#wild beauty

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¡Qué bonita bandera! AKA what heritage(s) do you claim?

I’m Mexican-American, but my loved ones growing up weren’t all Mexican, so I’ll often use the term Latina.

When was the first time you saw yourself represented?

Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate.

How do you connect to your heritage through your books (if at all)?

The tradition of magical realism, the heritage of my main characters, the food they cook in their mothers’ kitchens, the bedtime stories they hear growing up.

What do you hope for the future of Latinx books?

That Latinx readers can find themselves in whatever kind of book they’re looking for, and that more books feature main characters with intersectional identities.

What is the book that inspired you to write for kids/teens?

The Chronicles of NarniaorThe Little Prince.

What are you writing now?

My bi Latina girls and enchanted murderous gardens novel, Wild Beauty,is out on October 3, and I’m currently working on Blanca & Roja,a Latinx retelling of Snow-White & Rose-Red meets Swan Lake, slated for 2018.

Anna-Marie McLemore(she/her) was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and taught by her family to hear la llorona in the Santa Ana winds. She is the author of THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, a finalist for the 2016 William C. Morris Debut Award, and 2017 Stonewall Honor Book WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. Her latest is WILD BEAUTY, and BLANCA & ROJA is forthcoming in fall of 2018.