Inlandia Institute has awarded its 2025 Eliud Martínez Prize to Soledad Rivera, an 83-year-old Inland Empire resident, for her debut novel "Candido." The annual prize recognizes first-time authors in fiction or creative nonfiction who identify as Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Chicana/o/x. Rivera's novel follows a 12-year-old boy's journey from Central Mexico to the American Southwest during the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The Eliud Martínez Prize honors the late UC Riverside professor who championed multiethnic literature. Martínez introduced UCR's first multiethnic literature course and developed required creative writing courses focused on race, ethnicity, and ancestry.

Source: The Guardian January 09, 2026 01:17 UTC