Our Mission
We are a network of book professionals committed to supporting and increasing the number of Latine/x in the publishing industry, as well as promoting literature by, for, and about Latine/x people.
OUTREACH & ADVOCACY
Latinx in Publishing members are available for outreach and participation in school career fairs and for partnership with organizations and publishers that seek to promote diversity.
COMMUNITY
Latinx in Publishing members include professionals in all facets of publishing and at all career stages. Members benefit from this community through shared resources, support, and mentorship.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In addition to networking, Latinx in Publishing also hosts professional development events in NYC and online.
BOARD MEMBERS
SARACIEA J. FENNELL
Board Chair
saraciea@latinxinpublishing.com
Saraciea is a social entrepreneur, owner of The Bronx is Reading, a publicist and the editor of the nonfiction anthology WILD TONGUES CAN’T BE TAMED. She’s worked with many award winning and New York Times bestselling authors like Daniel José Older, Mark Oshiro, Malka Older, and more. She is passionate about books, and devours anything SFF and Horror related in TV , books, and movies. Her next book is THE BLACK GIRL SURVIVES IN THIS ONE out in 2024. Saraciea is also the founder of Honduran Garifuna Writers. She lives in the Bronx, NY. Follow her @sj_fennell
TONI KIRKPATRICK
Board Secretary Toni@latinxinpublishing.com
Toni is a Senior Acquisitions Editor at Crooked Lane Books, a small house based in NYC; she acquires all sub-genres of crime fiction, as well as book club fiction for the Alcove Press line. She previously worked at St. Martin’s Press, after attending the Denver Publishing Institute and earning a Master of Professional Writing at USC. Toni is also an author under the name Toni Margarita Plummer. Originally from the Los Angeles area, she now lives in the Hudson Valley. Follow her @tmargaritaplum.
MARIA L. FERRER
Board Member, Events Director
maria@latinxinpublishing.com
Maria is the Director of Programs for Las Comadres Para Las Americas and the Project Manager of the Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club. Maria is the Founder of The Latina Book Club; Past President of the Romance Writers of America / New York City; and a member of REFORMA. Maria lives in New York City, where she works as an international meeting planner.
ANDREA MORALES
Board Member, Fellowship & Writers Mentorship Director Andrea@latinxinpublishing.com
Andrea Morales is Contracts Associate at Macmillan. She works on and negotiates various book agreements on the adult and young adult trade side. She comes from Los Angeles, where she interned for Red Hen Press as an editorial assistant and for a literary agent, and graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Psychology. A daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, her special mission is to boost the visibility of Central American writers and literature; one can say she wants to inundate the market with it. Her book reviews and recommendations can be found on Instagram at @guatemalcriada and she lurks on Twitter as @guatemalcriada.
STEFANIE SANCHEZ VON BORSTEL
Board Member, Fellowship Director Stefanie@latinxinpublishin.com
Stefanie (she/ella) is co-founder of Full Circle Literary, a literary agency with a focus on discovering, developing, and advocating underrepresented creators of books and media. Some of the creators Stefanie represents include Monica Brown, Carmen Tafolla, Diana López, Celia C. Pérez, Jasminne Mendez, David Bowles, Rafael López, John Parra, Estelí Meza and Juana Martinez-Neal, to name a few. Prior to agenting, she worked in editorial, publicity and trade marketing for Penguin and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. A proud Tejana from San Antonio, Stefanie is now based in southern California. Follow her @fullcirclelit
TIFFANY GONZALEZ
Board Treasurer Tiffany@latinxinpublishing.com
Tiffany Gonzalez is the Marketing Manager at Astra House. She previously worked in Production at HarperCollins Publishers. She has worked on the Publicity and Marketing campaign for Dreaming of You by Melissa Lozada-Oliva and on the Marketing campaigns for Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell, The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekiyamah and The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela. She has earned her Bachelors and Master's degrees from Rutgers University - NB. She is Dominican-American and fluid in Spanish. You can follow her on Instagram @wandering_tiff_ and on Twitter @wanderingtiff or visit her website at wanderingtiff.com.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
JOANNA CÁRDENAS
Board member, Advisory Council
Joanna is an editor at Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House dedicated to centering stories from the margins. She acquires and edits picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA (including graphic novels). Joanna Cárdenas has edited such critically-acclaimed award-winning books as Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) by Julie Falatko, illustrated by Tim Miller; The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez; and The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya. Joanna also is co-founder of the Representation Matters Mentorship Program for aspiring editors of color.
