Hispanic authors and bookstores push for representation in publishing
[October 16, 2025]
By FERNANDA FIGUEROA
Authors, readers and publishing industry experts lament the
underrepresentation of Hispanic stories in the mainstream world of
books, but have found new ways to elevate the literature and resolve
misunderstandings.
“The stories now are more diverse than they were ten years ago,” said
Carmen Alvarez, a book influencer on Instagram and TikTok.
Some publishers, independent bookstores and book influencers are pushing
past the perception of monolithic experience by making Hispanic stories
more visible and discoverable for book lovers.
The rise of online book retailers and limited marketing budgets for
stories about people of color have been major hurdles for increasing
that representation, despite annual celebrations of Hispanic Heritage
Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the U.S. There's been a push for
ethnically authentic stories about Latinos, beyond the immigrant
experience.
“I feel like we are getting away from the immigration story, the
struggle story,” said Alvarez, who is best known as “tomesandtextiles”
on bookstagram and booktok, the Instagram and TikTok social media
communities. “I feel like my content is to push back against the lack of
representation.”
Latinos in the publishing industry
Latinos currently make up roughly 20% of the U.S. population, according
to Census data.
However, the National Hispanic Media Coalition estimates Latinos only
represent 8% of employees in publishing, according to its Latino
Representation in Publishing Coalition created in 2023.
Brenda Castillo, NHMC president and CEO, said the coalition works
directly with publishing houses to highlight Latino voices and promote
their existing Latino employees.
The publishing houses “are the ones that have the power to make the
changes,” Castillo said.
Some Hispanic authors are creating spaces for their work to find
interested readers. Award-winning children authors Mayra Cuevas and Alex
Villasante co-founded a book festival and storytellers conference in
2024 to showcase writers and illustrators from their communities.
“We were very intentional in creating programming around upleveling
craft and professional development,” Cuevas said. “And giving attendees
access to the publishing industry, and most importantly, creating a
space for community connection and belonging.”
Villasante said the festival and conference allowed them to sustain
themselves within the publishing industry, while giving others a road
map for success in an industry that isn't always looking to mass produce
their work.
“We are not getting the representation of ourselves,” Villasante said.
“I believe that is changing, but it is a slow change so we have to
continue to push for that change.”
Breaking into the mainstream
New York Times bestselling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a
Mexican-Canadian novelist known for the novels “Mexican Gothic” and “The
Daughter of Doctor Moreau,” is one of few Hispanic authors that has been
able to break to mainstream. But she said it wasn’t easy.
Moreno-Garcia recalled one of her first publisher rejections: The editor
complimented the quality of the story but said it would not sell because
it was set in Mexico.
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Chawa Magaña, owner of Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, poses with a
few of her favorite books Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP
Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
 “There are systems built within
publishing that make it very difficult to achieve the regular
distributions that other books naturally have built into them,”
Moreno-Garcia said. “There is sometimes resistance to sharing some
of these books.”
Cynthia Pelayo, an award-winning author and poet, said the marketing
campaign is often the difference maker in terms of a book's success.
Authors of color are often left wanting more promotional support
from their publishers, she said.
“I've seen exceptional Latino novels that have not received nearly
the amount of marketing, publicity that some of their white
colleagues have received,” Pelayo said. “What happens in that
situation (is) their books get put somewhere else in the bookstore
when these white colleagues, their books will get put in the front.”
Hispanic Heritage Month, however, helps bring some attention to
Hispanic authors, she added.
Independent bookstores
Independent bookstores remain persistent in elevating Hispanic
stories. A 2024 report by the American Booksellers Association found
that 60 of the 323 new independent bookstores were owned by people
of color. According to Latinx in Publishing, a network of publishing
industry professionals, there are 46 Hispanic-owned bookstores in
the U.S.
Online book retailer Bookshop.org has highlighted Hispanic books and
provided discounts for readers during Hispanic Heritage Month. A
representative for the site, Ellington McKenzie, said the site has
been able to provide financial support for about 70 Latino
bookstores.
“People are always looking to support those minority owned
bookstores which we are happy to be the liaison between them,”
McKenzie said.
Chawa Magaña, the owner of Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix,
said she was inspired to open the store because of what she felt was
a lack of diversity and representation in the books that are taught
in Arizona schools.
“Growing up, I didn’t experience a lot of diversity in literature in
schools.” Magaña said. “I wasn’t seeing myself in the stories that I
was reading.”
Of the books for sale at Palabras Bilingual, between 30% to 40% of
the books are Latino stories, she said.
Magaña said having heard people say they have never seen that much
representation in a bookstore has made her cry.
“What has been the most fulfilling to me is able to see how it
impacts other people’s lives,” she said. “What motivates me is
seeing other people get inspired to do things, seeing people moved
when they see the store itself having diverse books.”
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