Keeping up the series on Mexican Indie Publishers, I present here Nostra Ediciones. A publisher that this year achieves its third year with the “Invenciones” (Inventions) contest, for picture book and Young Readers.

Nostra Editores has been around since the 2000, publishing books with two major lines of products: Picture Books and Young Readers, both of which include: poetry, fiction, graphic novel and picture books; and the other product line are Essays of cultural and legal matters.

Since the 2009 they have installed it “Invenciones” contest, with a good response from authors and illustrators. The winners of the previous years are: 2009 for Picture Book was deserted, in the novel category Spanish writer Javier Sáez Castán for La venganza de Edison (Edison’s Revenge); in 2010 for the Picture Book Category the winner was Spanish writer and illustrator Teresa Novoa for La Pluma Roja (The Red Pen) and in the novel category the winner was Mexican writer Jose Montelongo with Mi abuelo fue agente secreto (Grandfather was a secret agent).

This award has an excellent support as the prize is announced and awarded in Latin-American’s most important Book Fair, which is the #FIL, International Book Fair in Guadalajara (Feria Internacional del Libro), which this year reaches its first 25 years and also by IBBY Mexico.

Nostra Editores has a wide array of writers, which include: Laura Varela, Antonio Santos, Javier Sáez Castán, Valentín Rincón, Carlos Montemayor y Miguel León-Portilla, among others.

Some of illustrators in their roster are: Miguel Castro Leñero, Boris Viskin, Manuel Monroy, Felipe López de la Peña, Juan Carlos Palomino, Mariana Osorio, Alejandro Magallanes, Julián Cicero and Linda Wolfsgruber.

Nostra as El Naranjo and Almadía are three excellent Indie Mexican Publishers which are doing very interesting things in Mexico. A country which it’s Reading per capita Index is very low at 2.9.

Do not forget the contest of Nostra Ediciones, is backed by FIL and by IBBYMexico, which translate that the winners of both categories will be present at the #FIL and will have an excellent exposure, Latin-American and European, as this year the country invited to the Fair is Germany and Novel Prize Winner Herta Müller will come to Guadalajara.We, as writers or aspiring writers (like my self) have to increase the participation in the contest, with this we can assure that the winner will be the best and with this boost the quality of books in Mexico.

And it is a perfect way to boos this quality I speak here with this kind of contests, let’s hope that more and more publishers, Indie publishers do contests like this. Is a cheep way to achieve new talent and to get known around the world.