veliz: a term for suitcase, sometimes used in México 

veliz: what we carry, what we need, what is dear 

veliz: crosses borders, migrates, translates, expands canons

Taking inspiration from the idea of the veliz, in 2015, Veliz Books began crossing literary borders and championing work that transcends time and trends. Based in Houston, Veliz Books is an independent press that annually publishes 3-4 literary books. We publish poetry, creative non-fiction, as well as books in translation. We also publish short story collections that share the less heard about places that are less known. We are dedicated to publishing both emerging and established authors whose works are stylistically complex, even unconventional, and speak to issues in need of voice. Veliz Books helps literature travel and fosters a community of readers and writers passionate about words and language, regardless of where they may live. 

We strive to be part of the greater literary community by holding readings for our authors, by taking part in panels on publishing, editing practices, and translation at national conferences, holding workshops with community organizations, and by consulting with emerging presses to help guide them as best we can. To learn more about the consultations, click here.

Laura Cesarco Eglin, Founding Editor/Publisher, Poetry and Translation Editor

Lau Cesarco Eglin is a poet and literary translator from Uruguay. She is the co-founding editor and publisher of Veliz Books. Lau has published six collections of poetry, most recently the chapbooks Time/Tempo: The Idea of Breath (PRESS 254, 2022) and Life, One Not Attached to Conditionals (Thirty West, 2020). Lau translates from the Portuguese, Portuñol, Galician, and Spanish. She is the translator of claus and the scorpion by the Galician author Lara Dopazo Ruibal (co•im•press, 2022). Her translation of Of Death. Minimal Odes by the Brazilian author Hilda Hilst (co•im•press) won the 2019 Best Translated Book Award in Poetry. She co-translated from the Portuñol Fabián Severo’s Night in the North (Eulalia Books, 2020). Lau teaches creative writing at the University of Houston-Downtown.

Sean Bernard, Prose Editor

Sean Bernard directs the Creative Writing program at the University of La Verne. He is the Western Region chair and member of the board of directors (2021-2024) for AWP, and has received grants and fellowships from groups including the National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Arizona Poetry Center, and Poets & Writers. His novel Studies in the Hereafter came out in 2015 (Red Hen Press) and his collection Desert Sonorous won the 2014 Juniper Prize.

Genevieve Kaplan, Associate Editor

Genevieve Kaplan (she/her) is the author of (aviary) (Veliz Books, 2020); In the ice house (Red Hen Press, 2011); and four chapbooks, most recently I exit the hallway and turn right (above/ground press, 2020), an anti-ode to office work. Her poems can be found in Third Coast, Puerto del Sol, Denver Quarterly, Oversound, Poetry, and other journals. After the positive experience of publishing (aviary) with Veliz Books in 2020, Genevieve joined the Veliz Books team in 2021, bringing the Toad Press International chapbook series along as a new imprint.

Tabitha Stone, Publicity Manager/Assistant Prose Editor

Tabitha Stone received her MFA in fiction writing from Rainier Writing Workshop in 2020 and her BA in Creative Writing from University of La Verne in 2016. She won the literature prize for Mythos Magazine in April 2022, and her work can also be found in Red Rock Review, Prism Review, The Los Angeles Review, and the Same. She teaches writing at University of Arizona in Tucson and joined Veliz Books as the social media intern in 2022.

Silvana Ovaitt, Cover Designer
Miranda Arocha Smith, Editorial Assistant
Minerva Laveaga Luna, Founding Publisher

Contact Us
Veliz Books
P.O.Box 1701
Houston, TX 77251

info@velizbooks.com