We've gone blogging! Don't miss the Cinco Puntos BLOG for the ins and outs of independent publishing.

Cinco Puntos Press (CPP), begun in 1985, is a nationally-known, independent, NOT non-profit, literary press that specializes in publishing the literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and books for kids) from the U.S./Mexico border, Mexico and the American Southwest.

In recognition of our importance as a voice for this region and our commitment to literature, we have received the American Book Award for excellence in publishing and been inducted into the Latino Literary Hall of Fame. We have received five publishing grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and three similar grants from the Texas Commission for the Arts. The Border Regional Library Association, in addition to awarding Southwest Book Awards for many of our books over the years, presented CPP with a special Southwest Book Award in 1993 for outstanding achievement in bringing national recognition to our regional literature. We have also received two grants from the Fideicomiso para la Cultura de México y Estados Unidos (funded jointly by the Belles Artes and the Rockefeller Foundation).

CPP's business, however, is not limited to bookstores. Our direct sales to the educational market have become a strong part of our company. Our bilingual and culturally relevant children's books are the backbone of this market.

In 1987, two years after we started Cinco Puntos Press, we had the good fortune to publish Joe Hayes' wonderful bilingual classic La Llorona, our first children's book. Since then we've printed over 70,000 copies of this popular classic. The Weeping Woman (as she's known in English) has been such a steady seller that we can truly say Cinco Puntos Press is the (publishing) house that La Llorona built.

Cinco Puntos is honored to be distributed to the trade by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution (www.cbsd.com). Our fellow publishers at CBSD do good work and are exceptional examples of independent press publishing.

Please visit co-publisher Bobby Byrd's blog where he riffs about his obsessions, in particular, poetry.