Latino Versus Latina Authors: Who is More Literary Macho?

As I dug through my slush pile of Latino books to review, the question occurred to me: Are more Latina authors being published than Latino authors. That’s the way it seemed. And if so, why?


I asked authors I interviewed this question and the result is more surprising than you might think. No jealousy between male and female writers was one encouraging result. Most agreed that as long as we were being published that was good. Others, like mystery writer Manuel Ramos, couldn’t resist issuing a challenge: “If it’s true, then maybe Latinos need to step up.”


I went on a search. Powell Bookstore, known as the biggest bookstore West of the Mississippi, has a list of 483 “Latino” books.


Once I deleted the duplicates and books in Spanish only 240 remained. Many of the juvenile stories and biographies of celebrities, including Cesar Chavez, Selena, and Jennifer Lopez were written by Anglos. They also wrote stories about our barrio life and Hispanic literature, culture, economics, art and sports. I deleted those.


Of the 142 remaining, there were 19 female fiction writers, 21 male fiction writers; 42 female non-fiction and 58 male non-fiction writers. Of the 100 non-fiction writers, women wrote more about other women, childbirth, children and health issues. Around 10 female non-fiction writers wrote serious tomes about history or economics. The male non-fiction writers wrote reference books, history, anthropology and textbooks.


Of the fiction writers, 8 females and 12 males wrote juvenile fiction. One female and two males wrote memoirs. Two females and one male wrote mysteries. Seven females and five males wrote novels and poetry was one for one.


Hmmm. Do I see a trend here? Let’s hear from the authors and editors.


Manuel Ramos, mystery writer from Denver:
“Does it matter? There are many well known Latino writers and Central American writers and Puerto Rican writers. The impression makes it look like there are more Latina authors. It’s not a problem as long as Latinos are being published.”


Marcela Landres, former Simon & Schuster editor living in New York City:
“Of course, women are being published more, but that is true of women from any background. More women buy books. Most editors are women. The publishing industry is women dominated. Manuscripts from women interest the editors more, and the publishers show more enthusiasm for women’s books. Women primarily run publishing.”


Alejandro Murguía, author living in San Francisco:
“This is a tricky question because there are no real numbers. What is important is Latinos are being published. At the time, there is a lack of men’s stories out there. Women are getting their stories out there. Men need to get their stories out.”


Lucha Corpi, author living in Oakland, CA:
“Latinas are more visible. In the Chicano Movement, the male’s voice was the main force. The male writers of today come from the ‘60s who were writing about ‘serious’ issues. Women weren’t pressured into being the voice of the Movement. Women poets were nice to have around, but their writing was considered a hobby. Women wrote about our art, our life, and published through the back door so that when the men noticed women were in. This was a blessing in disguise. Now there is no question: Latinas are contenders. A culture as complex as ours is, we need more than one viewpoint. We need different voices to speak about all the variations we are.”


Daniel Olivas, author from Los Angeles:
“Stop the gender wars. We do not need to fight between ourselves. The real question is why are we not being published more.”


Granted, my sample of Latina/o authors was small, but it represented what one of the biggest bookstores in the nation considers a fair representation of Latino books. I think I can make a safe guess about who is being published more.


My conclusion: “Nope. The vatos still have it.”

Tags: Literary