A Visit to Cinco Puntos Press

Things I knew before visiting Cinco Puntos Press:


1. They published Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz (which in fact does not take place in my own Hollywood)

2. They were located in El Paso, Texas (i.e. not in New York, the supposed heart of the publishing industry)

3. My friend Anne Giangiulio designed some of their book covers and would often post/talk about them

Things I knew after visiting Cinco Puntos Press:

1. The act of loving, nurturing and publishing books can be found outside New York City. 

Tucked away in western Texas in an unassuming yet special building in downtown El Paso, Texas is Cinco Puntos Press. A small, independent publishing house started by husband and wife team Bobby and Lee Byrd in 1985.

2. "Publishing is very creative work. Like writing, it's a marvelous act of self-discovery" 

Publisher Lee Byrd (on left)

     - Lee Byrd, publisher and author.

From the moment you walk in to their storefront office, the creative element of publishing is evident. The posters on the walls aren't necessarily current or framed to promote but are put up and stay up because they want to be surrounded by work they are proud of and love, both current works as well as art and posters that may be unrelated to a new title. Talking with Lee you feel her passion for discovering and nurturing talent and stories, forging editorial relationships with authors based on their individual and specific needs. Talking to Lee about books is like having a conversation you know could continue all day and wander into all sorts of interesting and surprising places.

3. The diversity thing can be the best afterthought to discovering well-written books

So their imprint is in Spanish (for "five points" not that I learned what those five points are). And you look around the room and see a healthy dose of Mexican American, African American and Latin American author names on the tables. But after talking with Lee and reading two of their Young Adult titles, you get the sense that the primary goal is finding the good stuff and the fact that their titles happen to tell stories of diverse (i.e. not white, because isn't that what we really mean when we say "diverse"?) people is a happy consequence of that.

4. Independent publishers are finding a niche not in art books but in Young Adult novels!

Graphic Designer Anne Giangiulio at the first display table 

How often do you see an independent publisher that specializes in Young Adult novels? Candlewick I suppose, but they are a powerhouse today, they feel too big to call independent even though they are. It made me smile to walk into  a publishing house where the first display table was of Young Adult titles. 

THE FIRST DISPLAY TABLE! 

The covers were all fascinating (even the ones that weren't designed by one of my best friends) and original. They take stylistic chances with artists as opposed to many marketing departments that design book covers. I might not have loved them all, but I really appreciated the attention to detail and narrative all the book covers shared. It made me rethink how I view book covers overall.

Thank you Lee Byrd and Anne Giangiulio for inviting me into your world at Cinco Puntos Press.