Author Gina María Balibrera discusses her novel The Volcano Daughters with Ash Huang. Inspired by the women erased from El Salvador’s official history, this sweeping story spans generations of women whose lives are shaped by dictatorship, revolution and resilience. Blending magical realism, folklore and historical fiction, the novel explores memory, identity and resistance, with insights into its creation and the histories that inspired it.
Purchase books and meet the author in the lobby after the program.
This program is presented in English with Spanish interpretation available.
Gina María Balibrera is a Salvadoran American writer and educator whose work centers on memory, migration and social justice. She has taught writing and literature at various institutions and is a co-founder of the Taller Leñateros-inspired writing collective in the U.S. The Volcano Daughters, her debut novel, has been widely praised for its poetic language and inventive structure, earning recognition for its contribution to contemporary Latin American and diaspora literature.
Ash Huang is the author of The Secret Lives of Immortals, forthcoming in 2027 from Orbit and Redhook. She has been published in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Nightmare, Lightspeed, Ecotone, Orion’s Belt, and elsewhere. A winner of the Diverse Worlds Grant from the Speculative Literature Foundation, she is a grateful alum of the Roots. Wounds. Words. Workshop, Tin House Winter Workshop, and the Periplus Fellowship. She was a Reading Fellow for Tin House Workshop and a Brown Handler Resident with Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. She is currently a Fiction Editor at Orion’s Belt.
Author Readings & Lectures
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On The Same Page
On The Same Page is a bimonthly city-wide read.
¡VIVA!: Latinx Interest
Connect to engaging discussions and performances related to the Latinx community.
¡VIVA! at the Library is a celebration of Latinx heritage, cultures and traditions. San Francisco has a rich Latinx heritage that is highlighted in a diverse array of exciting programs for all ages, from Spanish/bilingual storytimes to cooking classes, author talks to art and cultural presentations.