Congratulations to Cuban American author, Meg Medina, who on January 18, 2023, was named national ambassador for young people's literature by the Library of Congress. Medina is taking over the role from Jason Reynolds and has become the FIRST Latina to hold the position.
As reported by NBC, “Medina will be promoting books and libraries, but she said that with her job as ambassador she also hopes to encourage parents and families not to undervalue their oral stories of "how we came to be, of the people who loved us, the people still over there loving us [in the case of immigrant families], the people who imagined us before we ever were." Sharing oral stories, she said, is pivotal for developing basic literacy in children.”
Latinx In Publishing is proud to support Medina and looks forward to what she will accomplish during her time as ambassador for young people’s literature.
Photo credit: Scott Elmquist
Meg Medina is current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist, and which was followed by two more acclaimed books about the Suárez family: Merci Suárez Can’t Dance and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award, and which will be published in 2023 as a graphic novel illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, Jumpstart’s 2020 Read for the Record selection; Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book; and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award; and the biography for young readers She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia. [https://megmedina.com/]
