 UPDATE: As of August 2021, our language has been updated to:
"Las Musas is a collective of Latinx women and otherwise marginalized people whose gender identity aligns with femininity, writing and/or illustrating in traditional children's literature. Our mission is to spotlight the new contributions of Las Musas in the evolving canon of children's literature and celebrate the diversity of voice, experience, and power in our communities." - March 30, 2020 A collective of women and non-binary (identifying on the female spectrum) Latinx Picture Book, Middle Grade and Young Adult debut authors. Our mission is to spotlight the new contributions of Las Musas in the evolving canon of children's literature and celebrate the diversity of voice, experience, and power in our communities.” With this text heading our website, Las Musas wanted to take a moment to clarify our language and our intentions regarding gender in this group. We arrived at this wording after a thoughtful group questioned the ambiguity of our original terminology of “women and nonbinary authors.” Our current wording still feels imperfect, so we thought it would be best to explain in more detail. Las Musas was always meant to be a space for Latina authors (cis or trans), who face specific though varied roadblocks and responses from a largely cisgender white patriarchal publishing industry. (While we seek alliance with binary Latinos in publishing, we exist as a unique and separate entity. This in no way disregards the difficulties faced by the Latinx community of all genders, nor the intricate prejudices within the community.) In our ever growing evolution of understanding, we quickly realized that limiting our collective to binary genders would deny community to Latinx authors who faced similar and in some cases more severe roadblocks. At the same time, we don’t want anyone to be hurt or caught off guard when the group uses language or focuses on experience that center womanhood. What this all means is that we do not want to police or gatekeep anyone’s entrance into Las Musas. If you want to be a Musa, we want you here. If you feel that your writing career is impacted by your proximity to femininity, we want to uplift your voice. If you have any questions about this, have a suggestion for how we can word this all more clearly in ten words or less at the top of our website, or want to point out a flaw in our thinking, please reach out so that we can make sure we are achieving our goal of creating a unified and inclusive community. xo
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Las Musas wishes Kim Baker the happiest of book birthdays for her release of the middle-grade novel, The Water Bears.
Las Musas wishes a happy book birthday to Zara González Hoang on the release of her picture book A New Kind of Wild! What does it feel like to move to a new city, leaving behind what you knew and loved? Can you find “a new kind of wild” in a strange new place? Zara González Hoang explores these questions in her magical and colorful author-illustrator debut, A New Kind of Wild, which “is an imaginative exploration of the true meaning of ‘home.’” Alexandra Alessandri interviews Zara about her inspiration and process, but first, here’s a description of this stunning book: This sweet author-illustrator debut celebrates imagination, the magic of friendship, and all the different ways we make a new place feel like home.  For Ren, home is his grandmother's little house, and the lush forest that surrounds it. Home is a place of magic and wonder, filled with all the fantastical friends that Ren dreams up. Home is where his imagination can run wild.
For Ava, home is a brick and cement city, where there's always something to do or see or hear. Home is a place bursting with life, where people bustle in and out like a big parade. Home is where Ava is never lonely because there's always someone to share in her adventures. When Ren moves to Ava's city, he feels lost without his wild. How will he ever feel at home in a place with no green and no magic, where everything is exactly what it seems? Of course, not everything in the city is what meets the eye, and as Ren discovers, nothing makes you feel at home quite like a friend. We couldn’t be more thrilled to share Raquel Vasquez Gilliland’s interview with Loriel Ryon, author of INTO THE TALL, TALL GRASS. But first, here’s a description of this magical, middle grade novel:  A girl journeys across her family’s land to save her grandmother’s life.
Yolanda Rodríguez-O’Connell has a secret. All the members of her family have a magical gift—all, that is, except for Yolanda. Still, it’s something she can never talk about, or the townsfolk will call her family brujas—witches. When her grandmother, Wela, falls into an unexplained sleep, Yolanda is scared. Her father is off fighting in a faraway war, her mother died long ago, and Yolanda has isolated herself from her best friend and twin sister. If she loses her grandmother, who will she have left? When a strange grass emerges in the desert behind their house, Wela miraculously wakes, begging Yolanda to take her to the lone pecan tree left on their land. Determined not to lose her, Yolanda sets out on this journey with her sister, her ex-best friend, and a boy who has a crush on her. But what is the mysterious box that her grandmother needs to find? And how will going to the pecan tree make everything all right? Las Musas is thrilled to share Karla Valenti's interview with Claribel Orgeta about her upcoming novel Ghost Squad (Scholastic, 4/7/20), which Kirkus called a “warmly-spooky middle grade debut.” Before we dig in, here’s a teaser of this phantasmagoric adventure: For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.  Las Musas is pleased to wish a happy book birthday to Karla Valenti, author of Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence!  My Super Science Heroes: Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence by Karla Valenti Marie Curie is widely known for her achievements in physics and chemistry. But is she also a superhero? Karla Valenti answers that question by presenting a twist on the typical biography of Marie Curie, highlighting the perseverance and tenacity required for her to achieve success. Much to the delight of young readers, the story of Marie Curie’s life is juxtaposed with the tale of Super Evil Nemesis, a creature determined to stop Curie and the spread of knowledge. He sends his most devious minions on a mission to discourage Curie, who must use her brains and determination to fight against all the obstacles thrown in her way. Adrianna Cuevas interviewed Karla, the author of this engaging, informative, and inspiring biography.
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