News (Noticias) Tagged ‘latino writers’

Unbridled Books is pleased to announce the publication of George Rabasa’s THE WONDER SINGER (publication date September 16, 2008), a must-read new novel about a Spanish opera diva and the ghost writer struggling to complete her memoir. Often funny, beautifully told, rich with history (the Spanish Civil War scenes are based on stories that Rabasa’s parents told him), this is a grand story — almost operatic in itself — that is sure to win over readers looking for that perfect fall story.

George Rabasa was raised in Mexico, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of the Americas in Mexico, and now lives in Minnesota. Rabasa’s story collection, Glass Houses, received The Writer’s Voice Capricorn Award for Excellence in Fiction and the Minnesota Book Award for Short Stories. His novel, Floating Kingdom, received the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. His most recent novel, The Cleansing, was named a Book Sense Notable by independent booksellers nationwide. His short fiction has appeared in various prestigious literary magazines and in several anthologies.

THE WONDER SINGER is a story of second chances. As any freelance writer knows, plum jobs can be hard to come by, and for Mark Lockwood, who has labored for years with the mind-numbing series “How to Talk to Your Teen about…” landing the job as ghost writer for the esteemed diva Mercè Casals is a dream. Plus, the job comes with an unexpected perk for this newly restless married man: each day he gets to spend some time with Casals’ appealing young Latina nurse, Perla. What could be better? Finishing the job to great success. Having a romance.

But suddenly both became far less possible when, unexpectedly, the Diva dies in her bath. Now, her agent wants Lockwood’s interview tapes, which he plans to pass over to a renowned celebrity biographer. Perla, too, seems happy to move on.

So begins the chase (or chases!) in this charming, fun, and moving literary caper. In a page-turning tale about passion, great art, dramatic failures, and nice guys (hopefully) winning first, we follow Mark Lockwood as he moves from place to place, tapes often secured to his person. With the aid of Perla and the Diva’s greatest fan (a cross dressing mimic), Lockwood writes feverishly to beat his new competitor to New York with the final manuscript.

For complete author tour information, an iTunes playlist, and a downloadable reading group guide, please visit our website at unbridledbooks.com/thewondersinger.html

SELECTED PRAISE FOR THE WONDER SINGER

“Rabasa…includes vivid scenes from the Spanish civil war…but his novel is at heart an engaging exploration of the power of art.”—Booklist

“A storytelling beauty perfect for a relaxing weekend…a pure joy for the reader’s senses.”—Metro Spirit

“A wonder…highly recommended.”— Kingman Daily Miner

RE: THE WONDER SINGER

By George Rabasa

Pub date. September 16, 2008

ISBN: 978-1-932961-56-0, Hardcover, $24.95, 6 x 9, 336 pages, Fiction “

A host of authors and artists will join tonight at Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center (CSV) for the New York presentation of “Los Otros Cuerpos,” an unprecedented anthology of gay Puerto Rican writings.

“Los Otros Cuerpos: Antología de Temática Gay, Lésbica y Queer” [The Other Bodies: Anthology on Gay, Lesbian and Queer Themes] includes short stories, poetry, essays and novel fragments by 44 authors from Puerto Rico and the Boricua diaspora.”*

Author Jerry A. Rodriguez died of cancer Sunday at age 46, his publishing house revealed.

The Brooklyn-born playwright, filmmaker and novelist had just published “Revenge Tango,” the follow-up to his acclaimed thriller “The Devil’s Mambo,” featuring Detective Nicholas Esperanza.”*

There was a lot that made you love San Diego in the early ’90s. And then there were Luis Alberto Urrea’s essays in the Reader. His gritty accounts of border life offered a shock-and-awe contrast to the idyllic existence north of the border. In his descriptions of the dumps, orphanages, and police precincts of Tijuana, Urrea revealed the harsh reality that resided right on our doorstep even before border books came into vogue. He has since gone on to publish his expressive voice in all literary forms. His last two books — The Devil’s Highway, a real-life account of a border crossing, and the mystically intoxicating novel, The Hummingbird’s Daughter — have secured his place among the finest contemporary writers in the nation.”*

What do you do when a barefoot woman in a wet minidress sneaks up the fire escape? If you’re a male writer with writer’s block, you start writing inspired prose. If you’re a male painter with painter’s block, you start painting superb new work. If you’re a burned-out ladies man and you wake up with that woman naked in your bed, you wonder if she’s an alcohol-induced hallucination, roll over and go back to sleep.

Until you wake up and she’s still there, her minidress drip-drying in the shower, and you still can’t remember where she came from.”*

The International Latino Book Awards presented San Gabriel author Cecilia Samartin the prestigious Mariposa Award for best first book (English) by a Latina or Latino for her stunning debut novel of 2007, Broken Paradise. The critically acclaimed book about Cuban best friends separated by politics and has also been published and praised in Spain, the United Kingdom, Holland and Germany.

Selected as a “Discover Great New Writers” featured novel by Barnes & Noble, the impressive 2007 debut has been praised by National Book Award winner Carlos Eire and newspapers nationwide. Eire calls Broken Paradise “a stunning literary achievement.””*

Contributors to the new anthology “Primera Pagina: Poetry from the Latino Heartland” — including one with ties to Wichita — say they want to express and draw attention to the Hispanic experience in the middle of the country.

