The Best Books of 2025 According to Latinx in Publishing

This challenging year we have found solace, escape, and inspiration in reading. Latinx authors brought it, and we’re excited to share our favorites of the year. Be sure to check out these titles and to look back through our blog for more incredible reads!

ART ABOVE EVERYTHING: ONE WOMAN’S GLOBAL EXPLORATION OF THE JOYS AND TORMENTS OF A CREATIVE LIFE BY STEPHANIE ELIZONDO GRIEST | ADULT NONFICTION

“Chicana author Stephanie Elizondo Griest traveled the world to bring us 100+ bold, stunning and gripping tales from artists around the world who talk intimately about their art—what it requires, what it gifts them and what art costs. No two are alike. They are writers, visual artists, dancers and musicians. Art is inheritance, dissent, devotion, revenge, celebration and more. Amazing read.”—Maria Ferrer, Events Director

MY TRAIN LEAVES AT THREE BY NATALIE GURRERO | ADULT FICTION

“A story about grief and rediscovering yourself. Xiomara Sanchez unexpectedly loses her sister and becomes numb to life. Then she comes across an amazing opportunity to audition for the Broadway Director of the moment, Manny Santos. This leads her through a series of events where she must face herself and the emotions that she has buried deep within her. I thought Guerrero did a beautiful job of depicting the messiness of pain and the difficult road towards healing. A love letter to Washington Heights, the dreams we all have within us, and the rough edges that make us human.”—Tiffany Gonzalez, Treasurer

THE UNWORTHY BY AUGUSTINA BAZTERRICA | ADULT FICTION

“Sequestered in a protective and violent convent, a member of the Sacred Sisterhood writes the story of her life and hides the evidence in her breast. Meanwhile, over the walls, the world is said to be ravaged and diseased, offering no salvation. Bazterrica writes a punishing novella for the times, expounding on our basic instincts for preservation, what pushes us to extremism. Perhaps most unsettlingly, she confirms I’m more than likely to end up in a cult.”—Andrea Morales, Writers Mentorship Co-director

THE POSSESSION OF ALBA DÍAZ BY ISABEL CAÑAS | ADULT FICTION

“This historical gothic romance novel whisks you to 18 th century Zacatecas, México and then to a mysterious silver mine, where two compelling characters each searching for freedom from their families find themselves inexorably drawn to each other, even as it’s forbidden. It’s full of pining and lush, visceral prose. This wonderfully creepy tale is one you’ll want to cuddle up with on a cold, dark night.”—Toni Kirkpatrick, Chair

THIS IS THE ONLY KINGDOM BY JAQUIRA DÍAZ | ADULT FICTION

“Jaquira Díaz’s debut novel had me engrossed from the very first page, when a cane cutter discovers a body in the cañaverales. So begins an immersive and affecting origin story about one Puerto Rican family. Set between a working-class barrio on the island and Miami, the book largely follows Maricarmen and her daughter Nena as they struggle through a new reality in the aftermath of a murder. What I love most about this novel is how tenderly Díaz treats her characters. They make mistakes and are imperfect people, as we all are. Love itself is imperfect. A bonus is that each chapter in the book is also the title of a salsa song. As a reader, they felt like an invitation into the richness and power of the music genre’s storytelling.’’—Amaris Castillo, Volunteer and blogger

SILENCED VOICES: RECLAIMING MEMORIES FROM THE GUATEMALAN GENOCIDE BY PABLO LEON | YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL

“Guatemalan animator and author Pablo Leon’s action-filled graphic novel bridges two generations impacted by the Guatemalan genocide that took place from 1960-1996. Told through multiple first-person narratives, two US born brothers explore their heritage and family history while their immigrant mother who has hidden her traumatic past eventually shares her story. The alternating storylines and beautiful cinematic artwork work masterfully together, weaving in historical research and memories. I had never heard of this genocide that took place only a few decades ago, and it is an important reminder of how history (and genocide) repeat itself. Pablo Leon’s author-artist debut is a timely and historic story that I will never forget.”—Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Board Member

Author-Illustrator Q&A: Jarod Roselló on Adventurous ‘Super Magic Boy’ series

Jarod Roselló’s adventure-filled graphic novel series Super Magic Boy centers two main characters. An energetic boy named Hugo, and his loyal best friend, Dino. Yes, a dinosaur named Dino. 

In I Am a Dinosaur — the first installment of the series for early readers — Hugo transforms into a dinosaur and wreaks havoc with Dino until it’s time to clean up their mess. In I Am a Space Tiger, the boy with a dark mop of hair crashes onto a strange new planet with Dino, in part to find the best birthday present for his mami. And in the latest installment, Hugo embarks on yet another adventure. This time, though, it’s to save his local library which has fallen under attack by an alien slime monster. Super Magic Boy: I Am a Slime Monster was just released from Random House Graphic.

In each Super Magic Boy book, this zany and adorable duo bring readers high energy, fun, and humor. Roselló told Latinx in Publishing that the idea behind the series actually began with his youngest son. “He was a very active, rambunctious kid,” the Cuban American author-illustrator recalled. “And he used to play this game where he would transform into things.” That game became a spark in Roselló’s mind. The cartoonist then began sketching a boy with a dinosaur puppet on his hand. Another version had the boy playing with a dinosaur. Yet another had the same character transforming into a dinosaur.

“I just started iterating off those ideas and landed on this idea — kind of a Calvin and Hobbeesque storyline about this boy and his stuffed dinosaur,” Roselló said. “And so I pitched it as: ‘Boy transforms into a dinosaur to play with his best friend dinosaur, and they go on rampaging adventures.’”

“For me, this (series) was a way to build a throwback to, ‘Hey, what about having fun?’ There’s still important, meaningful stuff taking place, but enjoying reading again, having fun, laughing with characters again.”

With Hugo’s transformations and the creatures he and Dino meet along the way, Super Magic Boy feels a bit fantastical. In the first installment, Hugo is at home minding his business when he comes across a blue stuffed dinosaur. He picks up the stuffed animal and gives it a tight hug. All of a sudden, the dinosaur appears to come alive and speaks. 

“You are a dinosaur!” Hugo cries.

“I am a dinosaur!” Dino replies. “And I can talk!”

From that point on, Dino speaks to and interacts with Hugo. In that way, the series feels a bit fantastical. Dino feels very much alive. Or not?

“This has come up a couple of times,” Roselló admits. “Kids are like, Is it imagination? Is it real? And I feel like when you’re a young kid, there’s no difference between those two things. When you’re playing, it feels real. You’re acting it out. So I kind of was like, ‘Let me just blur the line and not really explain it, and it’ll be fine.’”

In choosing a dinosaur for Hugo to be paired with, Roselló said he wanted to explore the idea that young boys are often thought of as monstrous and destructive. For Hugo, the transformation into a dinosaur is a way for him to embody his dinosaur-like self.

“That whole first book is really about how he’s more than one thing: he is a sweet kid who cares about his family, and he’s a dinosaur who rampages and destroys his own home,” Roselló spoke in reference to I Am a Dinosaur. “It’s not about suppressing his dinosaur self, but embracing the fact that he is both of those things at the same time. It was a little bit my attempt to think about: How do I materialize a metaphor for boyhood a little bit?”

One thing I loved about Super Magic Boy are the conversations between Hugo and Dino. Hugo is always asking Dino if he knows what certain words or concepts mean, like “rampage” and “mystery.” The answers are often funny. For example, in I Am a Space Tiger, Hugo defines the word “birthday” to Dino. “It means everyone you love gives you presents because you are still alive!” Hugo explains.

These nuanced explanations from the young boy were inspired by Roselló’s day job as a professor at the University of South Florida, as well as his role as a literacies researcher who has worked with children from 3 years old all the way through high school.

“I spend a lot of time with young kids, telling stories and drawing. Kids have a conceptual sense of what words are, and they understand them in a particular context,” he said. “My idea for those definitions was (that) Hugo would define them not like a dictionary, but in the context that made sense for his life. This is just how he understood what these words mean. So ‘transform’ means ‘you turn into a dinosaur,’ because that’s what he’s doing when he transforms in that book. That’s not what ‘transform’ always means, but in this context. That’s how I think kids come to learn word knowledge early on, is understanding it within a particular context as they perform it.”

In I Am a Slime Monster, Hugo heads to his library, eager to read the third book in a series he loves. But when he arrives, he finds his library soaked in green slime. A slime monster from outer space has taken over.

“Books help human brains grow!” the monster yells when confronted. “Without big brains, humans will be easy to conquer!”

Roselló lives in Florida, which was recently named No. 1 for book removals and restrictions in public schools for the third year in a row according to a report by PEN America. The author-illustrator said conversations about access to books for children had begun to take shape by the time he started writing I Am a Slime Monster. “I’m sure some of that just sort of seeped in, this idea that in order to take over humans and to make their brains smaller, he would destroy all the books to keep them from it. So it’s a little bit of a love letter to books.”

There’s an endearing sincerity that runs through Super Magic Boy. At its core, it’s about friendship, childhood adventures, and the beauty of one’s imagination. Roselló said he hopes the series shows children that reading can be fun, too. The publishing industry has seen a lot of adults’ hands in children’s books lately, he said, which make for beautiful books for grownups to read. But they’re maybe not as fun for kids to read. 

“For me, this (series) was a way to build a throwback to, Hey, what about having fun?” he said. “There’s still important, meaningful stuff taking place, but enjoying reading again, having fun, laughing with characters again.”

---

Jarod Roselló is a Cuban American writer, cartoonist, and teacher. He is the author of the middle-grade graphic novel Red Panda & Moon Bear, a Chicago Public Library and New York Public Library best book for young readers and a Nerdy Award winner for graphic novels. Jarod holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction, both from the Pennsylvania State University. Originally from Miami, he now lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, kids, and dogs, and teaches in the creative writing program at the University of South Florida.

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.

Zeke Peña on Depicting the Desert in Author-Ilustrator Debut, ‘Sundust’

Zeke Peña’s author-illustrator debut, Sundust, begins with the image of two siblings jumping over a rock wall to the other side.

