Explora Books Releases Republished ‘The Iron Grains’ and Its Spanish Edition, ‘Los Granos de Hierro’
Oct 4, 2026
Explora Books released the republished edition of Jess Zepeda’s ‘The Iron Grains’ alongside its first Spanish-language edition, ‘Los Granos de Hierro.’
Canada, October 4, 2026 -- The new editions expand access to Zepeda’s sweeping novel of art, war, identity, and belonging in California’s Central Valley. The novel opens at a funeral that refuses to stay buried: on Easter Sunday, 1976, mourners gather in a small California farm town to lay Julian Solbriozo to rest, only for two of his closest friends to unearth the grave that same night and discover a stranger’s remains inside. From this unsettling discovery, The Iron Grains unfolds as a portrait of Julian’s life, following a young Mexican American artist from the vineyards of the San Joaquin Valley to a U.S. Army induction center during the final years of the Vietnam-era draft and, ultimately, back to the fields, motels, and kitchen tables of the community that shaped him.
Zepeda writes the Bicentennial-era Central Valley with the eye of a working artist, placing Julian’s personal struggle within the era’s defining social and political currents, including the farmworker movement led by Cesar Chavez and the drawdown of the Vietnam War. At the center of the novel is a young man caught between his family’s expectations, his emerging sense of identity, and his determination to paint. Through Julian’s relationships with friends, lovers, soldiers, and elders, Zepeda explores the tensions between cultural belonging and individual identity while grounding those questions in the landscapes and working communities of the Central Valley.
The novel moves between the intimate and the historical without losing sight of its central character. Art becomes both a refuge and a means of confronting the forces shaping Julian’s life, while the novel’s plainspoken, often wry voices give its larger historical themes a distinctly personal dimension. The result is a portrait of a specific American place and period shaped by questions of family, culture, ambition, and belonging.
Jess Zepeda is a lifelong Californian based in San Francisco. He is an artist who formerly worked with the San Francisco Women’s Art Group and has had his paintings featured internationally. He also spent twenty-six years working as a substitute educator in California schools, an experience reflected in the novel’s close attention to art-making, community, and the formative influence of With the publication of Los Granos de Hierro, Explora Books makes Zepeda’s novel available to Spanish-language readers while extending the reach of a story rooted in Mexican American life and the cultural history of California’s Central Valley.
The Iron Grains and Los Granos de Hierro are now available through Amazon and other major online bookstores.
About Explora Books
Explora Books is a book marketing firm located in the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company specializes in self-publishing and marketing, taking pride in its exhaustive research and creative strategies that provide wider avenues for aspiring authors to gain recognition for their works. Explora Books aims to guide authors through the complexities of self-publishing, offering convenient solutions to navigate this process. The firm fosters and redefines creativity and innovation, setting new industry standards. Explora Books is dedicated to empowering authors globally.
Contact Info:
Name: Zia Miller
Email: Send Email
Organization: Explora Books Ltd.
Address: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Phone: (604) 330 6795
Website: https://explorabooks.com/
Release ID: 89205050
If you encounter any issues, discrepancies, or concerns regarding the content provided in this press release that require attention or if there is a need for a press release takedown, we kindly request that you notify us without delay at [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our responsive team will be available round-the-clock to address your concerns within 8 hours and take necessary actions to rectify any identified issues or guide you through the removal process. Ensuring accurate and reliable information is fundamental to our mission.
SCMP Best Bets: Patch a Grand prospect for punters at Sha Tin
Jay Rooney GRAND PATCH - R6 (2) Had plenty of excuses first up and looks well placed to atone here Owen Goulding HELENE SUPAFEELING - R11 (1) Trialled well leading in, has drawn a good gate and will get a strong gallop to chase Paul Lally CONGHUA GALAXY - R10 (9) Terrific third on his local debut up the straight and should strip fitter Phillip Woo GRAND PATCH - R6 (2) Resumed a badly held-up fourth and has since won a trial Trackwork Spy SOLID STATE - R11 (2) Looks far better placed back...
Asian Games: Hong Kong’s men make it a hat-trick of rugby sevens golds, women win bronze
There are very few certainties in life, although Hong Kong’s men winning rugby sevens gold at the Asian Games could well be one of them. A 26-0 win over China on Saturday sealed a third consecutive title for the city’s team at the Games, and it is now 12 years since they last lost a match at the multi-sport event. Their mainland opponents had already been beaten 22-0 in a Pool A game on Friday, and a first-half double from Harry Sayers ended any threat of an upset. Bryn Phillips added a third,...
No draw fears for Jamie Richards as Lahore bids for a straight-track hat-trick at Sha Tin
Jamie Richards thinks an inside draw could actually help rather than hinder Lahore as he goes for a straight-track hat-trick in the Class Three Shing Mun Handicap (1,000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. The son of Hellbent has had his share of issues, requiring throat surgery in July 2025 and then bleeding from both nostrils in February of this year, but he roared back to life when returning in May, decimating a Class Four field by two and a half lengths. He backed that up with a gutsy success from a...
