is not immune to Javi’s charms. The more time she spends with the prince, the stronger—and more irritating—her urge to kiss him becomes.

Every Version of You by Natalie Messier | On Sale July 7

Joey Vasquez’s life is the definition of good on paper. At thirty-two, she’s a Los Angeles lawyer on the cusp of making partner, but while she’s a professional success, she’s a personal disaster. Her social life mostly consists of nights spent watching TV with her elderly cat. Life isn’t quite what she dreamed when she was younger, but really, whose life is?

But a dinner party with the best friend she’s secretly pined after for years and its aftermath changes everything.

When Joey is given a second chance at life, she finds herself in college again. Armed with memories from her first life, Joey is certain she’s come back to finally convince the one man she ever loved to love her back—so why does she find herself strangely drawn to the man she thought she hated?

To Dance the Moon and Stars by Tasia M S & Barbara Perez Marquez | On Sale July 14

Eighteen-year-old Myra has spent her entire life training to replace her grandmother as High Priestess. But with the day of her ascension rapidly approaching, she’s not sure if she’s meant for this path. How can she become the herald of the god Alrun when he forbids the thing she loves most: dancing?

Her kingdom can’t afford her hesitation though. Not only is the emperor looking for Alrun’s wisdom ahead of a peace treaty, but forces of darkness are seeping through the barrier between worlds. The only source of light Myra has is her childhood best friend, the crown prince. Without his support and…love, she may not be able to stop what’s coming.

To save her people, Myra must delve into her kingdom’s forgotten history, even if it means defying the laws of the land. But the key to salvation may just require her to make the biggest sacrifice of all.

Mutual Discord by Liana De la Rosa | On Sale August 18

Sofia Mendoza has had enough. She’s done watching male co-workers steal credit for her talent, and now she’s going to do something about it. No one knows she’s the brains behind a popular video series highlighting and celebrating women in history who’ve been erased from their own inventions and discoveries. Her family and friends still think she has a successful corporate job and if they discover she is supporting herself by creating social media content, they’d be stunned.

Keeping her online persona a secret is lonely, but when she sparks a virtual friendship with an anonymous follower—A—first in her comment section with his insightful perspective, then in their private video chats, where he proves to be witty and catfish level good looking, the chemistry between them ignites.

But when her old friend, Caitlin, arrives for a visit, Sofia’s lies threaten to unravel. A is Alex Castillo, her best friend’s boyfriend. Alex doesn’t reveal that he knows her, and Sofia realizes he may be keeping secrets, too. With their friendship now in real life, can they keep their attraction in check?

Cemetery Boys: Espíritu by Aiden Thomas | On Sale September 8

Julian used to be a ghost and now he can’t stop seeing them.

Ever since being sacrificed as part of a forbidden ritual, Julian has been able to see and communicate with the spirits. And that’s really cool, since it allows him to be part of his new boyfriend's community. But Julian’s also seeing other things: shadows in the corner of his eyes, glowing eyes in the dark, and “dark spots” on people—gaping, black gashes that thrum and bleed shadows. Yadriel has never heard of anything like it, either, and he’s so busy with his new brujx responsibilities that Julian hates for his problems to ruin what little time they have together.

Then a strange new brujx shows up. Angel, as a nonbinary bruje, can heal the living and release the dead, but more than that, they can also see the same dark spots as Julian. Despite Yadriel’s reservations, Julian eagerly accepts their help. But, Angel’s ruthless methods feel wrong to Julian.

With the shadows growing darker and the discovery of a gaping dark spot on his friend Luca, Julian has to decide who he wants to put his trust in, and just how far he’s willing to go to save what is his.

Most Anticipated February 2026 Releases

Love is in the air! Why not fall in love with one of the titles from our most anticipated February releases? Check out our list for your next favorite read. ✨

I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy by Mychal Threets | Illustrated by Lorraine Nam | CHILDREN’S

Welcome to the library!

It’s a place just for you! There are activities, movies, games, and SO. MANY. STORIES. Best of all, it’s a place where you will always belong.

Take a tour of the library with the internet’s favorite librarian, Mychal Threets! This heartwarming debut picture book from Mychal extends an invitation to anyone who could use a little library joy and a reminder that libraries are for everyone.

Autobiography of Cotton by Cristina Rivera Garza | Translated by Christina MacSweeney | FICTION

In 1934, a young José Revueltas traveled to Tamaulipas to support the cotton workers’ strike in Estación Camarón, which became the basis of his landmark novel Human Mourning. In her own groundbreaking novel, Autobiography of Cotton, Cristina Rivera Garza recounts her grandparents’ journey from mining towns to those same cotton fields as it intersects with Revueltas’s life in a vivid and evocative history of cotton cultivation along the Mexico-US border.