He writes: “Where the rock wall ends, the desert beyond begins.”

Their adventure in the desert begins, over a bulldozer and an abandoned pickup truck, over ocotillos with their tall, spiny stems. The siblings climb and jump in el desierto, following their curiosities. They notice an old nopal tree and liken it to their mother, who they say is tough and prickly, too. They marvel at an ancient looming rock. They “feel the Sun’s tough love on our skin.”

In Sundust, Peña, the award-winning illustrator of Isabel Quintero’s My Papi Has a Motorcycle tells an immersive and fantastical tale of the connection between people and place. The inspiration behind the book is Peña’s own love for the desert that he grew up around. “I think it’s such a unique region, and it’s an area that requires resilience to live in,” he told Latinx in Publishing. “I wanted to honor that.”

Peña spoke with us about creating his highly anticipated author-illustrator debut, depicting the desert as its own character, and much more. Out now, Sundust and the Spanish edition, Polvo Solar, were published simultaneously.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Amaris Castillo: Congratulations on Sundust. I understand you grew up around a desert. What inspired this book?

Zeke Peña (ZP): The main thing is love for the desert, for the place that I came from, and for my people that come from there and people who live in desert areas. I think it’s such a unique region, and it’s an area that requires resilience to live in. I wanted to honor that.

On a personal level, being able to play in the desert when we were kids was a really special time. As I’ve gotten older, I realize how special that time was to learn things from being outside, and walking and running around. Even if you’re not from the desert and you’re from a different area and climate, there’s something there about how the places we come from shape us, and how they provide us with a sense of belonging that I think young people now are sometimes a little distant from. 

I’ll speak specifically to my community. As El Paso gets more developed and as things continue with what’s going on in the country, a lot of the focus is on the border. Everything is centered around that, so all of the attention is centered around that — not only for people who are outside of our community, but for our young people inside our community. I’ve gone into schools and I’ve talked with young people about our river. Their only understanding of the river is of it being a border. What does that do to our person? And what does that do to our community and our relationship with the place that we’re from? Unfortunately, it sometimes distances us. While I’m proud of being from the border, I also think it’s really important to remind ourselves that the place that we’re in existed before there was a border there. And so how does that place — with the animal and plant friends that live there as well — shape us?

AC: As a child growing up in El Paso who played in the desert, how did you view the desert as a child?

ZP: I haven’t had the opportunity to elaborate on this yet since making this book, so I appreciate the question. As most young people who have the opportunity and the privilege of living in one place, I don’t think that I had the objectivity to know anything else. What I knew was dirt and rocks, and it being very hot — and running around in a place where there’s a lot of sky. That was something that I was really aware of: the sky and how big the sky is. The sky, for me, was really a place for imagination. Early drafts of the story focused on this idea of being bored of the place that I am from. It can be a really boring place. So that idea of the sky being a place where you’re encouraged to imagine, I think, was special. 

A moment in the book that comes later is around sunset… it’s a quiet time. As people living anywhere, we acknowledge sunset in a special way that makes us inherently feel more quiet and calm. That was something that always stayed with me and resonated throughout my life, was spending time around sunset to be quiet and to acknowledge the beauty that is in the sky.

“Even if you’re not from the desert and you’re from a different area and climate, there’s something there about how the places we come from shape us, and how they provide us with a sense of belonging that I think young people now are sometimes a little distant from. ”

AC: You have illustrated books by notable authors like Isabel Quintero and Jason Reynolds. But this is your debut as the creator of both the text and the illustrations. How was it to be in charge of both, and in ushering this book to life?

ZP: It was really difficult for me. It took me a long time to adjust my frame of thinking. It was like double pressure: I was creating my second picture book, and there was the pressure of following up something that was received really well by the community and by publishing in general. It was also the first time that it would be my voice in the book. Having worked with other creatives, I have the skill of being able to prioritize someone else’s voice. It’s a good trait to have as an illustrator. But it took me a little bit to make that adjustment of centering my own voice. Personally, I had a hard time with getting to that place of being confident with what I was putting on the page. 

I’ve been writing comics and writing poetry for a really long time, but it wasn’t necessarily something that I was focused on. It was also work that I would often self-publish… So it was nice to revisit that thinking and find the workflow. That was the most difficult thing; I was so used to having Isabel in the room because we had worked on a couple of things before. It’s very collaborative and conversational, and we’re bouncing ideas off of each other… After getting to a place where I felt confident, after rewriting so many different drafts and redrawing things, I was able to get good with what’s on the page. I feel like I was able to work through that so that I can continue doing it and make more books.

AC: The desert, of course, is its own character in Sundust. What considerations did you make when figuring out how to depict it on the page? The desert is such a big character. It’s like a third character.

ZP: That was the tough part. There are so many different characteristics to the desert. Obviously, not every desert looks the same. I’m from what’s referred to as the Chihuahuan Desert, and there are specific plants that grow there. Because this book is fantastic, I stretched it; some of the plants that are in the book don’t look like where we’re from. It’s an exaggerated kind of reality in the book. Some of those plants are really unique to the area. For example, creosote, also referred to as “gobernadora,” is used as a sacred plant. It’s utilized in different ways, but it’s also the plant that gives the rain a very special smell. If you have people from El Paso, they’ll know the smell.

The considerations I made were including things that would have that special memory or that special connection to the place. Or things that are not alive, like the rock wall; we have really unique walls that look a very particular way in that area. And so how do I summon something that’s going to resonate with the people who are also where I’m from? That was the main consideration.

AC: What do you hope readers take away from Sundust?
ZP: To have the curiosity to get outside of where you are on a daily basis — if you’re inside and have space where you can be outside, because some folks live in areas that are mostly city or they don’t have access to outdoor spaces. Try to slow down a little bit, go for walks and pay attention to the things that are around us. We all have access to the sun. To pay attention to where the sun comes up and where the sun goes down. But I think just wild imagination, to dream wildly and to think of fantastic things.

---

Zeke Peña is a Xicano storyteller and professional doodler from Sun City, TX. Sundust, his author-illustrator debut, hits shelves in Summer 2025. He recently illustrated the New York Times bestselling Miles Morales Suspended: A Spider-Man Novel. Zeke was awarded the Ezra Jack Keats and the Pura Belpré Illustration Honor for My Papi Has a Motorcycle. He also received the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for his illustrations in Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide. He is currently drawing more books in his tiny studio that used to be a mop closet in NW Arkansas.

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 December 2025 Releases

Here it is, our final list of most anticipated books for 2025!🪩 As our days slow down and we take a moment to unwind and reflect, consider picking up any of these December releases for the final read of the year. ( If you’re still completing your holiday shopping, make sure to check out this and all our monthly lists for the perfect gift.🎁) Happy reading!

Marayrasu by Edgardo Rivera Martínez | Translated by Amy Olen | SHORT STORIES

The stories in Marayrasu stage fantastical, mysterious encounters that belie the characters' often harsh economic and political realities as they seek belonging in modern Peru through art, music, and relationships. Depicted in poetic prose, these characters are loners, orphans, and outcasts experiencing quiet, tender encounters with other people and animals, the creative arts, and the land they find themselves depending on. Living vibrantly within these stories, the leviathan of Inca lore considers its own form, a young boy moves to a mining town and gets involved with a local union leader's fight for worker rights while feeling the powerful pull of a large mountain overlooking the town, and a Persian cat captures the attention of a family down on its luck. Amy Olen's translation smoothly captures Rivera Martínez's impressive stories, offering a unique lens into the region at the heart of this canonical author's inimitable work.

The Jaguar's Roar by Micheliny Verunschk | Translated by Juliana Barbassa | ADULT FICTION

In 1817, two German scientists traveled across Brazil and into the Amazon gathering flora and fauna to study and display in Europe. Among the collection they brought to the Bavarian court were two Indigenous children.

The children's images became widespread, satisfying European curiosity about the distant land they came from. But little was known about the children themselves. Despite the scientists' detailed records about many of the plant and animal specimens, they only noted the children's tribes: the girl was a Miranha, and the boy, a Juri. After a few months, the children died in Germany, far from anyone who knew their names.

The Jaguar's Roar, a spellbinding poetic novel told in many voices, imagines the children's journey and a modern Brazilian woman's effort to counter their disappearance from history.

In her award-winning fifth novel, Micheliny Verunschk inhabits the fictional perspective of the Miranha girl, of the jaguar she conjures for protection, of the German scientists who determine her fate, and of the two rivers that frame her life. Intertwined in this narrative is a story of Brazil's suppression of its Indigenous history, and of a young woman named Josefa, a newcomer unmoored in the megacity of São Paulo, who identifies with the girl after seeing her image in an exhibit and tries to recover the child's voice and story.

In Juliana Barbassa's vivid translation, Verunshuk's lyrical sentences carry the reader through a powerful exploration of memory, colonialism, and belonging, and make a lasting contribution to world literature.

Galápagos by Fátima Vélez | Translated by Hannah Kauders | ADULT FICTION

Lorenzo is a painter who doesn’t paint. He spends his days watching Jeanne Moreau films, luxuriating in his partner Juan B’s bed, and swapping letters with his lovers. Then, one day, his nail falls off. Then another nail, then all of them. Thus begins a journey of decomposition that carries him from Colombia to Paris, from Paris to the French countryside, and on a final journey to the Galápagos Archipelago.

As they cruise the islands on a custom-made ship, Lorenzo and his friends and lovers drink, swap stories, and feast gluttonously, even as their bodies succumb to an unspeakable disease. In this contemporary plague novel, rife with pathos and humor, ailing bodies are torn between desire and decay, lust and friendship, creativity and destruction. Vélez revolutionizes the novel form, pushing language to its extreme as she tests the limits of how we understand illness, sexuality, the body, and what it means to make art in the face of our own mortality.

We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope Edited by Malka Older, Annalee Newitz, Karen Lord | SHORT STORIES

In this collection, editors Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older champion realistic, progressive social change using the speculative stories of writers across the world. Exploring topics ranging from disability justice and environmental activism to community care and collective worldbuilding, these imaginative pieces from writers such as NK Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, Alejandro Heredia, Sam J. Miller, Nisi Shawl, and Sabrina Vourvoulias center solidarity, empathy, hope, joy, and creativity.

