✨Special Announcements, Free Books, & Giveaway! ✨
✨Special Announcements, Free Books, & Giveaway! ✨
Hi Friend!
Okay okay so I may have some news…I’ve been waiting to shout about them and I can finally tell you all what’s coming in 2026 (scroll below!) In this newsletter we’ll chat about how to receive free books from publishers, baby’s first Halloween, & author interviews+2 giveaways. Let’s dive in!
Let’s chat about receiving free books
Thank you all for voting on this topic a few newsletters back! So how do I get free books for my book reviews? When I first started my bookstagram account I was going to the library for most of my books (& I still do for many). I started following authors and noting who their publishers were (If you’re not in the publishing world, authors can publish with multiple publishers). I started researching how to request books and found the following info:
Some publishers want a certain follower count (I couldn’t work with Penguin until I had 5K followers…and that was just to get an invite to their influencer portal which doesn’t work great…and I still don’t know how to request from them since they have 10000000 imprints).
Google “[publisher name] influencer program” (example here) & you might get on their list! Fill out their forms.
Send an email from their contact website(*but you might not get a response) at the start I didn’t get responses and I started putting engagement stats about my IG/TT along with where I was planning to share and If I was using it for an author interview…slowly I got responses from publicists
Volunteer or participate at bookish events! The Latinx Kidlit Book Festival is always looking for volunteers (sign up here) and you’ll get to network with people in the industry. I also served as a book judge for the Bookstagang awards and the International Latino Book Awards and connected with more people and got to know publicists this way
Review on Goodreads/Netgalley/Edelweiss etc since most platforms show how many reviews you post and most publishers want reviewers
Also create a Netgalley account for advanced reader copies (ARCs).
There’s room for all of us to share books. Good luck and I hope this is a place to start!
Special Announcements
Ready? I HAVE THREE BOOKS COMING OUT (AHHHHH!) All the publishers weekly posts started coming out and I can finally talk about it. Check out the announcements below:
✨Book 1✨: I can’t wait for this quinceañera story! The museum will have a dress on display too!
⭐️Book 2 ⭐️: The book of my HEART! This story landed me my agent AND I can share about the ranch where I grew up plus touch on love languages for parent/kids.
✨Book 3✨": In this board book you'll meet a bicultural (🇲🇽🇵🇷) family. The girl uses mealtime to match her food to the different phases of the moon.
And I am working on another picture book which I hope to announce next year! In the meantime stay tuned for these 2026 books! I hope to visit many of you that year!
AVENTURAS EN ESL is a reader-supported publication for all. If you’d like to support it, please forward it to a friend, buy me a coffee, or shop my book lists below. Your support is so greatly appreciated!
Baby’s First Halloween
Okay so my kid has been wearing a “My first Halloween” bib since February so we were ready! We went to a local event for kids and did trick or treating for mom because he can’t eat candy. Here’s a picture of the spooky skeleton:
Also, he was a farmer with his chicken (dog).
Author interviews + Giveaway
Welcome Justin Colón and Jorge Lacera! They both have 2024 releases! Let’s jump in with all things books & two giveaways! 🎉
Justin Colón
Justin’s debut picture books THE QUACKEN and IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS released this year! Justin’s humorous storylines are are must haves for your bookshelf! In today’s interview we chat about Latine authors writing outside of their identity, book projects, & revision tips. Press play:
You can get copies of Justin’s books on my Bookshop (linked) /Amazon (linked) & request these title at your local library too! Follow Justin @justinrcolon
Jorge Lacera
Jorge is an author-illustrator from Colombia. He is a father (who hopes to amplify more opportunities for Latinx creators so his son can see more Latinx heroes) and an art director. His latest release came out in English/Spanish titled LOS BRAVOS/THE BRAVE ONES. Click play to learn more:
You can get copies of Jorge’s books on my Bookshop (linked) /Amazon (linked) & request these title at your local library too! Follow Jorge @jorgelaceracreates
🎉G I V E A W A Y🎉
Special giveaway for newsletter subscribers! Justin & Jorge have a special treat! Justin is giving away a signed F&G of Impossible Possums, along with bookmarks and stickers. Jorge is giving away a dummy or portfolio review for illustrators!
How to enter:
Stay subscribed to my newsletter & fill out this giveaway form ️
2 Bonus entries: Follow @Aventuras.En.ESL & @justinrcolon /@jorgelaceracreates on Instagram
️5 Bonus entries: Leave a Goodreads review for Justin’s /Jorge’s books
Giveaway closes on Nov 15. Winner will be announced on on the next newsletter, you have time to enter!
*Winner of the Sept newsletter is Miranda Quintero.
🎉P.S. More giveaways? I’m doing book giveaway bundles on IG! (check it out @aventuras.en.esl)
📚Looking for diverse books? Check out my AMAZON or BOOKSHOP store front. Using my affiliate links helps support my work at no extra cost to you. Looking for a specific book? Send me a message for the book link.
🙏🏽All social media and newsletter content is FREE but if you’d like to help out, I could also use book reviews for my books on Amazon (linked) or Goodreads (porfis)
✏️Did you know I do educator guides & other work? Check out more of my work (here).
Until next time!
P.S. Excuse the typos, I promise there’s a human behind the screen and not a 🤖.
-Delia Ruiz @Aventuras.En.ESL