Through archival research and personal narrative, Rivera Garza chronicles the way cotton transformed the borderlands by reconstructing the cotton workers’ strike and reveals how cycles of deprivation and ecocide persist across generations. Deeply personal and politically acute, Rivera Garza crafts a new kind of border novel that tells how a brittle land radically altered her grandparents’ lives and the territories they helped develop. An intimate fictionalization, Autobiography of Cotton reveals a rich social history of agricultural colonization, labor activism, environmental degradation, and cross-border migration.

Maria the Wanted by V. Castro | FICTION

Maria is a wanted woman. She’s wanted by an Aztec trafficker, a cartel boss, the people she fights for, and now the devil she can’t resist. A would-be immigrant turned vampire, Maria is forced to leave her home and family and embark on a journey across Mexico. She learns to fight, becoming an unlikely bad-ass enforcer of justice. Then an encounter with a violent, ruthless vampire boss leads her to find her creator. Drawn into a world of ancient vampires, deadly conspiracies and a dangerously seductive devil, Maria must find a way to fight for herself and all humankind. 

A fierce and seductive horror thriller, pulsing with rage, fear and desire, that explores a vampire woman’s determination to find her place in the world.

Lithium by Malén Denis | Laura Hatry & John Wronoski | FICTION

Malén Denis's Lithium is a novel about what cannot be fully named or pinned down. "Language in this book," the author notes, "acts as a pharmakon--both poison and remedy--inviting the reader to navigate its ambivalence. I wrote it by following the golden thread of poetry and the echoes of psychoanalysis, letting the images lead rather than the plot." Lithium employs an especially potent, poetic language to convey love found and love lost (I'm waiting for news from you). It is a book blazing with bruised perceptions of the precarity of a life lived between jobs and between homes; it's a feverish work swinging from hope to despair, about trying drugs both prescribed and not, about migration, about cat-sitting, and about isolation, about the search for meaning and for happiness when both prove so elusive, and it is about summoning the strength to wrench oneself from indecision to action.

Only Friends by Lydia San Andres | FICTION

After being fired from her day job, unceremoniously ghosted, and facing a bad case of writer’s block, twenty-six-year-old aspiring screenwriter Mariel Rivera is one spilled coffee away from crying on the subway. When she’s rescued from a Times Square kerfuffle by a very handsome model dressed in regency costume, Mariel has no idea her life is about to change.

Dashwood Bennet has been modeling for years, though recently, his current portfolio includes some more risqué shots. However, he never imagined that after his encounter with Mariel, he’d be putting on his regency breeches just to take them off again…in front of the camera.

Dash is the answer to Mariel’s prayers in more ways than one. First, he saved her from an unruly mob. Second, he’s the perfect person to play the Duke of Harding, a character she’s created that captured her attention and won’t let go. Third, he’s more than game to be the face of her spicy historical shorts. And last but not least, he’s her perfect partner both in business and in the bedroom. But being work-partners-with-benefits can complicate things. Will their partnership survive or are Mariel and Dash doomed to not have their happily ever after?

The Invisible Years by Rodrigo Hasbún | Translated by Lily Meyer | FICTION

Andrea and Julián haven't seen one another in twenty-one years--not since that tragic, fateful night their senior year of high school that marked their group of friends forever. A shocking phone call brings the two together again in Houston, where they begin to unravel the truth of that year, picking open long scabbed-over wounds from their upper-class adolescence in 1990s Bolivia and the scandal that ripped them apart.

A writer unhappy in his career and his marriage, Julián has been novelizing the past for his next book, trying to make meaning out of the events that changed the course of their lives forever. "I'd thought that writing about that time would free me, relieve the burden of the invisible years," he writes, "but often it seems that it's done the reverse." Juxtaposing the naïve invincibility of adolescence with the grasping uncertainties of adulthood, The Invisible Years deftly weaves a coming-of-age tale that leaves the reader hanging on every word, even as they know how the cards fall in the end.

February 2026 Latinx Releases

On Sale February 3

Carnival Fantástico by Angela Montoya | YOUNG ADULT

Welcome to the Carnival Fantástico, a spectacle of magic and mischief, and the perfect haven for a runaway. Using her tricks and razor-sharp wit, Esmeralda becomes the carnival's resident fortune-teller, aiming for the lead role in the Big Top Show. Success would mean freedom from her former employer, the commander of the King’s army.

Ignacio has defected from the army and is on the hunt for evidence of his father’s corruption. But the last thing he expects to find on his father’s trail of lies is the only girl he's ever loved, spinning false fortunes at a traveling carnival.

Perhaps fortune has thrown them together for a reason. They strike a deal: she’ll help him expose his father if he helps her secure the main act. But old feelings don’t die easily, and the commander’s secret isn’t the only thing they'll need to confront.

