November 1, 2023
We are pleased to announce that two of our books were recently selected as winners for the 2023 International Latino Book Awards. Juan Felipe Herrera: Migrant, Activist, Poet Laureate, edited by Francisco A. Lomelí and Osiris Aníbal Gómez, won a gold medal in the “Best Biography” category. Latinx TV in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama won a bronze medal in the “Best Academic Themed Book, College Level – English” category.
In their remarks about Juan Felipe Herrera: Migrant, Activist, Poet Laureate, the judges complimented the book’s inclusion of “19 writers’ diverse thoughts about the works and life of a national treasure.” Commenting on Latinx TV in the Twenty-First Century, the judges wrote that the book “would make an interesting documentary. Very interesting to read about the growth and nurturing of the development of Latina/o actors.”
The International Latino Book Awards recognize excellence in literature, honoring books written in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, with the goal of “growing the awareness for books written by, for and about Latinos.”
About the authors:
Frederick Luis Aldama, also known as Professor Latinx, is the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Adjunct Professor and Distinguished University Professor at The Ohio State University. He is the award-winning author of more than forty-eight books, including the bilingual children’s books The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie and With Papá. He is editor or co-editor of nine academic press book series, including Latinographix, which publishes Latinx comics. He is the creator of the first documentary on the history of Latinx superheroes and the founder and director of UT Austin’s Latinx Pop Lab.
Francisco A. Lomelí is professor emeritus and distinguished professor of Chicano/a studies and Latin American literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has published extensively on Mexican, Chilean, Argentine, and Chicano/a literatures, as well as multiple reference works in the field of Chicano/a studies.
Osiris Aníbal Gómez is an assistant professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. His areas of expertise include contemporary Indigenous literatures of Mexico, Mexican literature, Chicano/a literature, and translation studies. His work explores the condition, aesthetics, and social justice possibilities of bilingual Indigenous and Chicanx writers.
Congratulations to all!