Arte Público Press and UH Take Center Stage at International Mexican Book Fair

Pulitzer Winner Cristina Rivera Garza, Hispanic Studies Department and Spanish Creative Writing Students among CLASS luminaries celebrated at UANLeer 2025

Arte Público Press and the University of Houston played a pivotal role in the 2025 UANLeer Feria Universitaria del Libro that took place at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL) in Monterrey, Mexico, March 12-16, 2025.

Arte Público, the largest and most prestigious publisher of US Latino literature, was the “editorial invitada,” or honored publisher. Its founder and director, Dr. Nicolás Kanellos, the Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Studies, was awarded the “Mérito Editorial,” or Publisher Award.

“Our work, creating and making accessible Latino literature and cultural history, is so important to communities in the United States, and it’s gratifying to know that it is valued in Mexico as well,” Dr. Kanellos said.

The University of Houston was the “invitado de honor,” or the honored organization. President Renu Khator spoke at the opening ceremony and was on hand to accept the award conferred by the UANL president, Dr. Santos Guzmán López. The two leaders signed a partnership agreement on behalf of their institutions to deepen their academic and literary collaborations. “Our universities already share successful partnerships, and this agreement promises even more impactful joint projects,” Khator said. UH’s Hispanic Studies Department and its Creative Writing Program in Spanish were also honored.

Dr. Kanellos and APP Deputy Director Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura gave a presentation about the organization’s history in a panel entitled, “La edición en español en Estados Unidos: Arte Público Press y Piñata Books.” In addition, five Arte Público authors gave presentations on their work:

  • Mario Bencastro, Alicia Gaspar de Alba and Raquel Ortiz spoke about writing in Spanish in the United States on a panel called “Escribir en español desde el mundo anglosajón.”

  • Alicia Gaspar de Alba spoke about writing mystery novels on “Escribir novelas de género negro del otro lado de la frontera.”

  • Raquel Ortiz spoke about her children’s books, music and puppet shows on a panel, “Escritura y cultura para niños con raíces migrantes.”

  • Mario Bencastro and Elías David Navarro spoke about their new bilingual picture books on separate panels, “Un tren llamado Esperanza / A Train Called Hope” and “Mis días con Papa / Spending Time with Dad,” respectively.

  • Elías David Navarro spoke about contemporary writing in Texas, “Migrar entre tradiciones lectoras: un acercamiento entre la literatura Texana contemporánea.”

  • Jorge Argueta spoke on a panel about poetry, “Encuentro internacional de poesía,” and discussed his work on “Escribir para infancias migrantes.”

Several UH professors spoke at the fair, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Cristina Rivera Garza, the M.D. Anderson Distinguished Professor in Hispanic Studies and director of the Ph.D. program in creative writing in Spanish; Guggenheim Fellow Roberto Tejada, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor; and Guillermo de los Reyes, the chair of the Hispanic Studies Department. Several graduate students in Hispanic Studies’ Creative Writing program and Arte Público’s Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Program participated: Alaíde Ventura Medina, Elías David Navarro, Juliana Javierre and Jovi de la Jara.

The event reaffirms the importance of Arte Público's work and confirms Latino literature bridges international borders, from Mexico to Texas and back.