Few Blue Skies by Carolina Ixta | YOUNG ADULT

Paloma Vistamontes is heartbroken. A year ago, her ex-boyfriend, Julio Ramos, broke up with her after his father’s death, a tragedy that drove Paloma and him apart. Ever since then, the mountains have felt flatter, the sky farther away.

Now, her hometown of San Fermín, a place where honest people work on farms and in factories, is in danger. Selva, a massive e-commerce conglomerate, threatens to open one of their warehouses beside her high school.

This isn’t the first time they’ve done this. Since Selva arrived, they’ve opened warehouses everywhere where there used to be green spaces. Because of them, the air pollution is so bad that school is often canceled. Many people, including Paloma’s ever-practical Ma, want to leave.

But Paloma wants nothing more than to stay. Because when the smog clears, there is still hope. That hope drives Paloma to reconnect with Julio to expose and challenge the dangers that Selva introduces to communities like their own. Can they stop Selva from destroying everything they know? Is there still a chance for their budding romance?

Autobiography of Cotton by Cristina Rivera Garza | Translated by Christina MacSweeney | FICTION

In 1934, a young José Revueltas traveled to Tamaulipas to support the cotton workers’ strike in Estación Camarón, which became the basis of his landmark novel Human Mourning. In her own groundbreaking novel, Autobiography of Cotton, Cristina Rivera Garza recounts her grandparents’ journey from mining towns to those same cotton fields as it intersects with Revueltas’s life in a vivid and evocative history of cotton cultivation along the Mexico-US border.

Through archival research and personal narrative, Rivera Garza chronicles the way cotton transformed the borderlands by reconstructing the cotton workers’ strike and reveals how cycles of deprivation and ecocide persist across generations. Deeply personal and politically acute, Rivera Garza crafts a new kind of border novel that tells how a brittle land radically altered her grandparents’ lives and the territories they helped develop. An intimate fictionalization, Autobiography of Cotton reveals a rich social history of agricultural colonization, labor activism, environmental degradation, and cross-border migration.

Sink or Burn by Cristy Road Carrera | FICTION

In Sink Or Burn, the year is 2121, and fascism has overthrown a once-thriving utopia. Amid the ashes of a fallen nation, Cheap Glitter—a queer, punk rock band—becomes the voice of resistance. As they tour across a fractured America, raising funds for the fight against a brutal regime, they navigate wildfires, sunken landscapes, and the terrifying laws of a collapsing society.

At the heart of their journey is CT, a lovelorn survivor whose romantic entanglement with a fellow bandmate—a survivor of a different war—complicates their quest for both personal healing and social revolution. As the band balances the weight of trauma with the urgency of their fight, they discover that love, however chaotic, may be their greatest weapon.

A punk rock anthem and a manifesto for the broken-hearted, Sink Or Burn tells the story of a tortured artist’s evolution into a divine healer. Cristy Road Carrera, a punk rock icon and Latinx artist, weaves together individual survival with the broader struggle for liberation.

I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy by Mychal Threets | Illustrated by Lorraine Nam | CHILDREN’S

Welcome to the library!

It’s a place just for you! There are activities, movies, games, and SO. MANY. STORIES. Best of all, it’s a place where you will always belong.

Take a tour of the library with the internet’s favorite librarian, Mychal Threets! This heartwarming debut picture book from Mychal extends an invitation to anyone who could use a little library joy and a reminder that libraries are for everyone.

On Sale February 10

Lithium by Malén Denis | Laura Hatry & John Wronoski | FICTION

Malén Denis's Lithium is a novel about what cannot be fully named or pinned down. "Language in this book," the author notes, "acts as a pharmakon--both poison and remedy--inviting the reader to navigate its ambivalence. I wrote it by following the golden thread of poetry and the echoes of psychoanalysis, letting the images lead rather than the plot." Lithium employs an especially potent, poetic language to convey love found and love lost (I'm waiting for news from you). It is a book blazing with bruised perceptions of the precarity of a life lived between jobs and between homes; it's a feverish work swinging from hope to despair, about trying drugs both prescribed and not, about migration, about cat-sitting, and about isolation, about the search for meaning and for happiness when both prove so elusive, and it is about summoning the strength to wrench oneself from indecision to action.

Only Friends by Lydia San Andres | FICTION

After being fired from her day job, unceremoniously ghosted, and facing a bad case of writer’s block, twenty-six-year-old aspiring screenwriter Mariel Rivera is one spilled coffee away from crying on the subway. When she’s rescued from a Times Square kerfuffle by a very handsome model dressed in regency costume, Mariel has no idea her life is about to change.

Dashwood Bennet has been modeling for years, though recently, his current portfolio includes some more risqué shots. However, he never imagined that after his encounter with Mariel, he’d be putting on his regency breeches just to take them off again…in front of the camera.