Asian Games: windsurfers’ golden double takes Hong Kong to record medal haul
Hong Kong windsurfers Wong Tsz-ho and Cheung Tsz-yuet both won Asian Games titles on Saturday, taking the city’s gold medal count into double figures for the first time since its athletes started competing in the multi-sport event in 1954. With Coleman Wong Chak-lam’s triumph in the men’s singles little more than an hour earlier securing a record-equalling eighth gold, victory on the water made it nine and 10 for the delegation in Japan. Not even a lack of wind at Kaiyoh Yacht Harbor could spoil...
David Eustace bids to continue momentum with strong Sha Tin team on Sunday
Still basking in the glow of Group Three glory on Thursday, David Eustace is keen to continue his momentum with a strong team of eight runners at Sha Tin on Sunday. The British trainer claimed his second Group Three success in Hong Kong when Colourful King cruised to victory in the National Day Cup (1,000m) under Zac Purton. Bidding to add to that success, Eustace is confident in his dirt representatives on the mixed 11-race card, which include Loch Tay and Definitive in the feature Class Two...
Asian Games: cool, calm Coleman Wong says winning gold akin to ‘unlocking an achievement’
Siobhan Haughey called “pressure a privilege” on her way to adding yet more Asian Games gold to an already glittering resume – anyone watching Coleman Wong Chak-lam win his historic men’s singles title on Saturday might have been left wondering if he even knows what pressure is. The Hongkonger needed just one chance to wrap up a straight sets victory over China’s Wu Yibing, and for all the world looked as though he was just firing down aces on the practice court, and not on the verge of doing...
Fifa president Gianni Infantino in Hong Kong with city team set for Cambodia Asean final
A Hong Kong team “in transition” will battle upwardly mobile and ambitious Cambodia on Saturday for the unremarkable honour of being crowned Fifa Asean Challenge Cup champions. Although the city team copped some flak for their performance in a 2-0 victory over Brunei on Wednesday, having trounced the same opponents 10-0 three years ago, Roberto Losada and his players should be cut some slack after the head coach made nine changes from the 4-0 victory over Laos three days earlier. Equally, Hong...
Gianni Infantino brings global goodwill tour to Hong Kong ahead of Fifa Asean final
Hong Kong has become the latest stop on Gianni Infantino’s global tour to shore up support ahead of next year’s Fifa presidential election. The under-fire boss, who is still recovering from the fallout of his ill-fated plan to sell off the World Cup, arrived in the city on Friday and is expected to stay for the inaugural Fifa Asean Challenge Cup final between Hong Kong and Cambodia at Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday. While Eric Fok Kai-shan, chairman of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China...
Manchester City lodge ‘comprehensive’ appeal against verdict in financial-rules scandal
Manchester City have filed an appeal against an independent commission ruling that found the club guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, seeking to overturn the verdict and avoid potentially severe sanctions. The league said on Tuesday that City had used “sham” commercial contracts as part of schemes to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than £900 million (US$1.19 billion) over nearly a decade. City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches...
India and Pakistan cricketers set for firecracker clash in ‘inspiring’ Hong Kong Sixes
India will clash with Pakistan in a blockbuster opening-day clash when the “unique and inspiring” Hong Kong Cricket Sixes gets under way later this month. The city team, meanwhile, currently nursing the deep frustration over being eliminated from the Asian Games after their quarter-final with Pakistan on Monday was washed out, will slug it out with Australia and England in an intriguing group. This 2026 edition will be the third iteration since the Sixes was removed from cold storage in...
Hong Kong mile division changes shape with Zac Purton on My Wish and Little Paradise transferred
A week is a long time in racing. In that period, Hong Kong’s mile division has seen dramatic changes. Zac Purton is the new rider of Group One Champions Mile winner My Wish, hopping off Little Paradise who has been transferred from Jimmy Ting Koon-ho to Danny Shum Chap-shing after his disappointing defeat in last Sunday’s Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m). Invincible Ibis stamped his Group One Hong Kong Mile credentials with victory in the Celebration Cup and while Romantic Warrior’s...
Bahrain GP in Malaysia: Antonelli aims to bounce back from ‘worst weekend’, faces rain test
Kimi Antonelli will have to deal with an unfamiliar track and potentially heavy rain as he aims to recover from the “worst weekend” of his 2026 Formula 1 title challenge. The unusually named Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia takes Antonelli and his rivals to a track Formula 1 last visited in 2017 – when he was 11 – in a race hurriedly added to the calendar because of the disruption caused by the Iran war. It will take place at the Sepang International Circuit, about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south...
YOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.
Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?
Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.