NADXIELI NIETO
Board member, Advisory Council
Nadxieli is Executive Editor at Flatiron Books. She is an editor of literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, and illustrated anthologies including the Shirley Jackson award finalist Tiny Crimes with Lincoln Michel and the Premis Ciutat de Barcelona winner Carteles Contra Una Guerra with James Mann. She has published writers including Carmen Maria Machado, Lilliam Rivera, Yuri Herrera, Danielle Evans, Leslie Jamison, Laura Van den Berg, Rion Amilcar Scott, Stephen Graham Jones, Helen Phillips, and Amber Sparks, and is the former director of the PEN America Literary Awards Program. Follow her @nadxinieto.
BOARD MEMBERS EMERITUS
NORA DE HOYOS COMSTOCK
Board Member Emeritus, Founder
Nora de Hoyos Comstock Ph.D. is the national and international founder of Las Comadres Para Las Americas. She served as the organization’s President and CEO since its founding in 2000 until 2015. She is a key player in the Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club and the Comadres and Compadres Writers Conference, along with founders, Adriana Dominguez and Marcela Landres. nora.comstock@gmail.com
SOPHIA JIMENEZ
Board Member, Mentorship Program Co-Director
Sophia is an Associate Editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers, a division of Simon & Schuster. She’s previously worked at the Junior Library Guild, reviewing a wide range of children’s and YA in both English and Spanish, and in editorial at Simon & Schuster’s flagship adult imprint. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Denver Publishing Institute. Follow her @SophiaJay42
NANCY MERCADO
Board Secretary, Special Events Director
Nancy began her career in the Scholastic Book Clubs in 1998 and since then has held editorial positions at Penguin, Macmillan and Scholastic. She now manages a team of brilliant editors at Dial Books for Young Readers and edits a select list of picture books, chapter books, middle grade and young adult novels, with an occasional non-fiction project and graphic novel thrown in for good measure. Over the years, Nancy has had the good fortune of editing books by Paul Acampora, Lexie Bean, Cassie Beasley, Veronica Chambers, Diana Lopez, Isabel Quintero, Peter Raymundo, Gabby Rivera, Lauren Tarshis, and many others. Nancy helped to establish the CBC Diversity Initiative in 2012.
PROGRAM DIRECTORS & VOLUNTEER STAFF
VANESSA AGUIRRE
Writers Mentorship Program Co-Director
Vanessa Aguirre’s heart alternates between Texas, New York, Michoacán, and coastal Colombia. She’s currently an editorial assistant at St. Martin’s Press, as well as a fiction editor at Hugo-nominated speculative fiction magazine and a committee member of the Latinx in Publishing Writers Mentorship Program. In everything she does, she is passionate about promoting underrepresented voices and firmly believes joy is a form of resistance. Because she can never read enough, she is always looking for book recommendations @vnssaguirre.
RUDDY LOPEZ
Communications Co-Director
Ruddy Lopez (she/her) lives in Inglewood, California, and attended California State University, Long Beach. She obtained a BA in English Literature and English Education and is a Fellow of the Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop. She is an educator, writer, editor, and executive assistant at Community Literature Initiative. In her spare time, Ruddy enjoys reading, writing poetry, and exploring what her city has to offer.
MARIANA FELIX-KIM
Communications Co-Director
Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her/ella) is a biologist and a bookstagrammer (@mariana.reads.books). As a Mexican and Korean reader, Mariana centers her bookstagram around amplifying diverse voices. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her cat, Leo. Mariana is proud to have five library cards and loves to use them to read non-fiction, literary fiction, romance, YA, and thrillers.
GET INVOLVED
Latinx in Publishing Inc. hires seasonal interns, and welcomes volunteers interested in learning about publishing. Email us if you’re interested in volunteering!