Dash is the answer to Mariel’s prayers in more ways than one. First, he saved her from an unruly mob. Second, he’s the perfect person to play the Duke of Harding, a character she’s created that captured her attention and won’t let go. Third, he’s more than game to be the face of her spicy historical shorts. And last but not least, he’s her perfect partner both in business and in the bedroom. But being work-partners-with-benefits can complicate things. Will their partnership survive or are Mariel and Dash doomed to not have their happily ever after?

Maria the Wanted by V. Castro | FICTION

Maria is a wanted woman. She’s wanted by an Aztec trafficker, a cartel boss, the people she fights for, and now the devil she can’t resist. A would-be immigrant turned vampire, Maria is forced to leave her home and family and embark on a journey across Mexico. She learns to fight, becoming an unlikely bad-ass enforcer of justice. Then an encounter with a violent, ruthless vampire boss leads her to find her creator. Drawn into a world of ancient vampires, deadly conspiracies and a dangerously seductive devil, Maria must find a way to fight for herself and all humankind. 

Leo's Lobo by Melissa Cristina Márquez | Illustrated by Maria Gabriela Gama | CHILDREN’S

Leo is thrilled when he and his family enter a shelter so he can adopt a new pet, but after searching for a while, Leo doesn’t feel the connection he had hoped for and leaves feeling disappointed. On the way home, he and his family see a busy marketplace and find another shelter hidden inside: one for magical creatures! There Leo connects with an alebrije, their bond forming before they can even leave the shelter. But he quickly learns just how much responsibility comes with raising a pet.  

Witchycakes #3: Puddles and Potions by Kara LaReau | Illustrated by Ariane Moreira | CHILDREN’S

In a magical bakery called Witchycakes there's a young witch-to-be named Blue. Blue's Mama bakes with magic and Blue makes the deliveries! Blue is good at problem-solving but they want everything to be perfect. So they "borrow" a magic potion from Mama Moon. Does everything go perfectly? Not so much. But magic makes perfect. . . right?

Cook up some love with Blue as they use magic and problem-solving to be the best helper they can be in their whimsical little town. And there's a special magical recipe at the end of each book!

Cocina Puerto Rico: Recipes from My Abuela's Kitchen to Yours by Mia Castro | NONFICTION

Mia spent her early career working under prestigious chefs such as José Andrés, Thomas Keller, and Wolfgang Puck, and later cooked for exclusive clients worldwide as a private chef. In 2020, unexpectedly grounded in New York City, she found herself craving the foods of her native Puerto Rico. Over daily FaceTime calls (that sometimes stretched for hours) with her beloved Abuela Sara in San Juan, Mia collected the time-honored recipes that represent her family's homeland. Now, applying her professional knowledge, she has expertly adapted these dishes for you to re-create in any American home kitchen.

Cocina Puerto Rico covers everything from salads, fritters, and soups to seafood, meat, and rice dishes to sweets, including re-creations of favorites from the island's traditional panaderías (bakeries).

On Sale February 17

Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself by David Archuleta| NONFICTION

At just seventeen, David Archuleta rose to national fame as the runner-up on American Idol season seven, captivating millions with his angelic voice. Behind the scenes, however, he was struggling with a truth he feared would destroy everything: he was attracted to men—and a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In Devout, David takes you inside his deeply personal journey as a closeted Mormon teen turned international pop star, torn between faith, fame, and identity. From dealing with the pressures of being on a hit television show to a domineering father who controlled every aspect of his career—even being banned from the show’s set—David reveals the emotional abuse and inner turmoil that he says plagued his childhood.

This searing memoir reflects on David’s ventures with American Idol, a tour with Demi Lovato, and a two year sabbatical as a missionary in South America, charting his path through heartbreak, estrangement, three engagements, thoughts of suicide, and finally, his courageous decision to leave the Mormon Church in order to live authentically as a queer man. Featuring never-before-seen photos, Devout is a must-read for fans of pop culture, American Idol, and anyone deconstructing their religious upbringing, or who’s ever wrestled with who they are versus who they’re told to be.

The Ex-Perimento by Maria J. Morillo | FICTION

Maria “Marianto” Camacho is a planner. At twenty-seven, she has her life perfectly mapped out. Her long-term boyfriend, Alejandro, is perfect on paper, and she's expecting a proposal any day now. She has a stable job as a lifestyle columnist at Ellas, one of Latin America's biggest digital magazines. Her future is set; she's sure of it.

Until everything falls apart overnight: Marianto loses her boyfriend and her job. But she's determined to get them both back with an idea that is either delusional or ingenious—a juicy new article for Ellas that documents a series of romantic experiments to get her ex back. Thus begins The Ex-Perimento. With her bank account dwindling, however, Marianto lands a temporary gig on Venezuela's hottest new singing competition show. Her job? Personal assistant to Simón Arreaza, the lead singer of her favorite indie band.