Each story is grounded within a broader sociopolitical framework using essays and interviews from movement leaders, including adrienne maree brown and Walidah Imarisha, charting the future history of protest, revolutions, and resistance with the same zeal for accuracy that speculative writers normally bring to science and technology. Using the vehicle of ambitious storytelling, We Will Rise Again offers effective tools for organizing, an unflinching interrogation of the status quo, and a blueprint for prefiguring a different world.

Sea Salt and Coffee Beans by Grace Santamaria | ADULT FICTION

When Sofia loses her coveted job, her American dream is on the line. With her U.S. work visa hanging by a thread, a job interview at a top Miami marketing firm is her last shot at staying in the country. But as she navigates the high-stakes competition, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her chief rival for the position—charming and ambitious Esteban.

Esteban embodies the glamorous Miami lifestyle Sofia has always admired, and he's unbothered by their rivalry. But for Sofia, everything is at stake. She can’t bring herself to tell him how much this job means to her, nor that her future depends on securing it. With her visa expiring, mounting family pressures, and bills piling up, Sofia faces an impossible choice: win the job, or risk returning to a life she fought so hard to leave behind.

Can Sofia claim the career—and the love—she longs for, or will her dreams slip through her fingers just as they're within reach?

December 2025 Latinx Releases

ON SALE DECEMBER 2

Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal | ADULT FICTION

When Stella Renee Johnson's roommate invites her to a sex club party but bails at the last minute, Stella decides to use the opportunity to finally cash in her V-card. But just when things are heating up between Stella and a sexy stranger, they realize they don’t have protection and Stella, taking it as a sign this wasn't meant to be, flees.

Frustrated in more ways than one, Stella is shocked to learn that the digital media website where she works is partnering with an AI company. She's even more shocked when the alluring man from the previous night walks in. Max Williams is the CEO's brother and the creator of the AI program now threatening her job. 

Despite the conflict of interest, Stella and Max can't resist their magnetic attraction toward each other, and agree to keep their personal lives separate from what’s happening at work. But the more similarities they discover at home—both Black, book smart, and bisexual—the more they butt heads at work. Stella and Max must decide whether to think with their heads and walk away from their budding relationship, or follow their hearts and take a chance on love, no matter the cost.

The Jaguar's Roar by Micheliny Verunschk | Translated by Juliana Barbassa | ADULT FICTION

In 1817, two German scientists traveled across Brazil and into the Amazon gathering flora and fauna to study and display in Europe. Among the collection they brought to the Bavarian court were two Indigenous children.

The children's images became widespread, satisfying European curiosity about the distant land they came from. But little was known about the children themselves. Despite the scientists' detailed records about many of the plant and animal specimens, they only noted the children's tribes: the girl was a Miranha, and the boy, a Juri. After a few months, the children died in Germany, far from anyone who knew their names.

The Jaguar's Roar, a spellbinding poetic novel told in many voices, imagines the children's journey and a modern Brazilian woman's effort to counter their disappearance from history.

Galápagos by Fátima Vélez | Translated by Hannah Kauders | ADULT FICTION

Lorenzo is a painter who doesn’t paint. He spends his days watching Jeanne Moreau films, luxuriating in his partner Juan B’s bed, and swapping letters with his lovers. Then, one day, his nail falls off. Then another nail, then all of them. Thus begins a journey of decomposition that carries him from Colombia to Paris, from Paris to the French countryside, and on a final journey to the Galápagos Archipelago.

As they cruise the islands on a custom-made ship, Lorenzo and his friends and lovers drink, swap stories, and feast gluttonously, even as their bodies succumb to an unspeakable disease. In this contemporary plague novel, rife with pathos and humor, ailing bodies are torn between desire and decay, lust and friendship, creativity and destruction. Vélez revolutionizes the novel form, pushing language to its extreme as she tests the limits of how we understand illness, sexuality, the body, and what it means to make art in the face of our own mortality.

Meet the Smushkins by Claudia Rueda | Illustrated by Claudia Rueda | PICTURE BOOK

The Smushkins are looking for a house, but what makes a good house for the Smushkins? They all agree: there must be lots of light, a big table everyone can sit on to look out the window, and an apple tree for making pies. Oh, and a playground, puddles to jump in, an ice cream cart, and so much more! But most of all, a good house for the Smushkins is a house full of Smushkins! Kicking off a delightful concept board book series, this boldly illustrated, giftable picture book introduces a family of characters so adorable, so goofy, and so lovable that readers of all ages can’t help but feel that they’ve known them forever.

The Last Vampire by Romina Garber | YOUNG ADULT

When a boarding school opens in a once-condemned Victorian manor buried in the woods of New Hampshire, Austen-loving Lorena Navarro enrolls in hopes of finding her own Mr. Darcy. Instead, she stumbles across a coffin and accidentally awakens the world’s last vampire.

After hibernating for nearly three centuries, William Pride is desperate to find his family—and clueless about the modern world. Relying on Lorena for more than just blood, he enrolls at the school to catch up on all he’s missed.

Soon, William uncovers a chilling truth: He is the last hope for his kind’s return to power. Torn between protecting the humans around him and fulfilling his fate, William must make a choice that could change everything. Will he sacrifice his species for love . . . or will he embrace his dark destiny at last?

We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope Edited by Malka Older, Annalee Newitz, Karen Lord | SHORT STORIES

In this collection, editors Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older champion realistic, progressive social change using the speculative stories of writers across the world. Exploring topics ranging from disability justice and environmental activism to community care and collective worldbuilding, these imaginative pieces from writers such as NK Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, Alejandro Heredia, Sam J. Miller, Nisi Shawl, and Sabrina Vourvoulias center solidarity, empathy, hope, joy, and creativity.

Each story is grounded within a broader sociopolitical framework using essays and interviews from movement leaders, including adrienne maree brown and Walidah Imarisha, charting the future history of protest, revolutions, and resistance with the same zeal for accuracy that speculative writers normally bring to science and technology. Using the vehicle of ambitious storytelling, We Will Rise Again offers effective tools for organizing, an unflinching interrogation of the status quo, and a blueprint for prefiguring a different world.

Sea Salt and Coffee Beans by Grace Santamaria | ADULT FICTION

When Sofia loses her coveted job, her American dream is on the line. With her U.S. work visa hanging by a thread, a job interview at a top Miami marketing firm is her last shot at staying in the country. But as she navigates the high-stakes competition, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her chief rival for the position—charming and ambitious Esteban.

Esteban embodies the glamorous Miami lifestyle Sofia has always admired, and he's unbothered by their rivalry. But for Sofia, everything is at stake. She can’t bring herself to tell him how much this job means to her, nor that her future depends on securing it. With her visa expiring, mounting family pressures, and bills piling up, Sofia faces an impossible choice: win the job, or risk returning to a life she fought so hard to leave behind.

Can Sofia claim the career—and the love—she longs for, or will her dreams slip through her fingers just as they're within reach?

ON SALE DECEMBER 9

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures--The Training Sessions by Dave Scheidt & Daniel José Older | Illustrated by Andy Duggan, Dan Jackson, Comicraft | CHILDREN’S

In a galaxy far, far away, three Jedi younglings travel the stars in search of adventure….

Follow Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay, and Nubs as they set off on missions across the galaxy to learn the ways of the Force! Aboard the Crimson Firehawk — piloted by their friend, Nash Durango, and her trusty droid companion RJ-83 — the younglings seek out new missions and challenges that require their Jedi skills!

In this volume, Kai, Lys, and Nubs race Wookiees to climb the tallest trees on Kashyyyk; Nubs and Jedi padawan Qort rush to rescue a Republic ship from disaster; and the younglings go on a scavenger hunt in a stinky swamp full of monsters!

ON SALE DECEMBER 16

Marayrasu by Edgardo Rivera Martínez | Translated by Amy Olen | SHORT STORIES

The stories in Marayrasu stage fantastical, mysterious encounters that belie the characters' often harsh economic and political realities as they seek belonging in modern Peru through art, music, and relationships. Depicted in poetic prose, these characters are loners, orphans, and outcasts experiencing quiet, tender encounters with other people and animals, the creative arts, and the land they find themselves depending on. Living vibrantly within these stories, the leviathan of Inca lore considers its own form, a young boy moves to a mining town and gets involved with a local union leader's fight for worker rights while feeling the powerful pull of a large mountain overlooking the town, and a Persian cat captures the attention of a family down on its luck. Amy Olen's translation smoothly captures Rivera Martínez's impressive stories, offering a unique lens into the region at the heart of this canonical author's inimitable work.

ON SALE DECEMBER 23

Human Agency in a Digital World: Understand technology and make it work for you by Marcus Fontoura | NONFICTION

Human Agency in a Digital World is a book about reclaiming our role—not as passengers, but as pilots—in the fast-moving journey of technological change. Written by a computer scientist who is also a father, a teacher, and a lifelong student of how things work, this book is a deeply personal and accessible guide to the systems shaping our lives—and how we might shape them back.

We are surrounded by digital agents. They suggest the next song, answer our questions, sort our emails, recommend what to watch, and—often invisibly—shape what we think. But what do we know about them? And how much power do we really have to question, understand, or even redirect their impact?

In this book, Marcus Fontoura explores the hidden architectures of modern life—from social media and search engines to cloud computing, AI, and quantum technologies—uncovering both how they work and what they mean. Drawing from decades of experience building the backbone of the internet and cloud platforms, he demystifies the core concepts that govern today's systems and offers readers a way to develop digital fluency without needing a computer science degree.

ON SALE DECEMBER 30

Song of Ancient Lovers by Laura Restrepo | Translated by Caro De Robertis | ADULT FICTION

Retelling the mythical love story between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in the refugee camps of the present day, Song of Ancient Lovers is a sublime ode to love and desire as forces shaping human history, with power that rivals forces of destruction.

