It’s the last day of Women’s History Month and what better way to keep the celebration going than ordering a bunch of books by and for trailblazing Latina authors? To help, we’re shining a light on the amazing mujeres who paved the way in the publishing industry by stacking awards. These barrier-breaking Latinas are here to inspire the rest of us. So let’s get reading:
Cynthia Pelayo
Cynthia Pelayo is the first Puerto Rican and Latina to win the Bram Stoker Award in the Poetry category for her poetry collection Crime Scene. She writes fairy tales that blend genres and explores grief, mourning, and cycles of violence. Her most recent work includes Loteria, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Though, and Forgotten Sisters.
Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral, the pen name of Chilean author Lucila Godoy Alcayaga was the first Latina to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mistral was well known for her poetry, including love poems in memory of the dead, Sonetos de la Muerte and Desolación. She held honorary degrees from the University of Florence and Guatemala and taught Spanish literature at Columbia University, Vassar College, and the University of Puerto Rico among others.
Meg Medina
Meg Medina is the first Cuban American and Latina to win the Newbery Medal for her novel Merci Suárez Changes Gears, and she is also the first Latina to be named The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Medina has written several books for young people, her notable young adult books include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass and Burn Baby Burn. Her picture books include Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away, She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor and Mango, Abuela and Me.
Jasminne Mendez
Jasminne Mendez is a Dominican American poet and author who is the first Afro-Latina to win the Texas Institute of Letters for Best Book of Poetry for her debut poetry collection City Without Altar. Mendez is also a playwright, translator, and audiobook narrator. Her most recent books include Aniana del Mar Jumps In, Josefina’s Habichuelas, and more. She also translated The 1619 Project: Born on the Water / El Proyecto 1619: Nacieron Sobre el Agua and Frizzy / Rizos.
Juana Martinez-Neal
Juana Martinez-Neal is the first Peruvian author-illustrator and first Latina to win the Caldecott Honor for her debut picture book Alma and How She Got Her Name. As of now, no Latina has ever won the Caldecott Medal. Martinez-Neal also won the Pura Belpré Medal for illustration for La Princesa and the Pea, and the Robert F. Sibert Medal for Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, written by Kevin Nbel Millard.
Elizabeth Acevedo
Elizabeth Acevedo is the first Dominican American and Latina to win the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for The Poet X. She also served as the 2022 Young People’s Poet Laureate and is a National Poetry Slam Champion. Her most notable books include Family Lore, Clap When You Land, and With the Fire on High.
Ada Limón
Ada Limón is the first Latina to serve as the Poet Laureate of the United States. She is the author of six books of poetry including The Carrying, Bright Dead Things, The Hurting Kind, and two children’s books, In Praise of Mystery and And, Too, The Fox. Limón was also named a TIME magazine Woman of the Year in 2024.
Natalie Diaz
Natalie Diaz is the first Latina to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Postcolonial Love Poem. She has received fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation and Native Arts Council Foundation and is the author of When My Brother Was an Aztec.
So celebrate women’s history year-round by checking out the work of these trailblazing Latina authors. There’s plenty to learn and enjoy in their barrier-breaking examples.