“I don’t think Hispanics in the Midwest have really been able to have a voice,” said Marcelo Xavier Trillo, 30, who was raised in Wichita and participates in the Kansas City-based Latino Writers Collective.

A sense of isolation exists because there are fewer Hispanics in the Midwest than on the coasts or in the Southwest, said collective vice president Linda Rodriguez.”*

It’s a classic thriller riddled with action, mystery and sex.

Only that the hero, a detective, relaxes by eating rice and beans and drinking Medalla beer at a Lechonera in El Barrio.

The just-released thriller “Revenge Tango,” Jerry Rodríguez’s follow-up to his acclaimed “The Devil’s Mambo,” is the second of a series featuring Nuyorican ex-NYPD Homicide Detective Nicholas Esperanza.”*

The sixth annual National Latino Writers Conference that convened May 21, 2008, at Alburquerque’s National Hispanic Cultural Center was an envy-producing experience for a writer out of Los Angeles.

El Lay lacks anything like the NHCC. Not at UCLA, nor USC, not in outlying places like UCSB nor CSUN does a person find a facility dedicated to Chicana Chicano Latina Latino arts. The NHCC’s art gallery and museo, theatre, exquisite lecture halls, the uniquely fashioned Torreón, full-service restaurant, gift shop, administrative offices, library, and upcoming classroom wing, in a single location, define what a cultural center should be while reflecting what public-private commitment looks like. And self-respect. And love.”*

A former assistant to reknown literary agent Julie Castiglia, Jamie Martinez Wood is the author of several books in the young adult and nonfiction categories, including The Enchanted Diary, Como Te Llamas, Baby? and A to Z of Latino Americans: Latino Writers and Journalists, for which she recently won the 2008 International Latino Book Awards for Best Reference Book.

Congratulations on the award and thanks for this interview, Jaime. Why don’t you begin by teling us about your latest young adult novel, Rogelia’s House of Magic?”*

As promised to the panel and audience, here are the fleshed out remarks and internet links relating to my presentation. Lydia Gil kindly provides links to her internet resources. Be sure to visit nmviewpoint.typepad.com/ to view Dr. Richard Griego’s elegant site.

On behalf of my La Bloga colleagues, it’s an honor to be here with you this week. The National Hispanic Cultural Center takes my breath away with its superb facility and potential. Similarly, the National Latino Writers Conference is one of those knock-your-socks-off experiences.”*

The opening event of the 6th Annual National Latino Writers Conference featured music, readings, and carnalismo. Here are highlights of the events at the Alburquerque Country Inns hotel.

Organizer Carlos Vasquez and staff arranged a satisfying selection of hors d’oeuvres, as well providing a warm welcome. Staff member Greta–apologies to Greta I’ll get her full name tomorrow.”*

“Seattle Repertory Theatre explores Cuba over forty years with Eduardo Machado’s drama The Cook, directed by Juliette Carrillo. The Cook plays in the Bagley Wright Theatre from November 1 through December 1. Previews begin November, with opening night set for December 1. Tickets are available through the Seattle Repertory Theatre box office seven days a week at (206) 443-2222, toll-free at (877) 900-9285, as well as online at www.seattlerep.org.

The Play: In 1958, on the eve of the Cuban revolution, Gladys, a young cook, makes a solemn promise to her mistress. Before the wealthy family flees in the night, she vows to protect and care for the beautiful home that she worked in all her adult life. As the reality of Castro’s revolution settles in, and despite the personal consequences, Gladys fights to keep her promise for over four decades. In Machado’s rich, engaging, and deeply personal play, Gladys emerges as a woman with great spirit who lives by her heart against a backdrop of a troubled Cuba. The New Yorker called The Cook “first rate…a shining theatrical experience,” and the Miami Herald described it as “Powerful….the writing is political and unflinching.”

The Playwright: Eduardo Machado is the author of over forty plays including Kissing Fidel, Havana is Waiting, and A Burning Beach. His plays have been produced at theatres across the country and across the world. He is currently the artistic director of INTAR Theatre in New York, and is a playwriting teacher at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. “Tastes like Cuba: an Exile’s Hunger for Home,” a food memoir by Eduardo Machado and Michael Domitrovich, will be released by Gotham Press on October 18th.

The Director: Juliette Carrillo was an artistic associate at South Coast Repertory Theatre for seven years, where she directed regularly in their season and ran the Hispanic Playwright’s Project, collaborating with Latino writers across the country. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, she has directed theatre extensively throughout the U.S. Some of her favorite collaborations have been directing the West Coast premiere of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winner, Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz, the world premiere of References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot by José Rivera at South Coast Repertory, and the West Coast premiere of Sam Shepard’s Eyes For Consuela at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. Ms. Carrillo is a recipient of several awards, including the prestigious National Endowment of the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Directing Fellowship. She is currently writing a full-length screenplay and developing theatre projects in the Los Angeles and Bay areas.

Performance Details: Performances of The Cook are at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sundays. There will be no performance on Thursday, November 8 or Thursday November 22. Pay-What-You-Can performance November 5 at 7:30 p.m. Post-play discussions will be held after performances on Sunday, November 18 at 2:00 p.m., Monday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 25 at 2:00 p.m. There is an audio-described performance on Saturday, November 24 at 2:00 p.m. and an American Sign Language (ASL)-interpreted performance on Sunday, November 25 at 2:00 p.m.”*