Who Are Las Musas?
We are the first collective of Latinx women and otherwise marginalized people whose gender identity aligns with femininity, writing and/or illustrating in traditional children's literature who have to come together in an effort to support and amplify each other’s debut or sophomore novels in US children’s literature. Titles by Las Musas are published by major houses including Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic), Charlesbridge, Disney-Hyperion, Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), Knopf, Lee & Low, Page Street, Scholastic, Tor Teen and Walden Pond Press (Harper Collins), and Simon & Schuster.
The Latinx community is an incredibly vast and diverse group of people that includes Afro-Latinx, Indigenous Latinx, Asian Latinx, white Latinx, and any and all combinations of race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Latinx is not tied to any specific race, but is rather a classification term referring to people with cultural ties to Latin America. Las Musas represent Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, just to name a few.
We are not one voice, but many.
Our Mission
To spotlight the contribution of Las Musas in the evolving canon of children's literature and celebrate the diversity of voice, experience, and power in our communities.
Why Is Our Work Important?
The Latinx community is an incredibly diverse group spanning over 52 million people in the US alone, but...
While it is exciting that these new Latinx titles will be part of changing these statistics, there is still so much work to be done to achieve equitable representation in mainstream publishing. It is incumbent on publishing gatekeepers to see and understand our diversity and the books and authors that are privileged within that diversity especially as it pertains to race, class and gender.
Las Musas have come together, in an unprecedented effort, to amplify and support our work so that it is clear that there is, in fact, room for all of our stories and that they only begin to scratch the surface of what represents the Latinx community. We believe our alliance will help lift every single voice in solidarity and will provide a broader understanding of Latinx diversity to young readers thereby building a more just and empathic world.
Meet Las Musas via the drop down navigation above and read more about our ongoing conversation on gender here.
History
On August 28, 2018 Las Musas debuted with 12 members (J.C. Cervantes, Tami Charles, Mia García, Isabel Ibañez, Michelle Ruiz Keil, Tehloy Kay Mejia, Yamile Saied Méndez, Nina Moreno, Claribel Ortega, Emma Otheguy, Laura Pohl, and Aida Salazar) and has now grown to over 70 members encompassing Debut Musas, Madrinas, and Hermanas.
In August 2021 our language in regards to gender was updated from:
A collective of women and non-binary (identifying on the female spectrum) Latinx Picture Book, Middle Grade, and Young Adult debut authors.
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.
We are the first collective of Latinx women and otherwise marginalized people whose gender identity aligns with femininity, writing and/or illustrating in traditional children's literature who have to come together in an effort to support and amplify each other’s debut or sophomore novels in US children’s literature. Titles by Las Musas are published by major houses including Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic), Charlesbridge, Disney-Hyperion, Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), Knopf, Lee & Low, Page Street, Scholastic, Tor Teen and Walden Pond Press (Harper Collins), and Simon & Schuster.
The Latinx community is an incredibly vast and diverse group of people that includes Afro-Latinx, Indigenous Latinx, Asian Latinx, white Latinx, and any and all combinations of race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Latinx is not tied to any specific race, but is rather a classification term referring to people with cultural ties to Latin America. Las Musas represent Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, just to name a few.
We are not one voice, but many.
Our Mission
To spotlight the contribution of Las Musas in the evolving canon of children's literature and celebrate the diversity of voice, experience, and power in our communities.
Why Is Our Work Important?
The Latinx community is an incredibly diverse group spanning over 52 million people in the US alone, but...
While it is exciting that these new Latinx titles will be part of changing these statistics, there is still so much work to be done to achieve equitable representation in mainstream publishing. It is incumbent on publishing gatekeepers to see and understand our diversity and the books and authors that are privileged within that diversity especially as it pertains to race, class and gender.
Las Musas have come together, in an unprecedented effort, to amplify and support our work so that it is clear that there is, in fact, room for all of our stories and that they only begin to scratch the surface of what represents the Latinx community. We believe our alliance will help lift every single voice in solidarity and will provide a broader understanding of Latinx diversity to young readers thereby building a more just and empathic world.
Meet Las Musas via the drop down navigation above and read more about our ongoing conversation on gender here.
History
On August 28, 2018 Las Musas debuted with 12 members (J.C. Cervantes, Tami Charles, Mia García, Isabel Ibañez, Michelle Ruiz Keil, Tehloy Kay Mejia, Yamile Saied Méndez, Nina Moreno, Claribel Ortega, Emma Otheguy, Laura Pohl, and Aida Salazar) and has now grown to over 70 members encompassing Debut Musas, Madrinas, and Hermanas.
In August 2021 our language in regards to gender was updated from:
A collective of women and non-binary (identifying on the female spectrum) Latinx Picture Book, Middle Grade, and Young Adult debut authors.
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.
|
|
|
"Mujeres Leyendo" by Carlos Terres (Mexico)