Why did you decide to work in book publishing?

Like most people who go into publishing, I’ve always been a huge bookworm, even from a very young age. I was absolutely that kid who just wanted to stay in and read or scribble out weird short stories in my notebook while all the other kids were playing outside. So I’ve always known I wanted to work in a job that involves a lot of reading and writing.

As an adult, I’ve come to realize that while this was partly just my personality, it also had to do with the environment I grew up in: we always had a lot of books at home, and both of my parents are big readers. Not all kids have that, for all sorts of different reasons. So I’ve grown really passionate about working with people who are invested in nurturing future generations of readers and fostering a love of reading early on. Kidlit publishing seemed like a good place to do that.

Alexandra Aceves is a Latine writer and editor originally from Mexico City and currently based in Brooklyn. She works as an associate editor at Holiday House Publishing, where she oversees the expansion of the Holiday House Spanish language publishing program while also acquiring YA and middle grade fiction for Holiday House's English language list. She was the 2015 Honor winner of Lee & Low's New Visions Award for previously unpublished YA fiction writers whose work centers characters from marginalized communities; her debut novel is forthcoming from Lee & Low's Tu Books imprint.