Ethereal in its weaving of the real and the mythical, the contemporary and the ancient, this is the story of Bos Mutas, a young writer traveling from South America to northern Africa in search of traces of his obsession. His research unveils the Queen of Sheba as unyielding and committed to her independence, with remarkable influence both in her time—over Solomon and all the subjects in her expansive kingdom—and on thinkers and artists across the centuries, from Thomas Aquinas to Gérard de Nerval, Frida Kahlo to Patti Smith. He also finds traces of her influence in the magic made of devastating circumstances by women he meets on his journey, especially Zahra Bayda, a Somali midwife who has taken it upon herself to show him around.

Most Anticipated November Releases

Here are a few of the books we’re excited to add to our TBR pile this November. Below you’ll find fun romances, captivating novels, and lively children’s books. Happy reading!

The Cracks We Bear by Catalina Infante | Translated by Michelle Mirabella | ADULT FICTION

Motherhood is terrifying, thinks Laura, feeling small and helpless as she holds her newborn daughter. Instead of joy, she feels fear, and then anger at her own late mother for her absence. The Cracks We Bear opens as a story about new motherhood. Soon, however, it reveals itself to be an exploration of memory and trauma as Laura starts to recall her childhood in Chile. Born in exile to staunchly communist parents, she returns to Chile with her mother after the collapse of the Pinochet dictatorship. In the fledgling democracy she grows up in, topics of capitalism and communism are ever present. Laura's reflections, born from personal experience, are interwoven with raw and honest memories of her family life. Borrowing elements from the Bildungsroman, and pulling from the Latin American short story tradition, Catalina Infante recounts Laura's past in vignettes. Piece by piece, the short chapters come together like a reconstructed vase, bearing its cracks.

Xolo by Donna Barba Higuera | Illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson | CHILDREN’S

It is said the mighty feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, helped create the earth. He is the hero who stole back the bones of humanity from the evil god of the Underworld. In his quest to bring humans to the earth, Quetzalcoatl's dog-headed twin brother, Xolotl, was present. Not much is known of Xolotl, the god of lightning, death, and misfortune. A monster.

This is what really happened.

From Newbery Medalist Donna Barba Higuera and illustrator Mariana Ruiz Johnson comes a singular reimagining of the Aztec myth of the origin of man--and man's best friend--that is nothing short of a modern masterpiece.

The Year of the Wind by Karina Pacheco Medrano | ADULT FICTION

Nina, a Peruvian writer in Spain on the eve of the pandemic, is pulled back into her nation’s fraught history after a fleeting encounter with a woman who is a doppelgänger of Bárbara, a cousin lost to time. The games, the candor, and the secrets of her youth come alive again, but these memories are tinged with disquiet, and what unfolds takes Nina back to a village nestled in the Andes where she must confront the terrors that stalked Peru in the early 1980s. As she travels from Cusco to Apurimac to uncover Bárbara’s fate, Nina begins to weave a new cloth of memory. She learns more about Bárbara’s political radicalization and involvement with the Shining Path, the Maoist terrorist group that instigated a bloody period of political violence in which tens of thousands of mostly indigenous Peruvians disappeared or were killed.

In her first novel to be translated into English, Karina Pacheco Medrano explores how war transforms family stories and complicates the distinction between prey and hunter. Part bildungsroman, part detective novel, The Year of the Wind records a significant chapter in Peruvian history rarely considered in the literature of political violence, exploring the anonymous stories marked by horror, loss, bewilderment, and, in some cases, redemption.

False War by Carlos Manuel Álvarez | Translated by Natasha Wimmer | ADULT FICTION

In this multivoiced novel, employing a dazzling range of narrative styles from noir to autofiction, Carlos Manuel Álvarez brings together the stories of many people from all walks of life through a series of interconnected daisy chains. From Havana to Mexico City to Miami, from New York to Paris to Berlin, whether toiling in a barber shop, roaring in Yankee Stadium, lost in the Louvre, intensely competing in a chess hall in Cuba, plotting a theft, or on a junket for émigré dissidents in Berlin, these characters learn that while they may seem to be on the move, in reality they are paralyzed, immersed in a fake war waged with little real passion.

The fractured narrative, filled with extraordinary portraits of ordinary people, reflects the disintegration that comes from being uprooted. At the same time it is full of tenderness, moments of joy and profound release. False War confirms Carlos Manuel Álvarez as one of the indispensable voices of his generation in Latin American letters.

How We Play the Game by Alexis Nedd | YOUNG ADULT

Zora Lyon plays to dominate. And as a no-nonsense, strategic prodigy of Wizzard Game's viral battle royale, she has all the skills she needs. So when Wizzard offers their top players a chance to participate in a summer academy designed to crown a national champion, Zora knows she has what it takes to be the last player standing.

But Wizzard isn't just looking for winners-they're looking to create viral gaming superstars. Suddenly, Zora finds herself competing against famous esports influencers who can play the game and boost their follower count. That includes Ivan Hunt, the insufferably good-looking fan-favorite streamer, whom she betrayed to cement her spot at the academy.

As their matches broadcast to Wizzard's fanbase, Zora's ruthless playing style and obvious lack of streaming experience immediately sends her to the bottom of the class. With her dreams of impressing Wizzard's cofounder Brian Juno in jeopardy, Zora will do just about anything to fix her image-even if that means pretending to date Ivan to gain some popularity points. What can go wrong with a little white lie?

Look Up by Azul López | Translated by Shook | CHILDREN’S

Many, many years ago, a man was immensely curious about the sky, his curiosity as big as the sky itself. He would spend all day looking up, his eyes reflecting clouds or stars. But as time went on, his gaze was brought to earth, and he joined his neighbors in looking down, putting one foot in front of the other--until the passing days became a mysterious labyrinth that opened before him, leading him somewhere secret.

With the power of a myth and the finesse of a watercolor, Look Up opens up the worlds within worlds that only careful attention can reveal. Award-winning author and artist Azul López welcomes us into subtle and immersive acrylic paintings in a tale of wonder lost and found, and of the courage required to turn one's gaze in another direction.

My Fair Señor by Alana Quintana Albertson | ADULT FICTION

San Diego-based model and influencer Jaime Montez isn’t the heir—or even the spare—to his family’s Taco King fast-food empire. So after he’s asked to be the face of yet another non-Hispanic, celebrity-owned tequila company, Jaime decides to reinvent his role in the family dynasty: he’s going to start his own liquor brand. The problem? He’s an agave amateur. He needs help if he expects to ever master mezcal. And he has the perfect teacher in mind. . . .

Alma Garcia is the toast of Tiburon. Having passed the grueling examen de Consejo Regulador del Tequila in Mexico, Alma used her extensive knowledge as a certified catadora to open the hottest mezcal bar in Marin County. When her college flame returns with a tempting proposition—he’ll promote her business in the local Cinco de Mayo Street Festival if she’ll bring him into the world of tequila—it’s as if the holiday spirits are bringing Jaime and Alma back together.

She has plenty to teach him about tequila—from harvesting the agave to taking a proper sip, and even introduces him to farmers who grow and bottle their own local mezcals. Their chemistry is intoxicating, but Jaime’s ulterior motives for reconnecting bring the threat of another serious love hangover, leaving them both to wonder if this second chance at romance is worth the shot. . . .

Frankenstein: The Complete Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro | ADULT FICTION

Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, delves deep into the timeless tragedy of Victor Frankenstein—from his grisly experiments and the destruction wrought in their wake to his quest for redemption in the frigid Arctic—in this unforgettable reimagining of one of the most iconic literary works of all time.

Featuring stunning concept art, film stills, and behind-the-scenes photography, this official reproduction of the film’s complete screenplay invites readers into del Toro’s world as the classic story was adapted for the screen. With nuanced character development and poignant dialogue, the script brings fresh life to Shelley’s tale, exploring like never before the fractured relationship between creator and creation. From the tormented Victor Frankenstein to his tragic monster, del Toro’s unique artistic voice shines through every page, offering an immersive experience for fans of both the original novel and del Toro’s cinematic genius.

November 2025 Latinx Releases

ON SALE NOVEMBER 4

Prieta Is Dreaming by Gloria Anzaldúa | Edited by Kelli D Zaytoun & Analouise Keating | ADULT FICTION

Best known for Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987), Gloria E. Anzaldúa was also a prolific fiction writer. Prieta Is Dreaming, a speculative novel-in-stories, follows the precocious Prieta from her childhood in South Texas to college and beyond as she tries to find her way in the world. Imbued with supernatural powers, Prieta traverses time, changes form, explores her desires, and defies convention. Started in the 1970s and revised up until Anzaldúa's death in 2004, Prieta Is Dreaming comes as a revelation, affirming Anzaldúa's place at the forefront of contemporary feminist, queer, and border theory, while transforming what we think about both her writing and ourselves. In these nineteen intertwined stories, we find some of Anzaldúa's most adventurous, inspired ideas about gender, sexuality, and the very nature of existence-as well as a character, la Prieta, as bold and memorable as the book itself.

My Daddy Speaks English, Mamá habla español by Mariane Rodriguez Dolce |Illustrated by Joe Cepeda | PICTURE BOOK

Early en la mañana,
Mamà drinks café.
Mi hermana drinks juice,
And Daddy drinks té.

Written with a combination of English and Spanish words that reflects the speech of a bilingual family, this story follows a child through her busy  day--breakfast with Mommy, Daddy, and big sister; at the library with Grandma; buying groceries with Mommy; dinner time; bathtime; storytime; and bedtime. Every event is filled with love and joy. Then she dreams sweet dreams–in both English and Spanish, of course!

Deeper Than the Ocean by Mirta Ojito | ADULT FICTION

One hundred years after the shipwreck of the Valbanera, known to history as the "poor man's Titanic," Mara Denis gets an assignment to report on the Canary Islands, where her ancestors lived before they moved to Cuba. Unexpectedly, she discovers that the grandmother her mother cherished was listed among the dead of the Valbanera, years before Mara's mother was even born. This fateful twist changes everything Mara thought she knew about her family and herself, and sends her on a quest to find the truth. If her great grandmother is a ghost, who is she and where did she come from?