It's only her second day on the job when Simón discovers Marianto's list of romantic experiments, striking her ideas and replacing them with his own better ones. Out of desperation, she offers a proposition: Help her win back Alejandro, and she'll give Simón's band a profile in the magazine once she returns to Ellas. But between the close quarters on set and the blurred lines of a budding friendship, Marianto and Simón find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other, caught in a whirlwind of unexpected romance.

On Sale February 24

A People's History of Portugal by Raquel Varela & Roberto Della Santa | NONFICTION

A People's History of Portugal reconstructs the last two hundred years of class struggle in Portugal. Raquel Varela and Roberto della Santa examine the material conditions of its people - examining the real causes of the revolutionary waves and counter-revolutionary backlash.

Starting in the early nineteenth century, the theme of colonialism and its antithesis runs through the narrative, as working-class life was closely entwined with Portuguese colonial exploitation. Despite relatively slow industrial development, Portuguese people spearheaded a surprisingly vigorous radical culture of dissent, eventually sparking a social and political revolution in 1974. More recently, Portugal's inclusion in the European Union has put its people in a neoliberal stranglehold that stifles democracy to this day. Are the working people of Portugal able to carry the memory of the revolutionary past into its future? This is a history of, and for, the people.

JOTA: A Queer Latina y Latinx Anthology edited by Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz, Anel I. Flores, and T. Jackie Cuevas | ADULT ANTHOLOGY

JOTA: A Queer Latina y Latinx Anthology is a landmark collection of over 70 queer writers and artists. Building on the foundation of Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About (1991) and Compañeras (1987), JOTA shares a new addition to the queer Latinx literary and artistic canons with stories, poems, essays, plays, art, and music. JOTA arrives at a critical moment when political systems threaten queer communities once again—yet contributors now have more tools to resist. We will resist! JOTA’s movement promises to illuminate generational shifts from fear and silence to bold and brazen declarations of identity, honoring the radiant visual and written stories of our ancestors of the past, present, and future.

The Invisible Years by Rodrigo Hasbún | Translated by Lily Meyer | FICTION

Andrea and Julián haven't seen one another in twenty-one years--not since that tragic, fateful night their senior year of high school that marked their group of friends forever. A shocking phone call brings the two together again in Houston, where they begin to unravel the truth of that year, picking open long scabbed-over wounds from their upper-class adolescence in 1990s Bolivia and the scandal that ripped them apart.

A writer unhappy in his career and his marriage, Julián has been novelizing the past for his next book, trying to make meaning out of the events that changed the course of their lives forever. "I'd thought that writing about that time would free me, relieve the burden of the invisible years," he writes, "but often it seems that it's done the reverse." Juxtaposing the naïve invincibility of adolescence with the grasping uncertainties of adulthood, The Invisible Years deftly weaves a coming-of-age tale that leaves the reader hanging on every word, even as they know how the cards fall in the end.

La Golondrina by Sonia De Los Santos | Illustrated by Teresa Martínez | CHILDREN’S

Based on Sonia De Los Santos's popular song "La Golondrina," this joyful story captures a young girl's fascination with the migratory swallow that sings in the trees outside her grandmother's home in Mexico. With dreamlike wistfulness, she speaks to the bird about the long journey northward that it is about to undertake to find food and a new home--much like the one her own father is making, and the one she will someday make too.

La Golondrina captures Sonia De Los Santos's signature spirit and joy and celebrates love, family, migration, and belonging. Bilingual English-Spanish text is complemented by Teresa Martínez's vibrant and accessible artwork to create an unforgettable celebration of the journeys that shape our lives and our communities.

I Give You My Silence by Mario Vargas Llosa | Translated by Adrian Nathan West | FICTION

Toño Azpilcueta, writer of sundry articles, aspirant to the now defunct professorship of Peruvian studies, is an expert in the vals, a genre of music descended from the European waltz but rooted in New World Creole culture. When he hears a performance by the solitary and elusive guitarist Lalo Molfino, he is convinced not only that he is in the presence of the country’s finest musician, but that his own love for Peruvian music, as he has long suspected, has a profound social function. If he could just write the biography of the man before him and tell the story of both the vals and its attendant inspiring ethos, huachafería (Peru’s most important contribution to world culture, according to Toño), he might capture his country’s soul and inspire his fellow citizens remember the ties that bind them. Through music, the populace might unite and lay down their arms and embrace a harmonious and unified Peruvian culture.

Tumbleweed Underworld: A Saga of Morphine and Mayhem in the Arizona Territory by Eduardo Obregón Pagán | NONFICTION

Georgie Clifford appears briefly in the annals of American history as an 1894 inmate of the Yuma Territorial Prison, one of two female prisoners among hundreds of hardened, violent men. A denizen of an Old West underworld of prostitution and narcotics, she had been convicted of murder for giving a lethal dose of morphine to a client. Telling Georgie's story in Tumbleweed Underworld, Eduardo Obregón Pagán exposes a dark underside of the turn-of-the-century American West, where attorneys, soldiers, doctors, miners, well-off women, and Chinese immigrants were caught up in the country's first opioid epidemic.

