Katrina Carrasco writes novels, short stories, and essays. Her debut novel, THE BEST BAD THINGS (MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018), was a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards and Washington State Book Awards, and won the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel. She has received support from the Corporation of Yaddo, Jentel, Artist Trust, and other residencies and arts organizations. This is Katrina's third year as a mentor with Latinx in Publishing, and she also mentors writers through the UCLA Alumni Mentor Program. Katrina completed her MFA in Fiction in June 2015. She is working on a new novel.

Lulu Delacre, a three-time Pura Belpré Award honoree and New York Times bestselling illustrator, has been writing and illustrating children's books since 1980. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico to Argentinean parents. Her 42 titles include Arroz con Leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America, ¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! / Olinguito, from A to Z, and Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos. Among her latest works are the art of Turning Pages by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Luci Soars. Delacre has lectured internationally and served as a juror for the National Book Awards. Reading is Fundamental honored her with a Champion of Children’s Literacy Award. Visit her at www.luludelacre.com.

Elizabeth Gonzalez James is Interviews Editor at The Rumpus. She is the author of MONA AT SEA, available now from SFWP, and THE BULLET SWALLOWER, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in 2023. Originally from South Texas, Elizabeth now lives with her family in Massachusetts.

Jasminne Mendez is a Dominican-American poet, playwright, translator and award winning author of several books for children and adults. She is the author of two hybrid memoirs, Island of Dreams (Floricanto Press) and Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays and Poetry (Arte Público Press). Her second YA memoir, Islands Apart: Becoming Dominican American (Arte Público Press) is forthcoming in May 2022 and her debut poetry collection, City Without Altar, was a finalist for the Noemi Press Book Award for Poetry and will be released in August 2022. Her debut middle grade book Anina del Mar Jumps In (Dial) is a novel in verse about a young girl diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis is set to release in 2023. Her debut picture book Josefina’s Habichuelas (Arte Público Press), was released last year. Based in Houston, she is co-founder of the Latinx literary arts organization Tintero Projects and co-host of Inkwell, a poetry and writing podcast series.

Luis Alejandro Ordóñez is a Venezuelan writer born in Boston, MA. He obtained a Political Science degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela, and he was a professor of Political Communication at the Journalism School of the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. He has worked as an editor, copywriter, proofreader, translator, Spanish teacher, and bookseller. He has published Si me muero, abre estos archivos (Suburbano Ediciones, 2021), The Last New York Times (Katakana Editores, 2020, translated by José Ángel Navejas), El último New York Times (Suburbano Ediciones, 2018), and Play (Ars Communis, 2015). He has been part of anthologies of writers who live in the United States and write in Spanish, such as Enviado especial (Suburbano Ediciones), Diáspora (Vaso Roto), Pertenencia and Trasfondos (both of Ars Communis), and Escritorxs Salvajes (Hypermedia). In 2014 he won the II Literary Prize in Spanish from Northeastern Illinois University for the story “Doble Negación.” With “Librero,” he won the Severo Ochoa Micro-Story Contest of the Cervantes Institute library in Chicago.

Carlos José Pérez Sámano was born in Mexico City. His books Corazón fresco (Sinaí, 2007); África sueño de sombras largas (Ad Zurdum, 2012); Cuentos desde aquí (Ad Zurdum, 2013); and Ella decía ser mi esposa (ERRR, 2014) span the genres of fiction, poetry and memoir. In 2019 he obtained the Poetry Fellowship at Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. In 2021 he was named the first artist in residence by the Penn Museum. That same year he was awarded Everyday Genius by Da Vinci Arts Alliance and I Belong Philly in recognition to his leadership through writing and the impact that his work had in the city of Philadelphia. Carlos is the Executive Director of the Mexican Global Network, Philadelphia Chapter. He is the host of Booktitlan radio program and A Doble Espacio podcast. He is one of the founders of the project Philibros: a network of street libraries in Spanish for the immigrant community in South Philadelphia. Currently he is writing an opera about decolonization and the feminine presence in history, to be presented by Orchestra Opera National in Montpellier, France, in the 2023 season.

