In a time when queer and BIPOC books are being taken away from libraries and classrooms, we continue writing stories for the young people who look like us, who love like us, and who deserve stories that center us in all the ways: our struggles, our power, our joy.

Jonny Garza Villa talks with Crystal Maldonado, Racquel Marie, and Vincent Tirado on writing as a queer Latine and all the ways our identities inspire the incredible stories we tell.

Whether it's standing up for their communities, their families, or themselves, young Latinas can turn to books to see stories of empowerment through a myriad of lenses and settings.

Marcia Mickelson joins Francesca Padilla, Debbie Rigaud, Lilliam Rivera, and Natalia Sylvester on their stories and the young women they write about and for.

Kokila brings together an inclusive community of authors, illustrators, and readers to examine and celebrate stories that reflect the richness of our world.

Join Kokila editor Joanna Cárdenas and Kokila authors Celia C. Pérez (TUMBLE), David Bowles (THEY CALL HER FREGONA), Diana López (FELICE AND THE WAILING WOMAN), and Stephanie Rodriguez (DOODLES FROM THE BOOGIE DOWN) as they discuss the importance of centering Latinx stories to add depth to the way readers see the world and their place in it.

This event is brought to you by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

From STEM to deep ocean dives, Latinx authors are showing that young Latinx readers they can be the main character in any interpretation of life. In these contemporary stories, authors explore the joys and  struggles their characters face in our own world.

Featuring Monica Brown, Angela Dominguez, Nina Moreno, and Sallie Anne Rodriguez in conversation with Rebecca Balcárcel.

Let's celebrate comic books and graphic novels! Storytelling with the use of pictures is an extraordinary way of bringing characters to life and seeing Latinx characters on the page, whether as superheroes or heroes of their own communities and families, carries undeniable value.

Featuring Jarod Rosello, Rodrigo Vargas, Chuck Gonzales and Kat Fajardo in conversation with Juliet Menéndez.

Authors are commonly heard saying that we "write the books we wish we had in our youth," but what is it to really write those stories that are plucked from the memories, both beautiful and difficult, of our own lives and the lives of our communities? What advice would authors give to those who want to tell stories directly inspired by our pasts and all the ways our own lives shape who we are today?

Featuring Alexis Castellanos, Raquel Donoso, Jasminne Mendez, and Vanessa Torres in conversation with Adrianna Cuevas.

The real world brings plenty of opportunities to live our best main character lives. Whether as celebrities or high school students just trying to make it to Saturday, contemporary stories can be incredible opportunities to show life as it is. Laura Taylor Namey joins Olivia Abtahi, Emery Lee, Gabriela Martins, and Eric Smith for a discussion on their own books and the legacy of Latinx-centered contemporary YA fiction.

In this craft panel authors Angela Velez (Lulu and Milagro's Search for Clarity) and Maritza Moulite (Our Shadows Have Claws) ask how do authors use character wants to influence what happens in their stories? What happens when something gets in the way of what they want?

It's time to add some sazón to our fantasies! In landscape, language, skin color, cultures, and histories Latin America holds so much beauty and potential for inspiration when it comes to writing fantasy novels.

Lizz Huerta, Linda Nieves Pérez, Gabe Cole Novoa, and Aiden Thomas join Francesca Flores to discuss the ways Latin America has influenced the stories they tell and how that makes them even more magical.

To be a Latinx author writing Latinx stories is inherently a political act. An act of reclaiming power and of resistance. NoNieqa Ramos joins Mayra Cuevas, Alda P. Dobbs, and Karina Nicole González to discuss their own stories that lean on exactly that premise, and what it means to write books in today's world that seek to empower the specific Latinx audiences they write for.