Latinx in Publishing (LxP): What do you do?
Kiara Valdez (KV): I am an Associate Editor at First Second, Macmillans graphic novel imprint.
LxP: How did you get started?
KV: I grew up an avid manga reader and knew since I was 16 that I wanted to be a graphic novel editor. After doing a few summer internships throughout college, I applied to First Second when I graduated and have been here since.
LxP: What do you wish you knew before getting into the industry?
KV: I wish I would have known that aside from the countless hours of answering emails everyday, a lot of the job of an editor relies on balancing different personalities and knowing how to deal with other humans to help the process run as smoothly as possible.
LxP: What book are you currently working on or reading?
KV: I am currently working on a dream acquisition that's very close to my heart and roots (pun intended). It's a middle-grade graphic novel called Frizzy by Claribel Ortega and Rose Bousamra. It's about an Afro-Dominican girl who stops straightening her hair and learns to embrace her natural curls. It comes out Fall 2022!
Kiara Valdez is an Afro-Dominican writer and associate editor at First Second Books. She was born and raised in New York City (shout out to Washington Heights) and has been an avid comics reader all her life. She graduated from Williams College with a double major in English Literature and Japanese, and spends her free time reading, writing, and enjoying a long list of other hobbies she can't keep up with. She is interested in middle grade and young adult graphic novels doing with magical realism, memoir, #ownvoices stories (especially those from Latinx creators), and stories with LGBTQ+ characters and romance. She likes stories that feel contemporary, real, and are grounded in our world regardless of the genre it’s in, and is a sucker for well-done resolutions/happy endings. The long list of First Second books she’s worked on include: Check, Please! series, Bloom, Kiss Number 8, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Snapdragon, and Himawari House.
