Don’t miss this year’s Big Read selection, Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya! This fascinating story is only one of many excellent works written by Hispanic authors. We will be featuring many programs and events during March centering on this riveting book—pick one up at the library!

Among other fine authors is Isabel Allende. Allende’s work includes both fiction and nonfiction. One of her better-known novels is The House of the Spirits, originally published in 1970. Allende continues to publish bestsellers in both English and Spanish, these days from her home in California. She has also published several memoirs, including My invented country: a nostalgic journey through Chile.

Another famous writer is Colombian genius Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. His book Love in the time of cholera was made into a movie in 2007, nominated for a Golden Globe.

More recently, Salvadoran writer Sandra Benitez has produced several novels, including Night of the radishes, set in Minneapolis and Mexico.

Jorge Luis Borges is more famous for his short stories than novels. One of his best-known collections is The Aleph: including the prose fictions from the Maker, 2004.

For those inclined to poetry, try Borges, the acclaimed Chilean writer Pablo Neruda, or Gabriela Mistral, both of the latter Nobel Prize winners for literature.

One of the best-known writers of the Spanish-speaking world is Carlos Fuentes, son of Mexican diplomats and a diplomat himself. His work The Old Gringo, the first American bestseller written by a Mexican writer, was made into a 1989 movie starring Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda.

Whatever your favorite type of book, there is probably a Spanish-speaking writer in that genre. Check with the library for more suggestions and be sure to join with the community this spring, by giving Bless me, Ultima a try!