Arte Publico Press is the oldest and most accomplished publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Hispanic authors and a showcase for Hispanic literary creativity, arts and culture.

Founded in 1979 and directed by Nicolás Kanellos, Ph.D, a professor of Hispanic literature at the University Houston it provides an outlet for the creative efforts of Latino writers whose work was condemned to be forgotten, lost or just delivered orally through performance. They are the original publishers of Sandra Cisneros’ seminal The House on Mango Street, other well-known authors include Obie-award-winning playwright and filmmaker Luis Valdez, playwright Miguel Piñero and best-selling authors Nicholasa Mohr, Victor Villaseñor, and Helena María Viramontes.

As part of the ongoing efforts to bring Hispanic literature to mainstream audiences, Arte Público Press launched the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project in 1992. This project represents the first nationally coordinated attempt to recover, index and publish lost Latino writings that date from the American colonial period through 1960.

Publishing twenty five to thirty books each year, Arte Público Press is David to New York publishing industry Goliaths. However, because of its cultural sensitivity to its writers and the experiences they write about, along with a vision for the role of Hispanic literature in the United States, the Press has demonstrated that size (or lack of it) is not proportionately related to success in the commercial book market.

For more information please visit their website: artepublicopress.com