Palabra Power: 10 Latina Authors You Need to Know

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Every few years when you least expect it a new crop of talented Latina authors who’ve dedicated tumultuous years honing their craft and writing in solitude, finally give birth to debut works that begin to slowly get noticed by U.S. readers and thus catch on fire.

Who are some of these essential Latina writers breaking into the national literary landscape at the moment? The following ten writers have demanded that the world take notice of their fierceness on the page. In the descriptions below you’ll see how the zeitgeist in Latina literature is not only centered on identity anymore but in the world of young adult fiction, science fiction, dystopian futures and fantasy settings. There are also unabashed queer stories, erotica scenes, and even one author writing for Marvel comics about a Latina superhero named none other than America.

10Jenny Torres Sanchez 

Jenny Torres Sanchez BeLatina
Photo Credit IG @jennytsanchez

Born in Brooklyn, this Pushcart nominated author specializing in tales for teens about heavy family issues, has garnered a following due to her deftly written scenes about the psychological underpinnings of eating disorders, mental illness, assaults and death. In Because of the Sun, her YA novel delicately explores the depths of a young person losing a parent. The book’s main character Dani reads The Stranger by Albert Camus and instantly feels a connection with Camus’ main character’s alienation after his mother’s death mirrors her own. Her latest book The Fall of Innocence (Penguin Random House, 2018) was pegged by her publisher as a “Lovely Bones meets Celeste Ng” for teens in a tragic novel that examines the crippling–and far-reaching–effects of one person’s trauma on her family, her community, and herself. A starred review by Kirkus said “Sanchez deftly shows the long-lasting impact of the assault.”

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