by WB Senior Intern Jackie Gonzalez
National Hispanic Heritage Month traditionally honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latinx Americans celebrating the heritage rooted throughout Latin American countries.
As we celebrate and honor Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ve put together a list of 5 of our favorite Latinx authors and Writing Barn friends. Within this list, you’ll find a diverse range of authors that bring to life their intersectional identities, experiences, cultures, and histories throughout each page of their written works.
Gloria Amescua
Gloria has been writing poems and stories since she was a child, and now she’s crafted quite the impressive list of award-winning books. She enjoys writing books that reach a young person’s heart, mind, or tickles a funny bone.
Gloria’s lyrical picture book biography, Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua (2021), illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, was awarded a Pura Belpré Author Honor. It was also a co-winner of the Américas Award, and received three International Latino Book Awards (English): Alda Flor Ada (Gold), Best Educational (Gold) and Most Inspirational (Bronze). It was listed as a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, ALA Notable Books, SLJ’s Best Books 2021 and various other Best of Nonfiction/Informative lists for 2021/2022. Her book was also a 2022 SCBWI Golden Kite finalist for nonfiction text for Young Readers. Her poetry has also been published in a variety of literary journals and anthologies.
Gloria also works closely with The Writing Barn in many capacities. She was part of the NF Kidlit Confab faculty, has attended many WB writing sessions, and is a proud WB Success Story. Read more about Gloria’s impressive writing career here.
Debbie Zapata
Debbie grew up in a multi-cultural family in Austin, Texas, and often found herself hanging out at places that brought people together like public parks, community rec centers, and local libraries. Taking inspiration from her upbringing, Debbie believes that kids need characters who look like them and who overcome obstacles and make a difference in the world. Her uplifting debut picture book, Up and Adam, is a perfect example of how her characters celebrate diversity with heart and humor while doing extraordinary things. She also celebrates diversity by paying tribute to her Mexican American culture in her stories.
Debbie has received the Austin SCBWI Scholarship for Creators of Diverse Worlds in 2018 and 2020 and was one of the top finalists for the 2018 We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) Mentorship Contest.
Debbie attended Write. Submit. Support. sessions at The Writing Barn and shared her Success Story with us! Check out Debbie’s website here.
Adrianna Cuevas
Adrianna Cuevas is a first generation Cuban American originally from Miami, Florida, but now happily calls Austin, Texas her home. After teaching Spanish and ESOL for sixteen years, she decided to pursue her passion for storytelling.
Her 2021 Pura Belpré honor book, The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, is a sweeping, emotional middle grade historical novel about a twelve-year-old boy who leaves his family in Cuba to immigrate to the U.S. by himself, based on the author’s family history. Some of her other works include Cuba in My Pocket, and the upcoming The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto, due April 2023.
Adrianna is also a WB Youth Instructor and was listed as one of the “Funny Women of Kidlit Confab Faculty.” Find out more about Adrianna’s passion for writing here.
Michael Genhart
Michael is a Mexican-Swiss licensed clinical psychologist and writer. He is the author of numerous picture books. His two most recent releases are: May Your Life Be Deliciosa, which is a culturally rich story inspired by his family and features the Mexican tradition of tamale-making, and They’re So Flamboyant!
In 2021, Michael was listed as an author on a trip to Mexico, written by an intern from the Texas Book Festival, and you can read all about it here.
Learn more about Michael here.
Ana Siqueira
Ana Siqueira is a Spanish-language elementary teacher, and an award-winning Brazilian children’s author. You may have seen her picture book El Pato Quiere Uvas published in the foreign Language educational market.
Her other works include Bella’s Recipe for Disaster/Success, and If Your Babysitter is a Bruja/Cuando tu Niñera es una Bruja.
In addition to her writing and education career, Ana is also a WB Fellow and will be teaching an upcoming class at The Writing Barn: Pace, Pagination, and Page Turners. See what else Ana is up to here.
Nicholas Solis
Nicholas Solis is an award-winning elementary teacher, author, and illustrator in Austin, Texas. Some of his works include The Staring Contest, My Town, Mi Pueblo, and The Color Collector.
He has won multiple awards for his work, including the Walter Dean Myers Grant and the Austin SCBWI’s 2020 Creators of Diverse Worlds Scholarship. He was also nominated for the Austin SCBWI Cynthia Leitich Smith Writing Mentor Award.
In addition to his impressive teaching and writing career, Nicholas is also a WB Fellow, Success Story, and Writing Barn Youth Instructor. Learn more about Nicholas and the many hats he wears here.
About the Author
Jacqueline Gonzalez is a writer and editor and currently resides in Corpus Christi, Texas. She has a BA in English from Texas A&M University -Corpus Christi and an MA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a contributing writer for The Bend Magazine and Visit Corpus Christi, and she is currently working on her first short story collection. Outside of writing, she enjoys reading, watching true crime documentaries, and spending time with her family, dog, and cat.