After five months as a self-published edition, "America Libre" (ISBN: 0-595-42606-9), the controversial debut novel by Raul Ramos y Sanchez has been acquired by Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books). America Libre imagines a nightmarish, not-too-distant future when tensions between Hispanic separatists and Anglo supremacists ignite an ethnic conflict that leads to an armed insurrection seeking to redraw the borders of the United States.The author sees the apocalyptic story as a wake-up call to the dangers of bigotry and extremism in a growing ethnic gulf. A revised version of the novel is slated for release by Grand Central Publishing. The current edition of the novel will continue in print until the end of 2007. Grand Central Publishing has also acquired El Nuevo Alamo, the sequel to America Libre.
Acknowledging this accomplishment, Raul Ramos y Sanchez has been invited by the Southern California Writers Conference to speak and host a workshop on his journey from self-published author to acquisition by a major publisher. The conference will be held in Irvine, California September 28-30. A book signing for the current edition of America Libre will be held on October 9th, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at Libreria Martinez, the renowned Los Angeles-area bookstore owned by MacArthur genius grant recipient Rueben Martinez. A series of media interviews in Southern California is also slated.
Fueled by his Author's Diary blog, featured by NPR alongside national columnists like Eugene Robinson and Cal Thomas, Ramos y Sanchez now writes a regular editorial column for Viva Los Tiempos, a Knight-Ridder publication serving the Chicago/NW Indiana region. Discussions for syndication with other publications are in the works. Ramos y Sanchez is also host and editor of MyImmigrationStory.com, an online forum for immigrants to the United States from all over the world to share their immigration stories in their own words.
America Libre and El Nuevo Alamo will join titles by Grand Central Publishing's widely-known authors including David Baldacci, James Patterson, and the estate of the late Robert Ludlum, author of the Bourne Identity. Grand Central Publishing, formerly known as Warner Books, is the fifth largest publisher in the U.S. and was purchased from Time Warner Inc. in February 2006 by Hachette Publishing.
More information about America Libre and its author is available at http://www.raulramos.com/ or by calling Scott Willis at 504-952-5790.
