Arte Público Press Books Finalists in ForeWord Reviews’ 2009 Book of the Year Award

ForeWord Reviews is a print magazine and an online review service for readers, booksellers, and librarians. ForeWord Reviews employs professional freelance reviewers from all over the United States and Canada. Many of their employees also review for peer journals, Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal.

The Book of the Year finalists represents 360 publishers, and are selected from 1,400 entries in 60 categories. These books are examples of independent publishing at its best.

For a full list of the finalists searchable by category, publisher, title, and author, visit www.bookoftheyearawards.com.

The winners are determined by a panel of librarians and booksellers. Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners, as well as Editor's Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction will be announced at a special program at BookExpo America in New York City on May 25. The winners of the two Editor's Choice Prizes will be awarded $1,500 each. The ceremony is open to all BEA attendees.

ForeWord's Book of the Year Awards program was designed to discover distinctive books from independent publishers across a number of genres. The Awards program often serves to provide these worthy projects with a second wind of publicity.

About the Finalists

Death at Solstice: A Gloria Damasco Mystery by Lucha Corpi

Corpi weaves the rich cultural history of California’s Gold County with a suspenseful mystery in this latest installment in the Gloria Damasco Mystery series.

Lucha Corpi is a poet, novelist, and children’s book author. She has written three other mystery novels featuring Gloria Damasco: Black Widow’s Wardrobe (Arte Público Press, 1999), Cactus Blood (Arte Público Press, 1995), and Eulogy for a Brown Angel (Arte Público Press, 1992).  Crimson Moon (Arte Público Press, 2004) introduces Brown Angel Investigations and detective Dora Saldaña.  She was a tenured teacher in the Oakland Public Schools Neighborhood Centers Program for more than thirty years.

Who’s Buried in the Garden? by Ray Villareal

When seventh-grader Artie tells his best friend Joshua that there’s a body buried in Mrs. Foley’s garden, Josh doesn’t believe him—at first. But when Josh walks by the house, he sees a mound of earth, about seven feet long, that does looks like a grave.

Ray Villareal is the author of My Father, the Angel of Death (Piñata Books, 2006) and Alamo Wars (Piñata Books, 2008).  He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with an emphasis on Bilingual Education and a Master of Liberal Arts. He lives and works in Dallas, Texas.