By: Writing Barn Intern Katarina Rodriguez
For Hispanic Heritage Month, The Writing Barn would love to give a huge shout out to the Texas Book Festival on their new SCP intern, Roxanna Sanchez, who took us on a wonderful (and delicious!) literary trip through Mexico with her introductory blog post. We’d also love to point out Roxanna’s excellent taste in authors!
First Stop: Gloria!
The first author mentioned in Roxanna’s blog is Latina and Tejana writer, poet, and educator Gloria Amescua, a close friend and past attendee of Write. Submit. Support. (WSS) and The Writing Barn.
Her debut book, Child of the Flower Song-People is a picture book biography that tells the story of model Luz Jiménez, an indigenous Nahua woman who eventually became known as “The Soul of Mexico.”
Up Next: Michael!
The next author mentioned on the second stop of the trip is Mexican-Swiss psychologist and writer Michael Genhart, another beloved friend and colleague of The Writing Barn! Anyone notice a trend here? *nudge nudge*
His new picture book, May Your Life Be Deliciosa, is a beautiful and culturally rich story inspired by his family. It also lovingly features the Mexican tradition of tamale-making during the holidays (one of my personal favorite times of the year!) So save the date, because the launch party for May Your Life Be Deliciosa is happening on Saturday, September 25th @ 12 PM Central Time.
Last But Certainly Not Least: David!
For the final stop of the trip, Roxanna recognized David Bowles, a Mexican-American author, translator, and (you guessed it) friend of The Writing Barn.
Bowles’ debut picture book, My Two Border Towns, tells the story of a young boy’s life living on the U.S and Mexican border. It follows him and his dad’s weekly visits to the other side of the border, where they check in with their friends and family and drop off much-needed supplies.
Once again, we’d love to give massive saludos to these incredible LatinX authors and their amazing work that does such a wonderful job depicting Mexican-American culture. We also want to thank these individuals for continuously bringing more LatinX representation into the literary community.
Lastly, we’d like to congratulate Roxanna Sanchez on her internship with the Texas Book Festival and thank her for using her voice to shine a light on the LatinX literary community.
Don’t Miss Out
The Texas Book Festival will be taking place from October 23rd — October 31st this year, and we hope to see you all there!
About the Writer
Katarina Rodriguez is a senior at St. Edward’s University, studying to receive her BA in Writing and Rhetoric. She’s originally from Galveston, Texas and is a board member for The Ricky Roa Memorial Scholarship fund. Her love for writing began at a young age, and she mostly enjoys writing poetry and short fiction. Some of her favorite genres include mystery, romance, thriller and science fiction. Outside of writing, Katarina loves to read, cook, sing, play her ukulele, watch softball and annoy her three cats.