Highlights from the Latinx KidLit Book Festival's Panel with LGBTQ+ Latinx Writers!

 

clockwise from top left: Jonny Garza Villa, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Aiden Thomas, Mark Oshiro, and Laura Pohl.

I so enjoyed watching this discussion with Jonny Garza Villa (FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN), Anna-Marie McLemore (DARK AND DEEPEST RED), Tehlor Kay Mejia (WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE), Mark Oshiro (EACH OF US A DESERT). Laura Pohl (THE LAST 8) and Aiden Thomas (CEMETERY BOYS)!

Moments that resonated for me included:

"Queerness is actually a very magical thing." –Aiden Thomas

"We're all kinds of works in progress in terms of identity... and that's okay and beautiful." –Anna-Marie McLemore

On not centering straight, cis, whiteness in his work: "these are the stories I want to tell...and who I am." –Mark Oshiro

"I would like this... but make it Gay." –Laura Pohl on finding her inspiration in other media

"For me, writing intersectional stories is a lot about having privilige in one area and not as much in another, and how you navigate that." –Tehlor Kay Mejia

'I want to celebrate everything I am now... to let kids/teens today know THEY can be themselves.' –Jonny Garza Villa

If you didn't catch it, you can watch the recorded panel discussion here.

My thanks to all the panelists!

Check out the Latinx KidLit Book Festival! (December 4-5, 2020)

I'm really excited about this online, free Latinx KidLit Book Festival - and especially delighted that there's a panel including Queer Latinx creatives in KidLit, DE COLORES: A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION WITH LGBTQ+ LATINX WRITERS (happening Friday, December 4, 2020, from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time EST) 

Here's that session description:

Being Latinx and anywhere within the LGBTQIA+ spectrums brings its own set of unique circumstances, often shaped by gendered language, heteronormative cultural norms, and deeply held religious teachings. Especially growing up, we can often feel the conflict between tradition and expectation against the pull of our heart and soul toward happiness, seeing and being seen as our complete selves. How do our experiences walking within these intersectional identities shape the stories we tell and what meaning do these identities carry across genres? Hear from authors Jonny Garza Villa (FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN), Anna-Marie McLemore (DARK AND DEEPEST RED), Tehlor Kay Mejia (WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE), Mark Oshiro (EACH OF US A DESERT). Laura Pohl (THE LAST 8) and Aiden Thomas (CEMETERY BOYS) on creating these powerful novels, and what shapes their stories, their characters, and their hopes for young LGBTQ+ readers who come across their writing.

Can't wait!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee