The Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities and the Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Department

in cooperation with the María E. Sánchez Center for Latino Studies; Brooklyn College Office of Diversity and Equity Program; English Department; Children and Youth Studies; Childhood, Bilingual, and Special Education Department; Caribbean Student Union; and Puerto Rican Alliance

Present:

Youth Literature and the Latinx Diaspora

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Woody Tanger Auditorium

or Livestream via code below

The event will explore youth literature as expressions of the Latinx diaspora. Authors will discuss their writing process, craft, and the factors that influence their writing. The panel aims to amplify these stories and contribute to the analysis of the role of youth literature in discussions of Latinidad. The panel will be followed by book giveaways and signing.

Carla España (she/her) is Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education and Puerto Rican/Latinx and Latin American Studies at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Her love of stories and teaching comes from her early childhood in Chile. She is the co-author of En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students.

Lorraine Avila is a Bronxite storyteller with roots in the Dominican Republic. Avila spent a decade as an educator in the K-12 education system. Her mission is to continue to rupture  traditions of silence. Avila is the author of Malcriada and Other Stories, Celestial Summer, and The Making of Yolanda La Bruja (forthcoming April 2023 from Levine Querido).

Saraciea J. Fennell is a Black Honduran writer, publicist, and the founder of The Bronx is Reading. Fennell sits on the board for Latinx in Publishing as well as on the Advisory Board of People of Color in Publishing. She lives in the Bronx with her family and dog, Oreo. Fennell is the editor of Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed:15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora.

Camille Gomera-Tavarez is an Afro-Dominican writer, designer, and creative from New Jersey. She has a BFA in Graphic Design & Creative Writing from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is currently based in Philadelphia, PA. High Spirits is her debut.

Elisabet Velasquez is a Brooklyn Born Boricua. She is a mother of two. Her poems are an exploration of her life. When We Make It is her debut novel. Her work is featured in Muzzle Magazine, Winter Tangerine, Centro Voces, Latina Magazine, Longreads, We Are Mitú, Tidal, and Martín Espada’s anthology What Saves Us: Poems of Empathy and Outrage in the Age of Trump.

Ibi Zoboi is the New York Times bestselling author of American Street, a National Book Award finalist; Pride; My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich; Star Child; Okoye to the People; the Walter Award–winning Punching the Air, cowritten with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam; and the Coretta Scott King Honor–winning picture book The People Remember. She is also the editor of the anthology Black Enough. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her family. You can find her online at ibizoboi.net.

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