Why Do You Write? Urban Teens Speak Out
Last month, I spent a fun and inspiring afternoon at Arts & Media Prep High School in Brooklyn, New York, where author Fatima Shaik and I spoke to a group of 13 students, mostly ninth graders. The...
View ArticleFrom Undocumented Immigrant to Author: An Interview with Maria E. Andreu
Last week I reviewed the powerful young adult novel The Secret Side of Empty (Running Press Kids, 2014), the story of a 17-year-old immigrant from Argentina whose life reaches an impasse because she...
View ArticleNew Orleans Stories, Before and After Hurricane Katrina: What Went Missing...
The end of last month marked the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States. All week there were television specials, newspaper and...
View ArticleChicano Children’s Authors and Representation at the PEN World Voices Festival
For the last two years I have been in Portugal during the PEN World Voices Festival, but this year I was able to attend for the first time in a while. I used to work a festival blogger, one of the high...
View Article“Won’t Know Much About History”: PEN Presents at the Brooklyn Book Festival
I apologize for this late post, the result of a busy schedule beginning with the Brooklyn Book Festival over the weekend. One of the perks of living in New York City — and there are many to outweigh...
View ArticleA Translator in Trouble
Tonight I attended a holiday party sponsored by the PEN American Center, an organization of writers committed to freedom of expression. Each year, this New York City-based organization hosts the event,...
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