Mitchell’s guest, Pablo Cartaya, started his career as an actor. It’s been a winding road to becoming an author. “I’ve done every job in the restaurant business … As a waiter, I kept a small notebook in my pocket to write down story ideas,” said Cartaya. On this episode of The Literary Life, he’ll talk about how family, community, and culture all play a major role in his writing, his latest book, Each Tiny Spark, and the middle-school student whose words Cartaya will always remember. This episode of The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan was recorded at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida.

Host: Mitchell Kaplan

Producer: Carmen Lucas

Editor:  Lit Hub Radio

Pablo Cartaya is an award-winning author whose books have been reviewed by The New York Times, featured in The Washington Post, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal, as well as been among the Best Books of the Year for Amazon, Chicago Public Library, NYPL, and several state award lists. He Is the author of the critically acclaimed middle grade novels The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora (a 2018 Pura Belpre Honor Book) and Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish. His latest novel, Each Tiny Spark, debuts on the new Kokila Penguin/Random House Imprint, which focuses on publishing diverse books for children and young adults. He teaches at Sierra Nevada College’s MFA program in Writing and visits schools and colleges around the country. 

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