Georgie Clifford began life as Minnie Eichler in the small mining town of Clifton, Arizona Territory. After being raped by her mother's boyfriend and testifying in the subsequent trial, Minnie fled Clifton, taking with her a taste for the morphine given her for her trauma. Tumbleweed Underworld follows Minnie through brothels, mining camps, and logging towns, through shifting personas and deeper dependency, to the trial in Flagstaff, Arizona that ultimately landed her in prison. The story continues after her release and sees Georgie descend into a true addiction hell--in and out of jail cells, cribs, ditches, and the state asylum--before finally recovering and finding a measure of redemption in reconnecting with her family.

Aztec Culture, Language, and Heritage: 'A-Ztec - A Bilingual Alphabet Book' by Emmanuel Valtierra

Author and Illustrator Emmanuel Valtierra’s picture book, A-Ztec: A Bilingual Alphabet Book (Levine Querido, 2025), delivers a beautifully artistic introduction (with pronunciation guides) to the A-Ztec: A Bilingual Alphabet Book. Written and drawn in dual form (English and Spanish), readers are introduced to Aztec words in an artform inspired by Aztec codex-style imagery. Alongside the already cool concept, audiences will learn more about Aztec and Mexican culture.

YVONNE TAPIA: Hey Emmanuel! Thank you for being here, we’re so excited to learn more about your work and journey as an author. How did the Aztec culture become a part of your everyday?

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: Hi Yvonne! Thank you for meeting with me. My parents are from Mexico, and when I was in elementary school, I came across an Aztec codex. I wasn’t really excited about it at first because, as a kid, you don’t always pay attention to details. Kids usually care about topics like Bugs Bunny. (both laugh) I was a huge fan of Bugs Bunny and Dragon Ball Z [back in the day]. However, the Aztec codex stayed in the back of my mind, it was pretty cool to me and at that age you’re like a sponge and everything tends to [stay with you].

YVONNE TAPIA: Definitely, I loved watching those shows too and codices are cool tools – A codex is a manuscript book, often written in papyrus or parchment – serving as the historical ancestor of the modern book format. To our readers, if you haven’t learned about codices yet, we invite you to find out more information about them!

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: Haha, exactly. As I grew older, when I was around 15 or 16, one of my good friends came up to me with this book, it was called “Aztec”, an old novel by Gary Jennings – great novel – and that is when I actually fell in love with the Aztec culture. It’s still my favorite book of all time to this day.

When I reached my early 20s, I started wanting to do something related to the Aztecs. So I started drawing, mixing the Aztec concepts with pop culture. I started a Facebook page and as I continued to post my artwork, eventually I had about 7,000 new followers! I had drawn a Dragonball Z image, gymnastics style. About a year and a half later, I self-published a book focused on what would’ve happened had The Aztecs won the war against the Spaniards – alternative history. I illustrated that book and a friend of mine wrote it, and we won the Sidewise Award – which is an award for alternative history books.

YVONNE TAPIA: Congratulations! You were just beginning your journey through these historical civilizations. Mexico City was known as Tenochtitlan back then.

Photo credit: Yvonne Tapia

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: Yep, many thanks! A few years later I met with Vivian Mansour, the writer of Codice Peregrino (Pilgrim Codex in English). We met and she gave me the concept of a “peregrino”, and then it started evolving as my editor and I discussed an alphabet book introducing the Aztec language, Nahuatl, through Aztec codices. I believe it’s very important to continue showcasing past civilizations [for a better tomorrow]. Recently, there was some backlash on the film “Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires”, which is actually a very cool movie. So this further inspires the need for these works.

Photo credit: Yvonne Tapia

YVONNE TAPIA: I agree, it’s so awesome and inspiring to highlight the beauty of past civilizations for a better understanding of what came to be today. A Batman with Aztec lineage? YES! Bring it haha.

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: Haha, yes and it is fun! Got to work with other artists like Omar Chaparro.

YVONNE TAPIA: I know his comedic work, que padre! It’s a really wondrous moment when veteran artists work with new artists and uplift them in the mantel.  

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: Absolutely – y me encanta mi cultura, mis raices. Somos una gran variedad – Mixtecos, Mayas, etc.

YVONNE TAPIA: Igualmente, si es una alegria! The book’s artwork is beautiful as it highlights so much Aztec and modern Mexico’s environment; how did you develop it?