In spare, beautiful writing, the author transports the reader to the Canary Islands and Cuba in the early part of the twentieth century and New York and Key West in the present. This is an epic tale of a young woman's passion for her beloved, as well as the redeeming power of family secrets at last uncovered.

The Cracks We Bear by Catalina Infante | Translated by Michelle Mirabella | ADULT FICTION

Motherhood is terrifying, thinks Laura, feeling small and helpless as she holds her newborn daughter. Instead of joy, she feels fear, and then anger at her own late mother for her absence. The Cracks We Bear opens as a story about new motherhood. Soon, however, it reveals itself to be an exploration of memory and trauma as Laura starts to recall her childhood in Chile. Born in exile to staunchly communist parents, she returns to Chile with her mother after the collapse of the Pinochet dictatorship. In the fledgling democracy she grows up in, topics of capitalism and communism are ever present. Laura's reflections, born from personal experience, are interwoven with raw and honest memories of her family life. Borrowing elements from the Bildungsroman, and pulling from the Latin American short story tradition, Catalina Infante recounts Laura's past in vignettes. Piece by piece, the short chapters come together like a reconstructed vase, bearing its cracks.

Xolo by Donna Barba Higuera | Illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson | CHILDREN’S

It is said the mighty feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, helped create the earth. He is the hero who stole back the bones of humanity from the evil god of the Underworld. In his quest to bring humans to the earth, Quetzalcoatl's dog-headed twin brother, Xolotl, was present. Not much is known of Xolotl, the god of lightning, death, and misfortune. A monster.

This is what really happened.

From Newbery Medalist Donna Barba Higuera and illustrator Mariana Ruiz Johnson comes a singular reimagining of the Aztec myth of the origin of man--and man's best friend--that is nothing short of a modern masterpiece.

An Eye for an I: Growing Up with Blindness, Bigotry, and Family Mental Illness by James Francisco Bonilla | NONFICTION

"Jovencito, it's going to be lonely being different and yet strong in this world," James Francisco Bonilla's grandmother told him when he was ten. He had come home after defending himself against a bully who had threatened him with violence, making it clear that he didn't care that James was blind. But despite the isolation James felt in childhood, he would come to commit his life to leveraging his differences and strengths toward a collective fight for justice. James's memoir, An Eye for an I, is an inspiring account of how he found a path through his own suffering to make a difference for others.

Born with congenital cataracts, James had limited vision in his right eye and none in his left. At age nine, after a classmate hurled a horseshoe at his face in a racially motivated assault, James's right eye was injured and he became legally blind. At home, too, he feared physical violence, experiencing the unpredictable outbursts of a single mother suffering from severe mental illness. Throughout his youth as a Puerto Rican New Yorker, James was continually failed by educational systems that exposed him to one abuse after another. Searching for relief and inspiration, he discovered an unexpected solace in the natural world, spiritual encounters with Mother Earth that led him toward both personal healing and advocacy.

At nineteen, a breakthrough in medical technology restored the sight in his right eye, and James recognized his unique perspective on the struggles of the disabled and marginalized in American life--and his intense will to make a difference. He seeks to understand generational trauma, and in documenting his growth--physically, mentally, and spiritually--his memoir exemplifies the introspection necessary to participate in truly equitable and effective movement building. An Eye for an I presents both James and his aggressors with refreshing nuance and humility, inviting readers to empathize, be inspired, and consider their own potential to be of service in a broken, yet beautiful, world.

The Year of the Wind by Karina Pacheco Medrano | ADULT FICTION

Nina, a Peruvian writer in Spain on the eve of the pandemic, is pulled back into her nation’s fraught history after a fleeting encounter with a woman who is a doppelgänger of Bárbara, a cousin lost to time. The games, the candor, and the secrets of her youth come alive again, but these memories are tinged with disquiet, and what unfolds takes Nina back to a village nestled in the Andes where she must confront the terrors that stalked Peru in the early 1980s. As she travels from Cusco to Apurimac to uncover Bárbara’s fate, Nina begins to weave a new cloth of memory. She learns more about Bárbara’s political radicalization and involvement with the Shining Path, the Maoist terrorist group that instigated a bloody period of political violence in which tens of thousands of mostly indigenous Peruvians disappeared or were killed.

False War by Carlos Manuel Álvarez | Translated by Natasha Wimmer | ADULT FICTION

In this multivoiced novel, employing a dazzling range of narrative styles from noir to autofiction, Carlos Manuel Álvarez brings together the stories of many people from all walks of life through a series of interconnected daisy chains. From Havana to Mexico City to Miami, from New York to Paris to Berlin, whether toiling in a barber shop, roaring in Yankee Stadium, lost in the Louvre, intensely competing in a chess hall in Cuba, plotting a theft, or on a junket for émigré dissidents in Berlin, these characters learn that while they may seem to be on the move, in reality they are paralyzed, immersed in a fake war waged with little real passion.

The fractured narrative, filled with extraordinary portraits of ordinary people, reflects the disintegration that comes from being uprooted. At the same time it is full of tenderness, moments of joy and profound release. False War confirms Carlos Manuel Álvarez as one of the indispensable voices of his generation in Latin American letters.

ON SALE NOVEMBER 11

My Excellency: Comedy in Three Acts by Luis Rechani Agrait | Translated by William Carlos Williams | Edited by Jonathan Cohen | ADULT FICTION

William Carlos Williams's passion for his matrilineal Puerto Rican roots led him to visit Puerto Rico for the first time in 1941. There at a writers' conference, he befriended the playwright Luis Rechani Agrait, who gave him his play Mi señoría, staged to acclaim the previous year.

My Excellency, as Williams calls the play in his translation, is a political farce set in an "imaginary country" that resembles Puerto Rico during the Great Depression, with its high unemployment and labor unrest. The play focuses on the plight of an idealistic but naive man, Buenaventura Padilla, in a completely corrupt political system. Through an unscrupulous election, he becomes the nation's leader.

The play is successful as a satire largely because of Buenaventura's hilarious language--recreated by Williams--with its pompous style combined with stunning malapropisms and clownish errors in history and grammar. The play's very title is a laughable malapropism. My Excellency shows the corrupting power of success and the tragic flaw of materialism. Driving the comedy in Williams's translation is his firm command of the play's dialogue interwoven with popular idioms in which the charm of pure nonsense abounds.

Growing Papaya Trees: Nurturing Indigenous Roots During Climate Displacement by Jessica Hernandez Ph.D. | NONFICTION

Dr. Jessica Hernandez offers readers an Indigenous, Global-South lens on the climate crisis, delivering a compelling and urgent exploration of its causes—and its costs. She shares how the impacts of colonial climate catastrophe—from warming oceans to forced displacement of settler ontologies—can only be addressed at the root if we reorient toward Indigenous science and follow the lead of Indigenous peoples and communities.

Growing Papaya Trees explores:

• Energy as a sociopolitical issue

• The interconnectedness of natural disasters, sociopolitical turmoil, and forced migration

• Our oceans, our forests, and our Indigenous futures

• Moving Indigenous science from mere acknowledgement into real action

• How to nourish Indigenous roots when displaced beyond borders

Carnaval Fever by Yuliana Ortiz Ruano | Translated by Madeleine Arenivar | ADULT FICTION

Ainhoa lives a protected life within the walls of her grandmother’s house in the neighborhood of Esmeraldas in Ecuador. Surrounded by a gaggle of aunts who love and teach her, Ainhoa narrates moments that evoke the powerful presence of music and dance in her daily life while also confronting familial violence over the course of Carnaval season. Seen through Ainhoa’s innocent eyes, the difficult themes that have defined the South American country’s recent history, including economic hardship, migration, and upheaval, are but one side of an enormous cultural richness steeped in the joy, music, and vibrancy of this singular community of women.

Following the contours of Carnaval, and sublimely translated by Madeleine Arenivar, Yuliana Ortiz Ruano’s sensorial and viscerally alive novel brims with poetry and exuberance, as well as the pain of an existence lived in the forgotten corners of the world.

The Queen of Swords by Jazmina Barrera | Translated by Christina Macsweeney | NONFICTION

Sifting through the writer's archives at Princeton, Barrera is repeatedly thwarted in her attempt to fully know her subject. Traditional means of research--the correspondence, photos, and books--serve only to complicate and cloud the woman and her work.Who was Elena Garro, really?

She was a writer, a founder of "magical realism," a dancer. A devotee to the tarot and theI Ching. A socialite and activist on behalf of indigenous Mexicans. She was a mother and a lover who repeatedly shook off (and cheated on) her manipulative husband, Nobel-laureate Octavio Paz. And above all, she wrote with simmering anger and glittering imagination.

The Queen of Swords is a portrait of a woman that also serves as an alternative history of Mexico City; a cry-out for justice; and an homage to the unknowable. It transcends mere biography, supplanting something tidy and authoritative for a sprawling experiment in understanding.

The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes | ADULT FICTION

April is a young mother raising her daughter in an intergenerational house of unspoken secrets and loud arguments. Her only refuge is to hide away in a locked bathroom, her ears plugged into an ambient soundscape, and a mantra on her lips: dead inside. That is, until one day, as she finds herself spiraling toward the volcanic rage she calls the white hot, a voice inside her tells her to just . . . walk away. She wanders to a bus station and asks for a ticket to the furthest destination; she tells the clerk to make it one-way. That ticket takes her from her Philly home to the threshold of a wilderness and the beginning of a nameless quest—an accidental journey that shakes her awake, almost kills her, and brings her to the brink of an impossible choice.

The Week of Colors by Elena Garro| Translated by Megan McDowell | ADULT FICTION

A woman flits between two realities centuries apart, as scenes from the violent conquest of Mexico bleed their way into her comfortable contemporary life. Two little girls visit the home of a sorcerer who tortures women named after the days of the week. Girls become dogs, a laborer hides human bones in bricks he'll use to build a new development, and an old woman appears at an acquaintance's door one night with a knife and a bone-chilling confession.

