15 Books By Latinx Authors To Read This Hispanic Heritage Month (And Beyond)

Gracias, Mitú, for including The Grief Keeper on this list of incredible authors! Some of my favorite books by Latinx authors are on this list - WE ARE NOT FROM HERE by Jenny Torres Sanchez and CANTORAS by Carolina De Robertis just to name two! Latinx Heritage Month should be just the start of discovering many, many amazing new books - I’ve added SANCTUARY by Paola Mendoza and SABRINA & CORINA (I mean, look at that gorgeous cover!!) by Kali Fajardo-Anstine to my book case. Now, if only I had time to both READ books and WRITE BOOKS….

Announcing the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival!

For the last two months, I’ve been working hard with the incredibly talented Mayra Cuevas and Ismée Williams on a project close to all our hearts. Las Musas Books presents the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival! A two-day, virtual festival highlighting Latinx authors and illustrators, the festival will take place on December 4th & 5th. It’s free and open to everyone - educators, parents, kids, writers, random people on the street who just love children’s literature—todos! We’ve confirmed some incredible authors already—Elizabeth Acevedo, Meg Medina, Gabby Rivera, Aiden Thomas—and more are being announced every week! Save the date for this joyous celebration of all the beauty and history of our shared and diverse heritage!

The Grief Keeper is a Lambda Literary Award WINNER!!

I was out walking on the canal near my house on June 1st, having no earthly idea that the winners of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award had been announced and that The Grief Keeper had won in the Children’s/Young Adult category. When I got back to my phone, the outpouring of love and congratulations washed over me and continued for days. I was and am humbled by the honor and by all the amazing, talented people congratulating me. Mil gracias y mucho, mucho amor.

13 Hard Hitting YA Novels to Read ASAP - Book Riot

Thank you Kelly Jensen and Book Riot for including The Grief Keeper on this list with amazing authors like Echo Brown, NoNieqa Ramos and Mindy McGinnis! Check out the full list!

Latin American Refugees: A Mosaic of Stories

Kirkus has a lovely short list of books about Latin American refugees, in light of the AMERICAN DIRT debacle, which includes THE GRIEF KEEPER (Gracias!) Also on the list is WE ARE NOT FROM HERE by Jenny Torres Sanchez—just one of my favorite books of 2020 (yeah, I know it’s still early - but wait until you read it!) MANUELITO by Eliza Amado and THE OTHER SIDE: STORIES OF CENTRAL AMERICAN TEEN REFUGEES WHO DREAM OF CROSSING THE BORDER by Juan Pablo Villalobos, are both books that I have already ordered and cannot wait to read. The amazing thing is I could add SO MANY more books to this list - because our stories are out there! Written by a WHOLE MOSAIC of people!