Last week, I dug up the American Dirt scandal, reanimated it and danced it around the room long enough to give it some feedback that it certainly didn’t ask for (sorry that metaphor went off the rails). So, what’s next?

So much of the conversation around the book scandals I’ve been covering the last few weeks is a very necessary corrective to publishing’s continued marginalization of BOPIC voices. I’m endlessly admiring of folks like Justina Ireland and Myriam Gurba who are willing to put themselves in the fray with their on-point critiques; often taking on very real risks to their careers and even safety (both have reported numerous death threats) in the process.

At the same time, online discussion can turn into a snake eating its own tail so I didn’t want to leave off without some concrete takeaways and calls to action.

Latinx Folks in Publishing

One of the big issues highlighted in the American Dirt scandal is just how dismal the treatment of Latinx authors is in book publishing. They make up only 3% of the industry overall and suffer from the same pernicious comp title issue that all BIPOC authors do (more about that here). Many Latinx authors came forward during the American Dirt dust-up with their stories of being rejected or pushed to small publishing houses because of the perception that their work couldn’t speak to a wide-enough audience.

#PublishingPaidJeanine

Given the evidence both data-driven and anecdotal of the barriers Latinx writers face in publishing, one can understand the rancor at seeing a white writer (yes, I know she also identifies as Latinx) get paid a massive advance and heralded as the voice of the voiceless. But this wasn’t a story that hadn’t been told, critics argue, it was one that had been ignored until a white writer decided to take it on.

Many wonderful bloggers and Bookstgrammers, including Lupita Reads—whose post started a a movement on Bookstagram—rounded up excellent books by Latinx authors that tackle life on the border around the time of the scandal. (Side note: I’m making my way through Lupita’s list and can so far highly recommend Black Dove and I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter).

I love using these moments to uplift #ownvoices books because it while it’s not readers’ job to fix the systemic issues in publishing, voting with your dollars always makes sense and is immediately actionable.

Readers are the end consumers that publishers care about it, so while it’s not enough on its own, making sure to read and share books by Latinx authors is a great place to start if what I’ve been outlining here on the blog makes you mad.

If you’re so inclined, making donations to places such as Latinx in Publishing, People of Color in Publishing, and We Need Diverse Books—established organizations all working toward equity in publishing—is also great!

My TBR of Latinx Authors (plus three I just read)

I’m not going to leave you hanging without a list! As always with my lists, these picks reflect my taste—family dramas, psychological thrillers, a little speculative, a little YA—and are all books you may be into if you happen to like my books.

On we go!

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon

I read this one after seeing it on Latinx in Publishing’s website (one of the great things they do is keep a running list of new releases). This is the story of a Mexican-American high school student who gets moved across town to a “nicer” school in Boston, all while there is major drama unfolding in her own family about her parents’ immigrations status and the whereabout of her father. This one was smart, funny, and full of heart. If you have teenage kids, it would make a great buddy read with them as a gateway to talk about some of bigger issues of immigration, class inequities, and bias that the book tackles.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia You’ve surely seen this atmospheric literary horror story set in 19050s Mexico all over Instagram; and it did NOT disappoint. Glamorous debutante Noemi Taboada is sent to the countryside to investigate the goings-on of an extremely creepy British family who live next to an abandoned mine after she receives an alarming letter from her cousin (who’s married to the dashing heir). Noemi arrives at the crumbling Victorian mansion and things get very scary very quickly. This one was twisty, turning, and just brilliant. It gave me nightmares but was absolutely worth it!

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez This is the first novel I’ve read by Alvarez and it has me diving for her backlist. In her first adult novel in over a decade, Alvarez tells the story of an immigrant writer and professor whose life is upended when her beloved husband dies suddenly and her luminous but unstable sister goes missing. Things get even harrier when she arrives home from a trip to find an undocumented Pregnant teenager on her doorstep. Alvarez has such a stunning voice, and this novel was so poignant, heartbreaking, and surprisingly funny.

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor This novel in translation is about the death of the local witch in a damned Mexican village, as told by an unreliable narrator (one of my favorite devices when pulled off well). This seems like another good atmospheric, scary one for Fall and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez This is the new one from the bestselling and National Book Award-winning author whose last book The Friend I also have a copy of on my TBR shelf. This is a series of interconnected stories about human connections that the narrator listens to passively until she gets drawn in by an extraordinary request.

Once I was You by Maria Hinojosa This is the new buzzworthy memoir from the host of NPR’s Latino USA, an award-winning journalist who’s reported on marginalized communities for over thirty years. And once again, if your interest was piqued by the American Dirt controversy, I cannot recommend enough listening to Hinojosa’s interview with the key players.

Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories by Donna Miscolta. This is a coming-of-age novel of about a young Mexica-American girl in the 1960’s and 70’s. I love Miscolta’s writing (she’s a fellow Seattle author!) and can highly recommend her last book Hola and Goodbye as well.

Spirit Run by Noe Alvarez. In this running memoir, the author undertakes a Peace and Dignity Journey, which is an epic marathon that Indigenous runners take to reconnect with the land. Alvarez is the son of fruit pickers from Yakima, WA where my husband grew up and in-laws still live, so I’m really looking forward to see this perspective on the place.

The Undocumented Americans Karla Cornejo Villavicencio Another one that’s gotten a lot of buzz is this memoir by one of the first undocumented students to graduate Harvard, a Dream Act-recipient who set out to record the stories of her fellow undocumented Americans after the 2016 election. When I’m finished, I’m going to check out The Stacks episode about this one!

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin. This one is another horror story (‘tis the season! The election! Halloween!) about the interconnectedness of our current lives. Sounds very creepy!

If those sound good to you, please go order them! If you can’t afford to buy them, getting them from the library also helps because the more holds, the more copies the library orders. So, do what you can! And when you’ve read them. rate and review on Goodreads and Amazon, post about them wherever you social, and tell your friends however you tell your friends things. It makes a HUGE difference, I promise you. Publishing has a lot of work to do, but readers can help move the needle by voting with our wallets. Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful force in this industry.

Also, don’t forget, when possible, get books from your indie bookstore OR shop Bookshop.org which supports indies. If you’re an audiobook lover, use Libro.fm, so you can buy your audiobooks from your favorite indie bookstore. Now more than ever, these places need your support!

Latinx in publishing (And ten books to order right now!)

Andrea Dunlop