With The Week of Colors, Elena Garro laid the groundwork for the literary movements that would shape the landscape of Latin American fiction and beyond. Here you'll find the early roots of magical realism, feminist horror, and anticolonial speculative fiction. In The Week of Colors, Garro highlights the violence in our history, our homes, and our hearts, in vivid color.

Pandora by Ana Paula Pacheco | Translated by Julia Sanches | ADULT FICTION

Ana, a literature professor, plans her remote classes while confined to her apartment during lockdown. Her lover, Alice, has died of Covid. In her place are a series of animals that demand Ana's care and attention: an overbearing pangolin, a swarm of insects, a giant bat.

Amid changes in medication and fraught faculty meetings, Ana's grip on reality loosens. She begins to devise a syllabus on the financialization of art and life, posing questions about labor and intimacy she will use her own body to answer. Her apartment fills with creatures, her teaching slides into absurd allegory, and her sense of what is real, permissible, or politically legible fractures.

Rescued Me by Nestor “The Boss” Gomez | NONFICTION

Nestor Gomez was sure he had found love with his new girlfriend. The only problem? His girlfriend was still in love with a real dog. No, really-a seventy-pound pitbull mix.

And after having been...well, nearly emasculated by a dog that bit him high on the thigh when he was a young boy, Nestor had developed a paralyzing phobia of our four-legged friends. Soon he was faced with a dilemma...could he learn to love the creatures that had aroused in him such terror, or would he lose the love of his life on account of her pet? (To say nothing of all the other little challenges that loom large in life--a hand-me-down-mattress with poky springs, nosy neighbors with belligerent blogs, pesky police, and an evil cat.)

How We Play the Game by Alexis Nedd | YOUNG ADULT

Zora Lyon plays to dominate. And as a no-nonsense, strategic prodigy of Wizzard Game's viral battle royale, she has all the skills she needs. So when Wizzard offers their top players a chance to participate in a summer academy designed to crown a national champion, Zora knows she has what it takes to be the last player standing.

But Wizzard isn't just looking for winners-they're looking to create viral gaming superstars. Suddenly, Zora finds herself competing against famous esports influencers who can play the game and boost their follower count. That includes Ivan Hunt, the insufferably good-looking fan-favorite streamer, whom she betrayed to cement her spot at the academy.

As their matches broadcast to Wizzard's fanbase, Zora's ruthless playing style and obvious lack of streaming experience immediately sends her to the bottom of the class. With her dreams of impressing Wizzard's cofounder Brian Juno in jeopardy, Zora will do just about anything to fix her image-even if that means pretending to date Ivan to gain some popularity points. What can go wrong with a little white lie?

ON SALE NOVEMBER 18

Look Up by Azul López | Translated by Shook | CHILDREN’S

Many, many years ago, a man was immensely curious about the sky, his curiosity as big as the sky itself. He would spend all day looking up, his eyes reflecting clouds or stars. But as time went on, his gaze was brought to earth, and he joined his neighbors in looking down, putting one foot in front of the other--until the passing days became a mysterious labyrinth that opened before him, leading him somewhere secret.

With the power of a myth and the finesse of a watercolor, Look Up opens up the worlds within worlds that only careful attention can reveal. Award-winning author and artist Azul López welcomes us into subtle and immersive acrylic paintings in a tale of wonder lost and found, and of the courage required to turn one's gaze in another direction.

States of Defeat: Us Imaginaries of Revolutionary Central America by Eric A Vázquez | NONFCITION

The thwarted Central American revolutions during the latter half of the twentieth century marked a watershed in what had become a global anti-imperialist movement striving for a more egalitarian future. Examining a range of documentary, literary, and artistic works, States of Defeat looks at how left-wing intellectuals in the United States reckoned with the fallout from these defeats through wide-ranging creative expressions of indignation, cynicism, and grief.

As he argues for the historical significance of Central America in the transition out of the Cold War, Eric A. Vázquez shows how the unfulfilled revolutionary ambitions in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala prompted intellectuals in the United States to reexamine their desires for radical transformation. Analyzing novels, memoirs, anthropological writings, documentary film, and archival materials from the 1980s and 1990s, he demonstrates how these texts prefigured later anxieties about secrecy and securitization, the rise of nongovernmental organizational forms, and state failure.

Examining the legacies of unfulfilled anti-imperialist political ideals and their implications for the global left in the twenty-first century, States of Defeat offers a renewed perspective on the function of Central America in the US imagination.

Byzantine Bembé: New York by Manny Vega / Nueva York Por Manny Vega | Edited by Angel ‘Monxo’ López | NONFICTION

Manny Vega's art can be found in the form of mosaics and murals adorning street walls, subway stations, cultural centres, and business facades throughout New York's East Harlem. This lushly illustrated volume covers the full range of Vega's artistic output, from carefully crafted mosaics, including female figures and stylized album covers, to prints and works on paper. This bi-lingual Spanish/English study also incorporates essays that explore Vega's relationship with New York, murals as a medium, and the links between his work and music. Throughout the volume, Vega's focus on the Puerto- Rican experience in New York shines through and highlights the influence of the city's cultural mix on his unique art.

The Sky of Sacrifice by Rosalia Aguilar Solace | ADULT FICTION

As the Great Library of Tomorrow prepares for a momentous celebration, Nu embraces both newfound love and her role as the Sage of Truth. However, if fresh nightmares prove to be the harbingers of Suttaru's malevolent forces, romance must take a back seat to her responsibilities.

When a savage act sends shock waves through the Great Library, the return of an old friend brings to light a hidden relic from the Book of Wisdom's past.

To stop the enemy, the Sages must pursue multiple paths. For Nu and Robin, this means traveling the realms in search of a mysterious figure from long ago. Meanwhile, Veer and his companions brave a realm of darkness and despair, where even the strongest can become undone ...

ON SALE NOVEMBER 25

My Fair Señor by Alana Quintana Albertson | ADULT FICTION

San Diego-based model and influencer Jaime Montez isn’t the heir—or even the spare—to his family’s Taco King fast-food empire. So after he’s asked to be the face of yet another non-Hispanic, celebrity-owned tequila company, Jaime decides to reinvent his role in the family dynasty: he’s going to start his own liquor brand. The problem? He’s an agave amateur. He needs help if he expects to ever master mezcal. And he has the perfect teacher in mind. . . .

Alma Garcia is the toast of Tiburon. Having passed the grueling examen de Consejo Regulador del Tequila in Mexico, Alma used her extensive knowledge as a certified catadora to open the hottest mezcal bar in Marin County. When her college flame returns with a tempting proposition—he’ll promote her business in the local Cinco de Mayo Street Festival if she’ll bring him into the world of tequila—it’s as if the holiday spirits are bringing Jaime and Alma back together.

She has plenty to teach him about tequila—from harvesting the agave to taking a proper sip, and even introduces him to farmers who grow and bottle their own local mezcals. Their chemistry is intoxicating, but Jaime’s ulterior motives for reconnecting bring the threat of another serious love hangover, leaving them both to wonder if this second chance at romance is worth the shot. . . .

Frankenstein: The Complete Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro | ADULT FICTION

Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, delves deep into the timeless tragedy of Victor Frankenstein—from his grisly experiments and the destruction wrought in their wake to his quest for redemption in the frigid Arctic—in this unforgettable reimagining of one of the most iconic literary works of all time.

Featuring stunning concept art, film stills, and behind-the-scenes photography, this official reproduction of the film’s complete screenplay invites readers into del Toro’s world as the classic story was adapted for the screen. With nuanced character development and poignant dialogue, the script brings fresh life to Shelley’s tale, exploring like never before the fractured relationship between creator and creation. From the tormented Victor Frankenstein to his tragic monster, del Toro’s unique artistic voice shines through every page, offering an immersive experience for fans of both the original novel and del Toro’s cinematic genius.

Author-Illustrator Q&A: Carlos Aponte on the Inspiration Behind ‘Precious’

Precious begins somberly. Pedrito, a young boy from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, is at home staring at his phone. On the screen is a photo of him with his father, who had left for the United States to work and support their family. A few feet away from Pedrito are his mother and brother, Juan, who also appear sad.

“When Papi was home, he and Juan would play guitar, and Pedrito used to sing,” author Carlos Aponte writes. “But now, without Papi, nobody is in the mood.”

When a hurricane rips through their town, Pedrito finds a dog in the wreckage and brings her home. Soon after, he must return the dog to her rightful owner. That night, Pedrito is reminded of a beloved song. A song that means a lot to many Puerto Ricans both on the island and in the diaspora. Perhaps music can help get him and his community through?

In Precious, the Pura Belpré Honor winning Aponte brings us a beautiful and tender-hearted story about a boy who holds onto community and what is most dear in trying times. Aponte’s illustrations of digital ink and pastel brushes bring an added vibrancy to Pedrito and the people in his town, as well as their island. Precious is out now from Nancy Paulsen Books, and so is Preciosa, its Spanish edition.

Aponte spoke with Latinx in Publishing about the inspiration behind his book, its spirit, and much more.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Amaris Castillo: Congratulations on Precious/Preciosa. What inspired this story?

Carlos Aponte (CA): When I was working on my previous book, Across the Bay, I went to Puerto Rico a few months after Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico was completely destroyed. I arrived there in January to be with my family, but also to write. Sometimes you want to write a book about Puerto Rico, but you have to be there to get the feeling and the emotion. When you’re in a place, you feel something that you cannot feel outside the place. So I went to Old San Juan. It was all closed, and it was very depressing. I was very sad. I cried. 

There’s a little ferry that goes from Cataño to San Juan. That week, they decided that, no matter what, they were going to celebrate the (Fiesta de la) Calle de San Sebastián. It’s a celebration they do every year in San Sebastian Street. So I took the ferry and, on my way back from Cataño to San Juan, I saw a little kid the way I imagined my character. And while I was there, I decided that I wanted to write about the hurricane. But I couldn’t do it right away, because sometimes you get too emotional and you cannot write. 

