Cinco Puntos Press is an imprint of publishing company

Lee & Low Books Lee & Low Books is an independent children's book publisher focusing on diversity. History Lee & Low was founded in 1991 by Chinese Americans Tom Low and Philip Lee as a children's book publisher specializing in books featuring people of color a ...

. It was founded in 1985 and began publishing bilingual books for both children and adults, prominently including books about the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

region. The publisher was subject to controversy in 1999 when it published '' The Story of Colors'' by

Subcomandante Marcos Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente (born 19 June 1957) is a Mexican insurgent, the former military leader and spokesman for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in the ongoing Chiapas conflict,Pasztor, S. B. (2004). "Marcos, Subcoman ...

. It was sold to Lee & Low Books in 2021.

History

Cinco Puntos Press was founded by novelist Lee Merrill Byrd and poet

Bobby Byrd Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader, and talent dedicated. He played a part in the development of soul and funk m ...

in 1985. It became known for publishing books with a

multi-cultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

and political focus for both children and adults, with a focus on bilingual children's books and

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

and

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

about the

region. Cinco Puntos received national notoriety when, in March 1999, it published the book '' The Story of Colors / La Historia de los colores'' written by

, the leader of the

Zapatista Army of National Liberation The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (), is a far-left political and militant group that controls a substantial amount of territory in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Since 1994, t ...

in Mexico, causing the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

to pull funding for the publisher. The

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

provided Cinco Puntos Press with twice the amount of the lost funding, and Cinco Puntos Press sold out their first printing of the book in days. Cinco Puntos Press was sold to

in June 2021.

Notable authors

Cinco Puntos Press authors include Joe Hayes,

Benjamin Alire Sáenz Benjamin Alire Sáenz (born August 16, 1954) is an American poet, novelist, and writer of children's books. Early life and education Sáenz was raised near Las Cruces, New Mexico. He earned a BA in Humanities and Philosophy from St. Thomas Semin ...

Sergio Troncoso Sergio Troncoso (born 1961) is an American author of short stories, essays and novels. He often writes about the United States-Mexico border, working-class immigrants, families and fatherhood, philosophy in literature, and crossing cultural, psy ...

Tim Tingle Tim Tingle is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma an author and storyteller of twenty books. Early life Tingle was raised on the Gulf Coast outside of Houston, Texas. He is an Oklahoma Choctaw. His great-great grandfather, John Carnes, ...

George Ella Lyon George Ella Lyon (born April 25, 1949, in Harlan, Kentucky) is an American author from Kentucky, who has published in many genres, including picture books, poetry, juvenile novels, and articles. Biography George Ella Lyon was born April 25, 1949 ...

Dagoberto Gilb Dagoberto Gilb (born 1950 in Los Angeles), is an American writer who writes extensively about the American Southwest. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned both bachelor's and master's degrees. Gilb embarked on a ...

David Romo David Romo (born 7 August 1978) is a French former footballer who played in the Football League for Swansea City. Romo scored his only goal for Swansea in a 2–0 win over Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional associat ...

Lisa Sandlin Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, ...

Robert Boswell Robert Boswell is an American short story writer and novelist.{{cite web, url=https://www.triquarterly.org/contributors/robert-boswell, title= Robert Boswell , website=Vermont Women, accessdate=2020-07-02 He has been faculty at the Bread Loaf Wri ...

Gary Cartwright Gary Royce Cartwright (born 20 February 1952) is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Victoria River in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as t ...

Xavier Garza Xavier Garza (born 14 October 1968) is an author and illustrator of children's books and professor of art at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio. Life and career Xavier Garza was born in Rio Grande City in Texas's Lower Rio Grande Valley in 1 ...

James Carlos Blake James Carlos Blake (May 26, 1943 – January 11, 2025) was an American novelist as well as a writer of novellas, short stories, and essays. His work has received extensive critical favor and several notable awards. He has been called “one of th ...

Byrd Baylor Byrd Baylor (March 28, 1924 – June 16, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and author of picture books for children. Four of her books have achieved Caldecott Honor status. Background Byrd Baylor was born in March 1924 in San Antonio, Te ...

, J.L. Powers, Youme Landowne,

Paco Ignacio Taibo II Paco Ignacio Taibo II (born Francisco Ignacio Taibo Mahojo; on January 11, 1949), also known as Paco Taibo II or informally as PIT is a Spanish- Mexican writer, novelist and political activist based in Mexico City. He is most widely known as the ...

Significant awards

The company has won several awards: *

, 2005—Publisher Bobby Byrd and Lee Merrill Byrd awarded Cultural Freedom Fellowships for Excellence in Publishing *

Before Columbus Foundation The Before Columbus Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Ishmael Reed, "dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary American multicultural literature". The Foundation makes annual awards for books published in ...

, The American Book Award, 1999, for Excellence in Publishing *Rocky Mountain Publishing Association—the Dwight A. Myers Award, 1997, for Excellence in Regional Publishing *

Border Regional Library Association The Border Regional Library Association (B.R.L.A.) promotes libraries and librarianship in the tri-border region of West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico. The non-profit organization was founded in 1966 and, as of 2009, ha ...

—the Southwest Book Award, 1993, for Excellence in PublishingTaos Writers Conference: Lee and Bobby Byrd
/ref> In addition, author

won a

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living Americans, Green Card holders or permanent residents. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of ...

and a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

in 2013 for his book ''

Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club ''Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club'' is a collection of short stories by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, published in 2012 by Cinco Puntos Press. The book compiles seven short stories, all set in the Hispanic/Latino community in El Paso, ...

'', published by Cinco Puntos in 2012.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Cinco Puntos Press Official site
Book publishing companies based in Texas Companies based in El Paso, Texas Publishing companies established in 1985 1985 establishments in Texas