LatinoStories.com hosted by renowned professor Jose B. Gonzalez has named Raul Ramos y Sanchez number one among the 2011 “Top Ten New Authors to Watch (and Read).” The recognition is based on Ramos’s debut novel America Libre, a controversial story that envisions a Latino insurgency on U.S. soil spawned by a violent supremacist backlash against Hispanics.
This latest recognition for the author follows a string of other accolades for America Libre including:
- First Place Prize in the Books Into Movies award hosted by actor Edward James Olmos;
- Best Novel winner in the 10th Annual International Latino Book Awards;
- Violet Crown Fiction Awards Finalist;
- USA Today “Summer Reads” selection;
- One of Latina Magazine’s “10 Hottest Summer Reads.”
“I’ve written a story set in the near future about a family struggling to stay together in a nation that has descended into ethnic war,” says Ramos. “It’s a nightmare for them, and a nightmare for the country. Many of the trends we are seeing today, like the demonizing of illegal immigrants by political demagogues, the growth of extremist right wing groups and the youth boom in the U.S. Hispanic population combine to create a perfect storm that leads the nation into chaos. It’s a future we can prevent. But we need to change our ways now.”
House Divided, Ramos’s second novel and the sequel to America Libre, is slated for release by Grand Central Publishing January 28, 2011. Book signing events for the novel are scheduled at Borders Books in Dayton, Ohio on February 5, 2011 and Vromans’ Bookstore in Pasadena, CA on February 22, 2011.