The curiosity of children and young people is the incentive for authors of children’s and youth literature. In Guatemala, this genre is experiencing a boom that paves the way for new titles that seek to satisfy the need to read new stories.
“I think that children’s literature is always in a good moment. It has a connection with a reading group that, at least in contemporary history, is very active and enjoys great health, because childhoods, even in the midst of the shortcomings of the educational system, continue to be curious and seek readings,” says Julio Serrano Echeverría, poet and author of children’s literature.
Along these lines, the writer highlights the work of the publishing industry that publishes Guatemalan and Central American children’s literature, the emergence of new projects that have promoted it, as well as the participation of illustrators, reading mediators and storytellers, who play an essential role in the promotion of this genre.
“If we compare ourselves to a few years ago, even a decade ago, today we have many more new authors and independent publishers who have begun to produce children’s literature. With the rise of technology and self-publishing, today it is possible to publish with one click on platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle,” agrees Jessica Pérez, writer and illustrator.
He adds that before production was more closed to large and traditional publishers, but thanks to new technological opportunities and printing systems that allow smaller print runs, there is a boom in the production of children’s and youth literature.
The challenges
However, the educational and cultural reality of the country also imposes various challenges on children’s and youth literature, starting with the writer.
According to Serrano, the first challenge is personal: wanting to write a story and doing it. The second is professional, since a text needs the support of an editor, not only as a proofreader, but to provide a vision of the world. The third requires in-depth training of the writer.
“To write children’s literature you have to be a writer. Anyone can write a beautiful story to give to their children, and I hope we all continue to do so, but when a text is placed in the hands of thousands of children there is a high degree of responsibility. This ethic of writing implies depth, knowledge and seriousness regarding what is placed in the space of childhood. One does not simply write “for children”. The responsibility of a creator is profound and requires effort, work and an ethic of poetics. That means training, preparing, be responsible and relevant,” he adds.
To this, the poet adds the challenge of telling children and young people 3,500 years of history, of learning to read in the native and Mayan languages, of connecting with the memory of the people and of ensuring that books are a mirror of the national reality.
“We have very few books on historical memory, on migration, on the history of the women who have brought us here, on the struggles of ordinary people, of those who work every day, of the grandmothers who worked in the fields or in the maquila. We have few stories about who we are as a country,” he says.
Likewise, he states that much of children’s literature is moralizing, when it should not tell someone what they should be, but, rather, open the world and liberate the self.
“We continue to see boys and girls as repositories of values. Of course values matter, but they are not bags in which they are deposited. Literature should be a conversation and learning with them,” he reflects.
To these challenges, Pérez adds the idea that in Guatemala people do not read and that it is very difficult to publish. “We have low reading rates, not only in literacy, but also among the population that knows how to read and write, but does not read. Producing material that children in Guatemala and Central America identify with can help address that problem.”
Likewise, it highlights that the consumption of foreign material means that children do not always feel identified with the skin tones, contexts or experiences of the characters, which causes them to lose interest in the content.
“This context is a challenge for the writer, because we are influenced by what we see in series and consume from abroad, especially by the proximity to the United States and Mexico. We must remove part of that baggage and give a voice to our region: to our identity, culture, houses, skins and ways of being Guatemalan,” he explains.
Furthermore, the importance of presentation should not be overlooked. The author assures that the materials must be visually attractive for children, because they are designed for them. It also points out that there must be adequate mediation on the ages to which each book is directed, since the fact that it says “for children” cannot cover all ages.
“Probably the biggest challenge in children’s literature is for adults: we have not learned to learn with boys and girls. We have not learned to unlearn the idea that a boy or a girl are not half human. They are total humans who need support, but they have all the tools so that their spirit can be what they want to be,” concludes Serrano.
New opportunities
The authors agree that the greatest opportunity for this literary genre is social networks, as they open spaces for communication with authors and, in addition, become means to disseminate various publications.
“Anyone can write to an author of children’s literature and will probably receive a response. It is the first moment in history in which this is possible in such a direct way,” says the poet.
The technological revolution in printing also represents a great opportunity for printing on demand. Today you can even print a single copy.
Likewise, cultural activities that bring books and authors closer to the public, such as book fairs, also become essential spaces for authors, readers, illustrators and publishers, as they not only allow the dissemination of works, but also the training of authors through various workshops.
“I have seen many independent authors who self-produced and self-published, and they arrive at those spaces not only with a manuscript, but with a book assembled to present it or look for publishers that want to publish it,” says Pérez.
“The opportunity that makes me most excited is to train and accompany us: go to workshops, attend talks, talk to authors, ask for a little feedback,” adds Serrano.
Allies and disseminators
The effort of teachers to teach and promote reading has been essential in this process, since, in the midst of the scarcity of resources, they have found ways to bring books to children.
“In any of their circumstances they are doing magic and drawing water from stones. I have met teachers from very remote regions who do true wonders with very little. Despite the ingratitude of the educational system, the social system, the indifference of some parents and many limitations, they are still there,” says Serrano.
“Let’s think of the children’s book as the tortilla: that it is enough for everyone.”
Likewise, he assures that media outlets such as Prensa Libre have also maintained alliances and efforts to disseminate children’s and youth literature, since with the publication of various fascicles they have become channels for mass distribution of texts.
“We need there to be books for everyone. Let’s think of the children’s book as the tortilla: that it is enough for everyone. If there can be a book in the homes of all Guatemalan families, let it be a children’s literature book. Massive dissemination is key,” says the author.
Central American meeting
As part of the Professional Conference of the Filgua 2026 International Book Fair, the Second Meeting of Children’s Literature “Central America” will be held, which will bring together more than 40 authors, illustrators, researchers, librarians, reading mediators, editors and cultural managers from Central America, Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Colombia to reflect on the role of children’s and youth literature in the formation of new generations of readers.
The event will take place from July 4 to 6, 2026 at the Cultural Center of Spain in Guatemala, Paseo de la Sexta, zone 1, Guatemala City. To register you need to fill out a form provided by the organizers.
The meeting will also include two exhibitions: “Territories and Roots”, an exhibition that brings together the work of illustrators from the region, and an exhibition of Central American publishers of children’s and youth literature that will allow us to meet the actors who promote the creation, publication and circulation of these works in Central America.