Finally, after many years, I did a lot of research and said to myself, I think I have enough information to start writing. Then an idea came to me about a little dog that got lost. In Puerto Rico after the hurricane, many dogs disappeared and some were left behind, unfortunately. I also thought about “Preciosa” and how it would be great to incorporate the song. And I did. Then I found out where Rafael Hernández was born, and I set the story there. So everything came together and that’s how I ended up with this story.

AC: Your story centers on Pedrito, a young boy from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico who survives a hurricane with his mother, brother, and community. In the book, Pedrito likens the hurricane to a wolf. What message were you hoping to send by describing the hurricane that way?

CA: I think it’s more of his imagination – and how kids see things. It’s really from my nephews when they were very young. They thought that the hurricane was like a wolf – the sound and the whole thing. Of course, in Puerto Rico we don’t have wolves. But a hurricane is a monster, and I wanted to incorporate in the illustration the wolf and how the eye of the hurricane becomes the eyes of the wolf. And inside the wolf you see everything floating, like he’s devouring everything that’s in front of him. I also liked the idea that it was a dream. When Pedrito woke up, he thought the saliva of the wolf was falling on his head, but it was really water from the crack of the ceiling (due to the hurricane). 

There’s so much in this book. I believe in dreams, and I have many dreams that tell you what’s going to happen in a week or so. So Pedrito has that kind of ability. It’s a little bit of a psychic thing, like, Oh, he had a dream, but the dream kind of really came true. It’s kind of magical realism in that sense. That’s how I believe. I have many dreams, and I understand what is going to happen or I have a feeling. So I wanted to incorporate those feelings into Pedrito.

“No matter where you are, if you’re from Puerto Rico, you have the island in your heart. No matter where you are, you are connected to that. You belong to that. ”

AC: You were raised in Puerto Rico. What does the song, “Preciosa” by composer Rafael Hernández Marín mean to you?

CA: I can’t explain. “Preciosa” is the island. It’s where I grew up. It’s my family. It’s everything that I know. I’ve been so emotional about my previous book and this book because it has to do with many personal issues and with the island. What the island went through was very devastating, and everybody was really emotional about that.

AC: After the hurricane, Pedrito rescues a dog from the wreckage. And later he has to give it up. The story has this spirit about helping one another – not just your neighbors, but animals, too. How would you describe the spirit of this story?

CA: There are so many subtleties in this story. It might look like a simple story, but there’s so many things happening. I believe that when you do something good, good things will come back to you. Pedrito rescued this dog and later had to give it up to its original owner. And then later he receives a puppy from Luna, which is a gift to him for being such a good kid.

Another example are the elderly people that live in Puerto Rico alone; the lady who the family helps in the beginning, and the man who the dog belongs to. That’s a man who lives by himself. The reason why I put that in the book is because my mother took care of many older people who lived by themselves because their families never bothered to come and help them. My mother inspired me, too, because there are so many people living by themselves, who have no one to take care of them. That was also part of the story. 

There’s also the brain drain – people who have to leave the island for economical reasons or financial reasons. The book is dedicated to the diaspora. It could be the diaspora from Santo Domingo, it could be the diaspora from Puerto Rico. We’re islands. We’re the Caribbean. I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, but you live in America. You’re fine.’ I say, ‘You don’t know how hard it is for us to live here and not live in Puerto Rico – our island, or house, where we came from.’ And so I wanted to dedicate this to those people who have Puerto Rico in their heart.

AC: Since Pedrito’s father left for the United States to work, life in Aguadilla for the boy and his family isn’t quite the same. What was the inspiration behind the decision to have this father not be in the picture for most of the book?

CA: I just wanted to show how families sacrifice themselves to find a better life for their family. It happens. I have seen many families whose father leaves first to find a job, and then bring the family to the place they moved. Both my sisters had to leave Puerto Rico and now live in Florida. That’s part of it. I don’t do any book unless I feel I’m connected to that reality, of that story. I feel that’s very important. 

AC: What do you hope readers take away from Precious/Preciosa?
CA: No matter where you are, if you’re from Puerto Rico, you have the island in your heart. No matter where you are, you are connected to that. You belong to that. Your spirit, your soul, your heart’s in Puerto Rico. Your body might be here, but your emotions and everything is there.

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Carlos Aponte received a Pura Belpré Honor for Across the Bay and wrote and illustrated A Season to Bee. Carlos is a faculty member at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her debut book, Bodega Stories, will be published in Fall 2026 from the University Press of Florida. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family.

Author Q&A: Jaquira Díaz On Debut Novel, ‘This Is the Only Kingdom’

To start, This Is the Only Kingdom grips readers with its prologue. It is May 1993, and a cane cutter somewhere in Puerto Rico discovers a gruesome scene in the golden cañaverales: a dead body. 

The painful beginning of Jaquira Díaz’s debut novel is a marker of what’s to come. This Is the Only Kingdom (out now from Algonquin Books) is an immersive and affecting origin story about one Puerto Rican family through the years. Set between a working-class barrio on the island and Miami, the book largely follows Maricarmen and her daughter Nena as they struggle through a new reality in the aftermath of a murder. Díaz treats time in her epic novel with delicate hands and a keen eye for the many societal challenges that face Puerto Ricans and members of the LGBTQ+ community. We meet Maricarmen as a 16-year-old who falls for Rey, a local musician who is in and out of juvie. Soon, she finds herself trying to make a home for both of them, Rey’s younger brother, Tito, and their baby girl, Nenuska (known as Nena). Then one day, that home Maricarmen has been so desperately trying to keep together crumbles before her.

More than a decade later, Nena is now a teenager herself. She is unlike the other girls at her high school, and unlike what others expect a girl from el Caserío to be like. She is also exploring her sexual identity, all while finding her place in society. After a horrific discovery, mother and daughter are plunged into another grief, this time having to navigate a murder investigation.

Much like she did in her Whiting Award-winning memoir, Ordinary Girls, Díaz’s writing in This Is the Only Kingdom reaches inside readers’ hearts and does not let go. The novel is beautiful and heartbreaking in its scope, with Díaz not turning away at all but leaning towards themes of love, loss, rejection and resilience. The author spoke with Latinx in Publishing about the inspiration behind her debut novel, the book’s many themes, and much more.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

“I wanted to tell a story about flawed characters who were failing each other and failing themselves. Who were failing, but kept trying to show up for each other. The way that this story unfolded was just two characters who fell deeply in love, but who were very, very flawed.”

Amaris Castillo: Congratulations on This Is the Only Kingdom. This is your debut novel. What inspired this story?

Jaquira Díaz (JD): I have been thinking about this story since I was a kid growing up in el Caserío. This was a story that, at first, my dad passed down to me. Not the whole story, just bits and pieces about Rey. I’ve been thinking about Rey’s story for a really long time, and I always thought that I would write this as a nonfiction book. That I would write the whole history, the trial, everything that happened after his death. 

Then as I started writing, I realized that Rey’s story started changing. It became this fictional story. I realized I couldn’t write a nonfiction book, because the characters were demanding something else. So I created this fictional family in this fictional place that is kind of like el Caserío Padre Rivera, but not quite. The story just took on a life of its own. But the inspiration for it was definitely the story that my father told me years ago, that I then started hearing from other people in el Caserío. My own family remembered the real-life version of Rey, who is not like this character at all. The story that’s in the book is fictional. There are some similarities, but everything is actually invented.

AC: Your novel is a family origin story and follows Maricarmen and Rey, who is known as Rey el Cantante. Their love story is complicated, and there are times when that love is called into question. What can you tell us about their love story and its nuances?

JD: That’s such a great question. I 100% believe in love. But I don’t believe in love the way that it’s usually portrayed in love stories; how everybody’s perfect and how people live happily ever after. I wanted to tell a story about flawed characters who were failing each other and failing themselves. Who were failing, but kept trying to show up for each other. The way that this story unfolded was just two characters who fell deeply in love, but who were very, very flawed. In the end, everything was not perfect, because people are human. And humans are not perfect. I wanted to tell a story that was deeply flawed, and that was much more representative of the way that we live and love.

AC: Your book touches on many themes – poverty, racism, drug addiction, family estrangement, LGTBQ isolation and acceptance. You weave all these themes in an unflinching manner. What was it like to weave all these themes through your characters?

JD: I’m thinking about two things. First, the mother-daughter relationship was really hard for me. I was right in the last two chapters of the book when my mom died. Even though I had been preparing myself for years, because she was sick for a very long time, it was sudden and unexpected. And I was right in the middle of writing the last chapter, which has to do with the mother-daughter relationship. I really struggled trying to put that chapter together, and trying to write a mother-daughter relationship that felt real. That still felt human and flawed, but real, and where there was redemption and understanding. I kept having to pause and think, This is not my mom. It’s not a memoir. This is a fictional family. So it was really hard to keep trying to finish it, and then stopping and starting and stopping and starting. That was the most difficult chapter to get through. 

There were also the chapters that are set in the pharmacy in Miami Beach. Those were actually based on my real life. I worked in two different pharmacies when I was a teenager, and it was right when Miami became one of the epicenters of the AIDS epidemic. I had a close friend who died of AIDS, and he was very young. So to put myself back in that mindset, I definitely thought of him. He’s not the character (in the book), but I definitely thought of my time with him and how close we were, the things we did together, how we talked to each other, and how we talked around things. 

I thought about that time when I was writing that chapter, and I thought about family estrangement for queer people back then. It was 1995, ‘96, ‘97. It was a very different time. I had friends and I had a community because Miami Beach was a place that became like a gay city. Everybody went there to find community when they were diagnosed with HIV, so it was a community that was simultaneously growing but also disappearing. It was always changing. It was always kind of in a liminal state, where I would meet people and then they would disappear three months later. And I wouldn’t hear from them again. We all knew what happened. I was 16, 17 years old, experiencing this. I was closeted, and watching people in my community struggling with their whole lives, without their families. That was one of the most difficult things to write about.

“I tend to think of writing and music as a kind of conversation. When I’m writing, I write to music and so I’m always thinking about that rhythm.”

