Courtesy of the fabulous monthly newsletter put out by freelance editor Marcela Landres, an interview with Tina Jordan, VP of the Association of American Publishers.

1. Saludos
May is Latino Books Month. While Latino writers should be celebrated every
month of the year, Latino Books Month represents an opportunity to
spotlight the contributions Latinos make to our literary culture at large.
This month, don't just celebrate Latino authors—support them. Read this
month's Q&A with Tina Jordan to learn how.

Helping Latino writers get published,
Marcela Landres
marcelalandres@yahoo.com
http://www.marcelalandres.com/

2. Q&A
Tina Jordan has held the position of Vice President of the Association of
American Publishers since 2006 and resides in the New York office. Among
her responsibilities are the activities of the Trade Publishers Committee,
the Smaller and Independent Publishers Group, Library Marketing, the Get
Caught Reading/Aja Leyendo literacy campaign, diversity in publishing
efforts, and the Association's educational programs. Prior to her position
at the AAP, she held the position of Director of Public Relations and
Special Events for BookExpo America, the national book convention, from
1997-2006. A native of Connecticut and a graduate of Cornell University,
Ms. Jordan is also an avid skier and rock climber. She can be reached at
tjordan@publishers.org.

* For my readers who may not be familiar with the wonderful AAP, could
you briefly describe its mission?
The AAP is the national trade organization for the nation's book publishing
community. Its over 300 members focus on such concerns as copyright
protection; first amendment/freedom of speech; literacy via our Get Caught
Reading web site that features celebrities getting caught reading their
favorite books; hiring and recruiting a diverse publishing workforce to
reflect our culture; educational publishing; and working with booksellers,
librarians, and educators on heightening awareness of the joys of good
books and new and upcoming works, to name just a few!

* What inspired the AAP to launch Latino Books Month?
Latino Books Month was created via the AAP's Publishing Latino Voices of
America subcommittee in its efforts to heighten the richness of works
both in English and Spanish written by those of Hispanic descent. The
breadth and depth of works in fiction and nonfiction, English and Spanish
for adults and children for the Latino community is endless, and we wanted
to ensure that all citizens have access to learn about such fabulous titles
that are available to them, stories with which they can relate, and stories
which inspire.

According to the results of a poll last year commissioned by the National
Council of La Raza, the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy
organization in the U.S., education is the most important issue for
Hispanic voters. 1,026 registered Latino voters polled found that the
high 85% dropout rate among Latino students is the greatest
educational problem for the Latino community in the US. The high
dropout rate concerns more Latino voters than other important problems
like the "poor English-language skills of immigrant students" and the
"poor quality of some teachers." 89% say improving public education
should be a "very important priority" for the next President.

The best way to lobby for improved education starts by encouraging
children to start feeding their brain with books at a young age. How they
are educated early on, and active parental involvement--reading to
children--are clear indicators of future success in school, college, and
careers into adulthood.

Recent census data shows not only does the Latino population continue to
be the fastest growing in the U.S., but there are over 9.5 million Hispanic
families residing in the U.S.--over twenty two percent of all children under
age five in the U.S. are Hispanic. Our goal is to help ensure that the
availability of books by and for Latinos continues to grow so that all
Americans, English and Spanish speaking, Latino and non-Latino, have
access to them.

* How can Latino writers and their fans help support Latino Books Month?
Writers should encourage their publishers to submit their titles for our
recommended reading list, which we develop each May in concert with
Latino Books Month, and in September in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage
Month, a list which we distribute to librarians, booksellers and educators
throughout the nation to share upcoming titles available to the public. We
also have our Aja! Leyendo campaign, a series of posters of celebrities
Getting Caught Reading their favorite books in Spanish, which citizens can
order at no charge via our web site at http://www.getcaughtreading.org/
to complement any book events they may be hosting. They are also
encouraged to contact their local schools to do an author visit, and should
they be interested in partnering with a public high school or elementary
school in New York to speak on a pro bono basis with schoolage children
about the art of writing, please contact me at tjordan@publishers.org.

* Which other programs for Latinos has the AAP created?
The list is long--I hope I can mention them all! We are working with Las
Comadres Para Las Americas, a network of over 7,000 Latinas nationwide in
chapters across the country (visit http://www.lascomadres.org/) in
teleconferences featuring authors being interviewed for their members. We
also hope to launch a live book club with Borders soon.

In addition, we are celebrating the national Dia De Los Ninos on April 30th,
an event produced by the Association for Library Service to Children, a
division of the American Library Association, that brings attention to the
love of books and reading for children of all cultures and in all languages,
intended to be celebrated all month long. Our Latino Voices Group also
published a recommended children's reading list in cooperation with ALSC,
and it can be found on our Get Caught Reading web site at
http://www.getcaughtreading.org/. Events are planned in libraries across
the country and they can be found on the Dia site at
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/diadelosninos/diadelosninos.cfm

Finally, we also have our Latino Voices Brochure that is hot off the presses
for Latino Books Month with new titles for the 2008-2009, so there is no
shortage of information on new books coming out, both English and
Spanish, for the Latino community of all ages. If readers would like a copy,
please email Katie Ly at kly@publishers.org.