Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! We are honoring some of the leading Hispanic authors of our time this week and I’d like to share some of my favorites with you. Here are a few authors and their works we’ve read the past few years:
Charmaine Wilkerson
Wilkerson is a Carribean-American author and journalist who’s debut novel Black Cake explores her family’s heritage through food. The book was been picked up by Harpo Productions and a movie was released on Hulu last year. Her sophomore book Deluge was released in 2023 without much fanfare, but if it’s anything like her debut, it’s sure to be a hit!
Maria Amparo Escandon
This Mexican-American author may be my favorite on the list to be completely honest. Her first book Esperanza’s Box of Saints was released in 1999, but I did not discover her until her third release LA Weather caught my attention on Kindle. With a unique approach to show family drama amid cultural influences from both their currently country and their homeland. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the table next!
Sandra Cisneros
Cisneros is the Latin author I have read the most on this list. With family in both Mexico and Chicago, Cisneros has utilized her personal experiences and family legacies as inspiration for so many of her works. I first discovered her through Caramelo, but her debut The House on Mango Street will forever be my favorite of her writings!
Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez
This author originally found fame through a TED Talk about her heritage and experience growing up in America to illegal immigrant parents. She released her memoir earlier this year. If you, like me, don’t know a lot about what these kids experience, especially when a parent is deported, you need to read this book!
Christina Henriquez
This is another Hispanic author I discovered earlier this year. The Great Divide isn’t Henriquez’s first novel, but garnered national attention right out of the gate! Following the construction of the Panama Canal, this book pulls on Henriquez’s experiences spending time with her paternal family in the country as well as their experiences during the construction. Again, this was a topic I haven’t read about much and found myself learning so much through her fictional writing.
Kirstin Valez Quade
This writer is the Hispanic author I’ve most recently been introduced to with her debut collection of short stories Night at the Fiestas. She is another author who juxtaposes family drama against the cultural differences between her Mexican and American heritage.
What are you reading for Hispanic Heritage Month? Tell me about your favorite Hispanic authors in the comments!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: The Lost Summers of Newport, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White
- Current audio book: The Burning of Washington, Anthony S. Pitch
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew Perry
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