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: I’ve been drawing all of my life, my oldest memory is me drawing on the walls and filling in coloring books. Back in the day (laughs) we also used to write phone numbers or check them out through the “yellow pages” book. Very specific drawing memories were when my grandmother would give me a unique drawing proposition, to draw letters such as X or Y. She chose those since there aren’t a lot of words with those letters as starters, to make it challenging and get me to really think about what could inspire those less common letters. I would also draw characters like the Batman and The Joker.

Years later, I went to the university for graphic design while infusing my own knowledge of the culture. So when the book idea for A-Ztec: A Bilingual Alphabet Book came along, it was great and also a challenge because in Aztec vocabulary, some English-alphabet letters do not exist. For example, K or W. My editor was a huge help [inserting words for letters that do not exist in the Aztec alphabet].

Photo credit: Yvonne Tapia

YVONNE TAPIA: I love to hear it! It’s essential to remember our roots and a lot of the vocabulary we use today originates from Nahuatl culture, like “chocolate” (xocolatl or chocolatl) and “elote” (elotl). You also include historical Aztec Gods, the artwork being so detailed, from the legendary feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl to Huitzilopochtli. It’s beautiful! Each god represents something unique and connected to nature.

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: Thank you! Yep it is important to honor these wonderful masterpieces past civilizations provided.

YVONNE TAPIA: I second that! It was also great to see the wondrous pictionary included, glyphs specifically. It helps make learning something new even more fun.

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: It should be called Glyphonary haha. Yep, the Aztecs used glyphs to communicate in writing. Glyphs are symbols or images that represent different sounds, symbols, or concepts. It was beautiful to transfer that to this book.

Photo credit: Yvonne Tapia

YVONNE TAPIA:. What do you hope readers will get from this book?

EMMANUEL VALTIERRA: I hope they love the Aztec culture and share their reading excitement with family or friends. To enjoy reading about a different culture and setting. I want to bring something new and interesting to the table, for the [existing] and new generations – for them to discover something they might have never seen or heard before.

For more updates on his latest works: follow author and illustrator Emmanuel Valtierra on:

Website: https://emmanuelvaltierra.com/

Instagram: @emmanuelvaltierraillustrator

Publisher: Levine Querido

---

Mexican-American artist Emmanuel Valtierra studied Graphic Design in the University of Nuevo Leon (UANL) and Photography in San Antonio College. After some time, he adopted the aztec codex style for most of his works bringing him attention from the public and press. To stablish himself as a "tlacuilo", he released a series of pop culture images, playing cards, and book. All with Aztec style.
The love Valtierra has for history has influenced him on all his projects. The goal is to keep teaching new generations about our past in a fun way in every media possible.
Some of his most populare releases are: Codex Valtierra (sidewise award), Codice peregrino (white raven award), Aztec tarot, Blue beetle #1 (DC comics variant cover art),

Yvonne Tapia, a Mexican-American professional, has an extensive background in marketing, education, and media, supporting both large enterprises and small businesses. Yvonne focuses on raising brand visibility and community engagement, particularly within marginalized sectors. She currently serves as a Senior Instructor at COOP Careers, where she mentors through hands-on digital marketing training while partnering with businesses from different industries. Outside of work, Yvonne is an avid reader and is involved in supportive causes.

Most Anticipated January 2026 Releases

Check out our list of most anticipated Latinx books coming this January. Take a look and find a good book to kick off your 2026 reading goals!

Apapacho Love by Cynthia Harmony | Illustrated by Erika Meza | CHILDREN’S

Every day for Luna starts and ends with Mami’s apapachos—hugs that come from Mami’s soul. Her warm cuddles fill Luna's heart, like stars fill the sky. They make her feel safe. They make her feel seen. But, oh no, Mami has to take a trip! What will Luna do without Mami's hugs?

Maybe…apapachos can come from other people, too.

Like Abue’s, which makes Luna feel brave. And Daddy’s, which makes her giggle. Not to mention her dog, Benito’s wet nuzzle which tells her to rise and shine with a smile. It turns out even when Mami’s far away, her love is all around.

Apapacho love is everywhere!

The Magic of Untamed Hearts by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland | FICTION

Like her sisters, Sage and Teal, Sky Flores has a touch of magic, and it’s caused nothing but heartache. Not only did she disappear into the woods years ago and reappear with no rational explanation, she’s also more comfortable talking to animals than to people. Different and misunderstood, Sky is shunned in the small town of Cranberry.

Sky’s neighbor, Adam Noemi, has his own problems. After being laid off from a prestigious newspaper, Adam, ever the ambitious reporter, needs a big headline to redeem his career. Enter Sky, a girl with a story that news outlets have been chasing for years. Sky agrees to grant Adam an exclusive interview on one condition: that he befriend Sky, in a very public way, to prove to everyone in Cranberry that she’s not an outcast.

As Sky shares her experiences with Adam, something much bigger than a simple agreement begins to grow between them. But for love to take root, Adam will have to take a leap towards a life that defies expectations, and Sky must open her heart – full of flora and fauna and mystical energies – to his curious mind.

