The Latinx Kidlit Book Festival Podcast

Join award winning author Anna-Marie McLemore and Las Musas author Jonny Garza Villa as they explore the tradition of magical realism in Latinx stories through the lens of the queer experience.

Anna-Marie McLemore (they/them) is the author of fairy tales as queer, Latinx, and nonbinary as they are, including Wild Beauty, Stonewall Honor book When the Moon Was Ours, and Blanca & Roja. Their latest, The Mirror Season, is a story of pansexuality, pan dulce, and healing from trauma, and their forthcoming Lakelore (3/8/21) is a portal fantasy about two Latinx neurodivergent enbies.

Jonny Garza Villa is the author of the young adult novel Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun. They are a product of the Great State of Texas and are often inspired by their own Tejanx & Chicanx and queer identities.

It’s the best of times and the worst! Being a middle grader means discovering yourself and carving out your place, but also navigating embarrassing moments and leaving the simpler world of childhood behind. Enjoy this discussion of what makes middle graders marvelous, why it’s fun to write characters in this age group, and what insights these authors help readers take off the page and into their own lives. With Laura Ojeda Melchor (MISSING OKALEE), Alex Aster (CURSE OF THE FORGOTTEN CITY), Alejandra Algorta (NEVERFORGOTTEN) and Christina Diaz Gonzalez (CONCEALED). Moderated by Karla Valenti (LOTERIA).

Estos creadores de libros album discuten cómo sus personajes encuentran su voz, fortaleza particular y lugar en el mundo, a la misma vez que se ajustan a cambios en sus vidas y permanecen arraigados a su cultura y herencia. Un panel con Raquel Ortiz, Normar Perez y Mariana Llanos moderado por Alexandra Alessandri. Este panel es en español.

These picture book creators discuss how their characters find their voice, their unique strength, and their place in the world, while adjusting to change and staying rooted in their culture and heritage. With Raquel Ortiz (BROKEN BUTTERFLY WINGS/ALAS DE MARIPOSAS ROTAS), Nomar Perez (LET'S BE FRIENDS/SEAMOS AMIGOS) and Mariana Llanos (RUN LITTLE CHASKI: AN INKA TRAIL ADVENTURE). Moderated by Alexandra Alessandri (ISABEL AND HER COLORES GO TO SCHOOL). This is a Spanish-speaking panel.

There is something significant about holding a loved one close to our hearts even after they’re no longer with us. Or learning about the important people who lived centuries ago and their impact on this world. Or of important eras in history that impact who we are today. Discuss historical fiction with Gloria Amescua (CHILD OF THE FLOWER-SONG PEOPLE), Ruth Behar (LETTER FROM CUBA), Vanessa Torres (THE TURNING POINTE) and Diana López (SING WITH ME). Moderated by Alda P. Dobbs (BAREFOOT DREAMS OF PETRA LUNA).

#DisruptTexts is a grassroots effort by teachers for teachers to challenge the traditional canon in order to create a more inclusive, representative, and equitable language arts curriculum. DisruptTexts believes that books can be transformative, especially when they are part of a more equitable curriculum and antiracist education.

Literature study in U.S. classrooms has largely focused on the experiences of White (and male) dominated society, as perpetuated through a traditional, Euro-centric canon. All students deserve an education that is inclusive of the rich diversity of the human experience. They deserve one that introduces them to and affirms the voices both inside and outside their individual lives.

In this session—for educators by educators—we will discuss what voices—authors or characters—are marginalized or missing in our classrooms? How do our biases affect the way we teach and engage with students? How does a text support or challenge issues of representation, fairness, or justice? How a text perpetuates or subverts dominant power dynamics and ideologies? How can we ask students to wrestle with these tensions? How can we collaborate to identify, revise, or create instructional resources that can center and do justice to the experiences of historically marginalized communities?

Led by Lorena Germán, Chair of the National Council of English Teacher’s Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English and she’s a co-founder of #DisruptTexts. She’s also Director of Pedagogy at EduColor.

Moderated by Latinx KidLit Festival co-founder and author, Ismée Williams.

#DisruptTexts Principles:  

Join Maritza Moulite and Francisco X. Stork as they discuss finding your own voice as a writer, and share writing tips and exercises for using your voice to create stories that are interesting and meaningful. Moderated by Alexandra Villasante.

Our CRAFT sessions are meant to be interactive! We encourage students and educators to come prepared with whatever writing materials you are most comfortable with including computers, journals, notebook, paper, pen or pencil. For CRAFT sessions including illustrators, please bring your favorite art materials.

An author-illustrator event with Yuyi Morales,  in conversation with Yamile Saied Méndez

Join award-winning, NYTimes best-selling author and illustrator Yuyi Morales and award-winning and best-selling author Yamile Saied Méndez as they discuss how words and art can uplift the human spirit and show others que sí, se puede!

Born in Xalapa, Mexico, where she currently resides, Yuyi Morales has won the prestigious Pura Belpré Award for Illustration six times, for Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book; Los Gatos Black on Halloween; Just in Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book; Niño Wrestles the World; Viva Frida, also a Caldecott Honor Book; and Dreamers, also a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and a New York Times best seller. Her new children’s book Bright Star is a beautiful story about growth, empowerment, and finding one’s own voice.

Yamile Saied Méndez is an Argentine-American author of many books for young readers, including Furia, a Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine Book Club YA pick and the recipient of the 2021 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author medal. Her 2021 releases (Shaking Up the House, What Will You Be?, and Wish Upon a Stray) portray the joy and beauty of finding your voice and path with the help of your community from different angles. She is a founding member of Las Musas.

These acclaimed illustrators face off in a live draw off! Viewers get to submit prompts as illustrators explore the power of color to communicate emotions. While drawing, they will discuss palette choice, saturation and basic emotions. With Joe Cepeda (WATCH ME), Guilherme Karsten (AAAHHH!) and Ana Aranda (MOTH & BUTTERFLY: TA-DA). Moderated by Juliet Menendez (LATINITAS).

Three beloved, award-winning illustrators  duke it out in this intense draw-off, where viewers get to submit prompts and vote for their favorites. With Angela Dominguez (STELLA DÍAZ NEVER GIVES UP), Rafael López (DANCING HANDS) and Juana Martinez-Neal (ALMA).

Moderator: Kat Fajardo is an award-winning cartoonist and author of the graphic novel for young adults Miss Quinces.

Faraway kingdoms, brujas from Brooklyn and Rose Hill, Caribbean pirates, and mysterious pecan trees on Wela's land. When it comes to fantasy stories, you can expect them to be as diverse and varied and beautiful as the array of Latinx cultures. Join Kristina Pérez (SWEET BLACK WAVES), Zoraida Córdova (INCENDIARY), Anna Meriano (LOVE, SUGAR, MAGIC SERIES), Loriel Ryon (INTO THE TALL, TALL GRASS) and Gabe Cole Novoa (THE WICKED BARGAIN) as they discuss writing and telling fantasy books and the impact fantasy stories have specifically in celebrating what it is to be Latinx.

Moderated by: Kristina Pérez is the author of the young adult series Sweet Black Waves.