Jose Pimienta is a Latinx cartoonist residing in Glendale, California, where they draw comics. They have worked with Random House Graphic, Iron Circus Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Disney Digital Network, and more. During their upbringing in the city of Mexicali, Mexico, Jose was influenced by animation, music and comic strips. After high school, they ventured towards the state of Georgia where they studied at Savannah College of Art and Design. Once they graduated, they drove back to California. They also love to walk.

Claudia Armann has a journalism degree and earned a prestigious Associated Press Minority Internship. She worked for five years in the magazine industry as a research editor at Hispanic Business and ISLANDS magazines. She's authored four unpublished novels which feature Latinx protagonists and diverse characters. To hone her skills, Claudia participated in the Writer-to-Writer mentorship program with the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. For the last two decades, she has had a career in philanthropy and currently serves as Executive Director of the McCune Foundation, a philanthropic enterprise concerned with social justice issues in California. There, she helped established the 805 UndocuFund which raised and distributed more than $8 million for undocumented immigrants affected by wildfires and the pandemic. Claudia is the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, and her family background and years working with the Latinx community inform her novels. Claudia enjoys time spent outdoors, traveling, and learning Italian.

Jaime Arredondo was born in Dallas to Mexican American Tejano parents. His mother was a direct descendant of land-owning Spanish families in Texas dating back to the 1600’s. His father was Otomi, a large Native American nation originating from Central Mexico. His parents filled his imagination with stories of the borderlands and Mexico, of land, of conquest, of love and betrayal, of spirit and of soul. After graduating from Yale with an MFA in painting, he has had numerous one person and group shows in galleries and museums. He is the recipient of numerous awards, and in 2009 his paintings were published as stamps by the United Nations. In 2015 he was commissioned to create a permanent art project for the MTA comprised of 36 mosaics installed at the Zerega Station in the Bronx, entitled “Garden of Earthly Delight.” In 2019 he created 65 illustrations on the Popol Vuh, the ancient Mayan creation myth of the Universe, and they were shown at the Gallatin Gallery at NYU. In 2023, they will be shown for a 4-month exhibition at the Irving Archives and Museum, a Smithsonian Museum Affiliate. During his Latinx in Publishing mentorship he is working on “Sisters of the Underworld”, an illustrated story inspired by the Popol Vuh. He currently teaches at NYU and The New School, and lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

Veronica Cárdenas is passionate about writing. She is integrating her experience as a first-generation Latina and immigration attorney into stories. In addition to her English degree from Montclair State University, Veronica also received a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School. Veronica has mentored college students and taught immigration in various capacities. Veronica has spent the past three years working on her craft and is excited to participate in the Latinx In Publishing Mentorship. You can find Veronica playing battleship or Uno with her husband and two children when she's not writing or teaching.

Patricia Gonzalez Armstrong is a Dominican and Puerto Rican writer from Union City, NJ. In 2015, Patricia decided to take a leap of faith when she wrote and self-published her children’s chapter book, The Grand Adventures of Paddy and Fenway. In 2020, Patricia participated in the “Writing from the Womb” workshop hosted by Alicia Anabel Santos. This workshop allowed Patricia to dig deeper into her writing, kickstarting her passion for novel writing. When she isn’t scribbling away in a notebook, Patricia is busy chasing after her three daughters, dog, and loving husband.

Leah Jordain (she/her) is a biracial Latina with roots in Ecuador, Colombia, and Argentina. The daughter of an Ecuadorian immigrant, she grew up in a mix of cultures, languages, and sarcasm, all of which feature heavily in her books. An intersectional Latina with both physical and learning disabilities, she is passionate about making sure people of all ages and marginalizations are able to see themselves in literature. Leah graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and is a former Author Mentor Match mentee. When not writing, she can be found baking or playing musical instruments.

Felicity Landa holds an MFA from UC Riverside Palm Desert, and is a graduate of the Cal State Long Beach Creative Writing program, where she earned the Horn Scholarship for her fiction. Her work has appeared in Capulet Mag, The Sunlight Press, Raising Mothers, and elsewhere. She is a Fiction Editor for Literary Mama, a screenwriter, and has served as nonfiction editor of The Coachella Review. A mom of two creative and rambunctious girls, she lives with her family on California's Central Coast. Read more at www.felicitylanda.com.