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez | FICTION

As a sculptress, Ravenna Maffei has always shaped beauty from stone but she has a terrible secret. Desperate to save her brother, she enters a competition hosted by Florence’s most feared immortal family, revealing a dark power in a city where magic is forbidden.

Now a captive in the cutthroat city of Florence, Ravenna is forced into a dangerous task where failure meets certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the immortal family's mesmerizing but merciless heir. But as he draws her closer, Ravenna realizes the true threat lies beyond Florence’s walls.

The Pope’s war against magic is closing in, and Ravenna is no longer just a prisoner but a prize to be claimed. As trusting the wrong person becomes lethal, Ravenna must survive the treacherous line between a pope's obsession and the seductive immortal who might be the end of her ― or surrender her power to a city on the brink of war.

The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura | FICTION

Daniela Guiterrez has been in love with her brother’s best friend for as long as she can remember—until he went missing a year ago during an archaeological expedition. But on a solo trip to Greece, the intrepid librarian discovers that Theo is very much alive, although judging by the criminals holding him hostage, he is not doing well.

An expert in Ancient Greek archaeology, Dr. Theo Galanis has been abducted by artifact smugglers in search of a priceless gemstone—the Eye of the Minotaur. This ridiculous assignment was supposed to get Dani out of his system, not keep her tied up next to him. But when a little white lie spirals into his captors believing Theo and Dani are engaged, they must utilize her research skills and his expertise to solve the centuries’ old Minoan mystery, all while feigning a romance to keep each other alive.

Now with less than six days to find the jewel, underground societies, mythological beings, and pesky abductors are only half the battle. Because among the ancient ruins and temples they explore is an even bigger danger: falling in love for real.

Pedro the Vast by Simón Lopez Trujillo | Translated by Robin Myers| FICTION

In the disorienting, devastatingly tense world of López Trujillo, a eucalyptus farm worker named Pedro starts coughing. Several of his coworkers die of a strange fungal disease, which has jumped to humans for the first time, but Pedro, miraculously, awakes. His survival fascinates a foreign mycologist, as well as a local priest, who dubs his mysterious mutterings to be the words of a prophet. Meanwhile Pedro's kids are left to fend for themselves: the young Cata, whose creepy art projects are getting harder and harder to decipher, and Patricio, who wasn't ready to be thrust into the role of father. Their competing efforts to reckon with Pedro's condition eventually meet in a horrifying climax that readers will never forget.

Eating Ashes by Brenda Navarro | Translated by Megan McDowell | FICTION

Alone and adrift in Barcelona, an unnamed narrator is haunted by the death of her teenage brother, Diego. Diego, the little boy she helped raise in Mexico while their mother struggled to make a living in Spain. Diego, who loved Vampire Weekend and dreamed of becoming a pilot. Diego, who hated Madrid as much as she did.

Now, his ashes in hand, she must return to Mexico. Plagued by memories, she recounts their young lives leading up to tragedy in blistering detail: the acute loneliness that accompanied their emigration; the siblings' first separation, when she left for Barcelona to make her own way in the world; her activism against labor abuses, which is threatened by her tumultuous relationship with an entitled lover; and the final, heavyhearted confrontation with her brother. Caught between rage and heartbreak over the loss of Diego, she pieces together a story of alienation, but also of surprising courage and hope.

Aaniin: I See Your Light by Dawn Quigley | Illustrated by Nanibah Chacon | CHILDREN’S

Each of us has an inner light that might not always be seen by others. Aaniin (ah-NEEN) is a greeting in the Ojibwe language for hello and can also be translated as “I see your light.”

With the help of the Ojibwe Seven Grandfather Teachings—Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility, and Wisdom—we can learn to see this brilliance shining through everyone and express our appreciation for one another’s light.

The Demon of Beausoleil by Mari Costa | GRAPHIC NOVEL

Helianthes is a Cambion—a child born touched by demons. Horned, clawed, and tailed, Helianthes—Hell for short—is a devil-may-care exorcist whose devil-may-care attitude has succeeded in alienating those closest to him—all save for his long-suffering bodyguard, Elias, who sees him as less a strange, mythical being and more just a . . . nuisance.

Together, the two venture into the streets of this psuedo-remix of Victorian London to exorcise demons (and maybe cause a little mischief on the way). But as Hell becomes increasingly drawn to his enigmatic bodyguard—and as Elias becomes increasingly aware of his feelings for his trouble of a charge—the two find themselves faced with a growing, chaotic dark that might threaten everything they’ve been working toward . . .

P Fkn R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance by Vanessa Díaz & Petra R Rivera-Rideau | NONFICTION

Global superstar Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by public crises-blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others-that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in a historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau-creators of the "Bad Bunny Syllabus"-demonstrate Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life.