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INDUSTRY NEWS

Finding New Voices in Children’s Books in Spanish

By Teresa Mlawer

Over the past 20 years, there has been an increase in the number of children’s bilingual and Spanish-language books that are available for sale in the U.S. The gain has been due to an increase in the number of Spanish-language books imported, coupled with a surge in the number of Latino/Latina writers who live in the U.S. and publish in Spanish. Still, many award-winning Spanish-language authors—whether they live in the U.S., Latin America, or Spain—are not well known by American book buyers, though they should be. We have compiled a list of some of the outstanding authors and illustrators whose books U.S. buyers should be on the lookout for.

Authors and Illustrators from Latin America and Spain

María Teresa Andruetto. Born in Argentina. She received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012. Andruetto writes about universal themes such as migration, poverty, injustice, and love, all with a very powerful pen.

Diego Arboleda. Spain. Won the prestigious Lazarillo Prize in 2012.

Triunfo Arciniegas. Colombia. Has been published in Latin America and Spain.

Jairo Buitrago. Colombia. This author and illustrator’s books have been translated into English, Japanese, and Portuguese. He has won numerous international awards and made the 2010 IBBY Honour List.

Victor Carvajal. Chile. One of the best-known authors of children’s and young adult books in the Spanish-speaking world.

Ivar Da Coll. Colombia. An author and illustrator, Da Coll was awarded the prestigious 2014 Premio Iberoamericano

SM de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil (Iberoamerican Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature).

Gloria Cecilia Díaz. Colombia. Díaz was the recipient of the 2006 Premio Iberoamericano de Literatura SM Infantil y Juvenil.

Carolina Durán. Chile. Has a unique artistic style and has illustrated numerous books.

Edna Iturralde. Ecuador. One of the most widely published Ecuadorian authors.

Marisol Misenta (Isol). Argentina. Awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2013.

Antonio (Toño) Malpica. Mexico. One of the most talented writers today. An award-winning children’s book author.

Vivian Mansour Manzur. Mexico. A very popular writer among children.

Graciela Montes. Argentina. Montes has written numerous children and young adult books.

Yolanda Reyes. Colombia. Reyes is a writer, educator, and an advocate for early-childhood literacy and has received numerous national and international awards.

Jordi Sierra i Fabra. Spain. One of the most prolific writers of children’s and YA books in the world, Fabra was the recipient of the Premio Iberoamericano SM de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil in 2013.

Irene Vasco. Colombia. Vasco is a writer, educator, and advocate for children’s literature. Has received numerous awards and recognitions.

Teresa Mlawer is a publisher, author, translator, distributor, and consultant who has been promoting Spanish-language children’s books for over 50 years.