AC: Your chapters are titled after salsa songs. I recognized some like “El Cantante” by Héctor Lavoe and “El Gran Varón.” In your acknowledgements you write that you’re indebted to musicians. As a Puerto Rican, what does the salsa genre mean to you, and how has that significance changed as you grew into a writer?

JD: I grew up in a musical family, in a musical house. My dad was friends with a lot of musicians. He was the guy who drove them to their gigs, which is where I got part of that story. We always had a lot of books and a lot of records in our house. My dad is the kind of guy who loves to tell stories. He would put on something by Cheo Feliciano, and he would tell me the story. Or he would put Ismael Rivera, and he would tell me the story. These songs always came with stories about the singer, the writers, but also the story that’s in the song. One of the things that I loved about the golden era of salsa, is that all the songs had stories attached. There was always either a love story, or a story of Pedro Navaja. It was like a plot. For me, it was like another way of storytelling and another way of imagining myself as a writer — somebody who would write songs. I studied music as a kid and I always thought that I would make music. Now I just write about it. 

The way that this connects me to Puerto Rican culture is that every single one of these songs — even the ones that were written by Rubén Blades, who is Panamanian, to me feel very, very Puerto Rican. It has something to do with the lyrics, with actual words and refranes that some of these songs have, the way that the language is kind of connected to the body. When you think about bomba y plena and when you think about musicians, it’s not just the drums that are a part of the performance. It’s also the dancer’s body that is actually talking to the drums. So it’s like a conversation. I tend to think of writing and music as a kind of conversation. When I’m writing, I write to music and so I’m always thinking about that rhythm. I have a soundtrack that I listened to while I was writing this book, and all of the songs in the liner notes were part of this soundtrack. When I was writing the chapter, “El Cantante,” I was listening to “El Cantante.” When I was writing “El Ratón,” I was listening to “El Ratón.” When I was writing “Juanito Alimaña,” I was listening to “Juanito Alimaña.” It was so important for me to get something in the chapter that feels like the song. I’m not just using this title, but this is actually an embodiment of the song.

AC: El Caserío Padre Rivera is very much its own character in the novel. It’s where your main characters live out their lives. You dedicate the book to “mi gente del Caserío Padre Rivera.” Obviously you fictionalized this caserío for the novel in some ways. What do think people misunderstand most about el Caserío, or life in el Caserío?

JD: There’s much. El Caserío today is very different from el Caserío when I was growing up there. I remember going to school after leaving el Caserío for the first time and going to a different school. When the kids found out that I was from el Caserío, everybody was scared of me. I didn’t understand it, because we all just were a community. Us kids, we were always outside playing. Everybody looked out for us. It was a real place where you could feel the community. Everybody had birthday parties, and birthday parties were block parties. The whole community showed up. When somebody gave birth — people gave birth at home — the whole community showed up. 

Looking back, I have never, ever in my life felt the kind of sense of community that I felt when I lived there. And that’s one thing that people, I think, have no idea about. Yes, there were other things happening. Yes, there were drug dealers. Yes, there was crime. Yes, there were police showing up all the time. There were people showing up killed. All of these things did happen, but what I remember is that it was where I became a storyteller. 

AC: What do you hope readers take away from This Is the Only Kingdom?

JD: I definitely wrote this thinking about my community and thinking about us from a place of love, and thinking about how we show up and how we love to tell stories. Storytelling is such a big part of our culture, including storytelling through music, like salsa music. So I would like for them to take that away. That yes, the novel is its own story, it’s also connected to something that, for me, feels really, really important, which is the ways that we tell stories and use music to tell stories in our culture. That is really important.

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Born in Puerto Rico, Jaquira Díaz was raised between Humacao, Fajardo, and Miami Beach. She is the author of Ordinary Girls: A Memoir, winner of a Whiting Award, a Florida Book Awards Gold Medal, a Lambda Literary Awards finalist, an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce Selection, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, an Indie Next Pick, a Library Reads pick, and finalist for the B&N Discover Prize. 

The recipient of the Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction, the Alonzo Davis Fellowship from VCCA, two Pushcart Prizes, an Elizabeth George Foundation grant, and fellowships from MacDowell, the Kenyon Review, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV, Díaz has written for The Atlantic, The Guardian, Time Magazine, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, and The Fader, and her stories, poems, and essays have been anthologized in The Best American Essays, The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext, Best American Experimental Writing, and The Pushcart Prize anthology. In 2022, she held the Mina Hohenberg Darden Chair in Creative Writing at Old Dominion University’s MFA program and a Pabst Endowed Chair for Master Writers at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. She lives in New York and teaches at Columbia University.

Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her debut book, Bodega Stories, will be published in Fall 2026 from the University Press of Florida. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family.

#DefendThePress - Letter to the Federal Communications Commission

Brendan Carr

Chairman

Federal Communications Commission

45 L Street, NE

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Carr,

In recent months, the American public has witnessed increasingly brazen examples of President Trump abusing his power to attack Americans’ constitutional rights, erode the Rule of Law, and advance his own personal and financial interests at the expense of the public interest. The undersigned organizations represent a broad and diverse group of people in the United States, and we write to express our deep alarm and condemnation of recent Federal Communications Commission actions that are aiding and abetting this pattern of authoritarian conduct.

President Trump’s unconstitutional and un-American attacks on the free press are hardly new. His second term, however, has seen these unseemly rhetorical attacks accompanied by an unprecedented weaponization of the FCC’s regulatory authority against television broadcasters to gain leverage in personal legal matters, extract financial settlement payments, and intimidate their news divisions to silence dissenting views and critical coverage.

The President has repeatedly called for ABC, NBC, and CBS to lose their broadcast licenses in response to what he deems unfair coverage. While the President is entitled to his opinions as a media critic, the First Amendment clearly prohibits government officials from abusing federal power to silence, censor, or intimidate news media organizations. We recognize, just as our Founders did nearly 250 years ago, that a free and open press is Democracy’s last and best defense against tyranny. Your Democratic and Republican predecessors had the courage to defend this fundamental American value, publicly rejecting calls to regulate or punish broadcasters for their perceived political views. You too affirmed this principle in 2021, stating: “A newsroom’s decision about what stories to cover and how to frame them should be beyond the reach of any government official, not targeted by them.”

Yet the Commission appears to have fully abandoned this principle in its review and approval of Skydance Media’s recent acquisition of Paramount Global, including CBS News and Stations. As you know, President Trump – acting in his personal capacity – filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS in late October, alleging that routine editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris amounted to “Election Interference and Fraud.” Trump’s lawsuit was widely panned as “legally groundless,” “frivolous and dangerous,” and “ridiculous junk” by legal experts from across the political spectrum. Yet the Commission withheld its approval of the transaction until CBS capitulated and agreed to pay $16 million. Moreover, the Commission’s eventual approval was conditioned on CBS accepting unprecedented and unconstitutional infringements on its editorial independence, including the hiring of a “bias monitor” to police alleged unfairness toward President Trump and his allies.

With CBS now effectively coerced into self-censorship, we’re troubled by recent Commission actions appearing to aim for similar outcomes at ABC and NBC. In letters sent to the Walt Disney Company (December 21, 2024) and Comcast Corporation (July 29, 2025), you warned of potential FCC intervention in ABC’s and NBC’s relationships with affiliated broadcast stations. Neither letter identified any statutory authority for such intervention. Nor did they offer any economic rationale why corporate broadcast groups, some of which own more than 100 stations apiece and rake in billions of dollars a year, would require or warrant the FCC’s assistance in standard business negotiations.

Absent any valid statutory authority, and in light of President Trump’s repeated attacks on these networks and calls to put them out of business – and your own media appearances cheering on his attacks on “these legacy broadcast media outfits and the New York and Hollywood elites” – these letters read as thinly-veiled shakedown threats: Nice business you’ve got there. It’d be a shame if anything happened to it.

Let us be clear: The FCC has no lawful authority to influence network newsrooms’ editorial decisions. The FCC has no lawful authority to coerce networks’ parent companies to pay millions of dollars to the President (or to a non-profit “library foundation” controlled by one of the President’s sons) as a condition of doing business. These are the actions of lawless authoritarians – not of honorable public servants.

As Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, your sworn duty is to the Constitution – not to any President. We urge you to speak up, as your predecessors have done and you yourself were once willing to do, in defense of the First Amendment and the Rule of Law. Affirm unequivocally that the FCC will no longer serve as the enforcer in President Trump’s unconstitutional shakedowns of media organizations.

Your oath of office demands nothing less.

Sincerely,

Brenda V. Castillo - President & CEO

National Hispanic Media Coalition

John Yang- President and Executive Director

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

Rosario Palacios - Executive Director

Common Cause Georgia

David Bowles - Co-founder

#DignidadLiteraria

Noreen Farrell - Executive Director

Equal Rights Advocates

Kathy Spillar - Executive Director

Feminist Majority Foundation

Jessica J. González - Co-CEO

Free Press

Seth Stern - Director of Advocacy

Freedom of the Press Foundation

Seia Watanabe - Vice President of Public Affairs

Japanese American Citizens League

Julián Castro - CEO

Latino Community Foundation

Fanny Grande - Chairwoman

Latino Excellence Project

Toni Kirkpatrick - Chair

Latinx in Publishing

Dr. Ray Serrano - National Director of Research and Policy

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Amy L. Hinojosa - President and CEO

MANA, A National Latina Organization

Steven Renderos - Executive Director

MediaJustice

Derrick Johnson - President and CEO

NAACP

Ebonie Riley - SVP, National Action Network Washington Bureau

National Action Network

Diana Luna - Executive Director

National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP)

Felix Sanchez - Founder & Chair

National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts

Marc H. Morial - President & CEO

National Urban League

Ja'Lia Taylor, Ph.D., MSIS - Director of Policy, Telecommunications, and Technology

NCNW

Joel M. Gonzales - President

Nosotros

Thu Nguyen - Executive Director

OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates

Christopher Lewis - President and CEO

Public Knowledge

Kiran Gill - Executive Director

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)

Maya Wiley - President and CEO

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights