 | |
| Parent company | Lee & Low Books |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Bobby Byrd and Lee Byrd |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | El Paso, Texas |
| Distribution | Consortium Book Sales & Distribution |
| Publication types | Books |
| Official website | www |
Cinco Puntos Press is an imprint of publishing companyLee & Low Books. It was founded in 1985 and began publishing bilingual books for both children and adults, prominently including books about theMexico–United States border region. The publisher was subject to controversy in 1999 when it publishedThe Story of Colors bySubcomandante Marcos. It was sold to Lee & Low Books in 2021.
Cinco Puntos Press was founded by novelistLee Merrill Byrd and poetBobby Byrd in 1985.[1] It became known for publishing books with amulti-cultural and political focus for both children and adults,[2][dead link] with a focus on bilingual children's books andfiction andnon-fiction about theMexico–United States border region.
Cinco Puntos received national notoriety when, in March 1999, it published the bookThe Story of Colors / La Historia de los colores written bySubcomandante Marcos, the leader of theZapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico, causing theNational Endowment for the Arts to pull funding for the publisher.[3][4] TheLannan Foundation 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.[5]
Cinco Puntos Press was sold toLee & Low Books in June 2021.[1]
Cinco Puntos Press authors includeJoe Hayes,Benjamin Alire Sáenz,Sergio Troncoso,Tim Tingle,George Ella Lyon,Dagoberto Gilb,David Romo,Lisa Sandlin,Robert Boswell,Gary Cartwright,Xavier Garza,James Carlos Blake,Subcomandante Marcos,Byrd Baylor,J.L. Powers,Youme Landowne,Paco Ignacio Taibo II.[6][dead link]
The company has won several awards:
In addition, authorBenjamin Alire Sáenz won aPEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and aLambda Literary Award in 2013 for his bookEverything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club, published by Cinco Puntos in 2012.