REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and Spanish Speaking, is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary and will be holding it’s 4th National Conference this week. The four day conference starts Sept 15 (which coincides with the start off National Hispanic Heritage Month) at the Westin Hotel in Denver, CO, USA and is expected to draw over 500 participants. The theme for the conference is “Elevating Latino Services to a Higher Level: Juntos in the Mile High City!” and a plethora of events have been scheduled including seminars, author readings, continuing education workshops, enlightening panel discussions, and vendor exhibits.

If you are in the Denver area and interested in attending, you should know that you don’t have to be a member of REFORMA to attend. Non-members can still register and are welcome to come participate as well as purchase exhibit only passes. Click here to download the schedule and see what might appeal to you.

Among the many great events planned is an author luncheon with award winning author and literacy advocate Pat Mora on Sept 16 from 12:30 – 2:00 pm

Extreme Yum: The Zing of Sharing Bookjoy & Growing Día

A former teacher, university administrator, consultant, and the author of many award winning children’s books, Pat is the also the founder of the family literary initiative El día de los niños / El día de los libros, Children’s Day / Book Day (Día), now an initiative of at the American Library Association. The year-long commitment to linking all children to books, languages and cultures, and of sharing what Ms. Mora calls “Bookjoy,” culminates in Día events across the country. Día celebrated its 15th Anniversary in April 2011.

To learn more about Pat Mora  read our interview with her here.

PaperTigers’ September 2007 and September 2008 issues focused on National Hispanic Heritage Month and include interviews, articles, books and artwork that capture the Hispanic temper of our times.

The 9th annual National Latino Writers Conference takes place May 19 – 21 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The conference is uniquely devoted to writing by and for Latinos and is a magnet for Latino writers whose work has often been neglected by major publishing houses. Nationally prominent authors, editors and agents will come together to present workshops, panels and participate in one-on-one consultations with participants. Children’s book author Monica Brown will teach two workshops on Writing for Children and Francisco Alarcón will be teaching El Poder de la Poesía: Poetry for Two Languages. While all workshops and panels are closed to the public, the May 19th poetry reading by Alurista in the Bank of America Theatre will be open and free to the public.

For more information and to register click here.

The countdown has begun for this year’s Los Angeles Latino Book & Family Festival which will be held October 9th and 10th at California State University. Over 120 Latino authors and artists will be in attendance and nearly 50 panels, readings, and workshops will be offered throughout the weekend. In addition there will be books signings, storytelling, folklorico dances, music and much more. The event is free and all are welcome to attend.

Non-profit organization Latino Literacy Now! launched the Latino Book & Family Festival in 1997 in Los Angeles to promote literacy, culture and education and to provide people of all ages and backgrounds with the opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the multicultural communities in the United States in a festival atmosphere.  Today, the Latino Book & Family Festival is hosted in several major Latino markets across the U.S. including Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles. Well known actor and community activist Edward James Olmos is the co-producer of the festival.

A special fundraiser for this year’s event,  “An Evening with the Authors” takes place on October 9 and gives guests the chance to dine with their favorite authors! During the evening the winners of the 2010 International Latino Book Awards will be honored and the 1st annual Latino Books in to Movies Awards will be presented. To purchase tickets to the dinner click here.

Latino Literacy Now has also joined with Pan American Bank (located at 3626 East First Street, Los Angeles) to host a nine week-long children’s program that will feature prominent Latino children’s book authors. The reading program called The Children’s Reading Hour, will take place at 12pm on Saturdays from Sept 11 – Nov 6.  The first 10 children to show up each Saturday will receive an autographed book. Click  here to see the schedule of authors.

“We are thrilled that the authors will join us in supporting our community’s youth. Reading to children is the best way to encourage literacy and life-long learning. It is also an incredible way to teach important lessons,” said Pan American Bank CEO Jesse Torres. “These Latino authors are not only incredible Latino writers – they are incredible authors, period!”

Preparations for the Los Angeles Latino Book & Family Festival are underway. An outstanding lineup of authors and panels is being put together, as well as performers, and special appearances by celebrities and representatives of the Latino community. To be held at California State University Los Angeles (CSULA), the festival will feature a main stage, a children’s area and stage, and three lecture halls/classrooms for author presentations. More information, including a list of confirmed authors, is available here—and to make sure you receive regular updates, sign up for their newsletter.

If you’ve had a chance to savor Yum! Mmm! Que Rico! America’s Sproutings, or any of the books in this year’s Américas Award list of winners, honor books and commended titles, you will understand how spot-on this award’s committee is in recognizing and honoring accurate portrayals of our Americas’ rich cultural heritage.

As this year’s winners, Pat Mora and Rafael Lopez‘s Yum! Mmm! Que Rico! and Laura Resau’s Red Glass will be honored tomorrow (Oct 4), at a ceremony at the Library of Congress, in Washington D.C. Hosted by the Library of Congress’s Hispanic Division and the Center for the Book, the event is free and open to the public, so don’t miss it if you are in the area!

Yuyi Morales’ Little Night, Jorge Argueta’s Alfredito Flies Home and Carmen T. Bernier’s Frida: Viva la Vida! are among the honored and commended titles selected by the award’s 2008 committee.

What better way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month than by giving these books the recognition and readership they deserve?