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.

7Zoraida Córdova

Zoraida Cordova BeLatina
Photo Credit IG @zoraidasolo

Córdova was not happy about the “fairy white world” of YA literature and the fantasy genre. So she decided to speak out against the lack of people of color writers in these genres and then fill it with her own work. And she hasn’t stopped producing tale after tale of fantasy aimed at young people since her first book in 2012. Born in Ecuador and raised in Queens, the author of The Vicious Deep (Sourcebooks Fire), her debut YA novel about a young kid who discovers that he’s a merman is a lot like what Cordova sees as being Latino. “He’s basically part of two worlds figuratively and metaphorically. For a lot of Latinos, it’s the same way.” Cordova is also the award-winning author of the Brooklyn Brujas series (Sourcebooks) what the New York Times said: “In Córdova’s world, the Brooklyn we love is also a borough where particularly evil brujas run bakeries and where old brownstones serve as headquarters for the magical pros …Fantasy and zombie fans looking for flavor — organ-meat, in particular — will not leave disappointed.” Upcoming from Cordova is Incendiary, book one in the Hollow Crown duology to be published by Disney/Hyperion in 2020.