Authors: Chantel Acevedo and Donna Barba Higuera

Chantel Acevedo and Donna Barba Higuera, members of the author collective Las Musas, share their latest and upcoming works, discuss cultural elements in their work, a bit about what inspires them and advice they have for young writers. This conversation will be great for kids and adults alike. 

Watch on YouTube: 

Chantel Acevedo  is the author of the novels Love and Ghost Letters,  A Falling Star, The Distant Marvels, which was a finalist for the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and, The Living Infinite, hailed by Booklist as a "vivid and enthralling tale of love and redemption." Muse Squad: The Cassandra Curse, Acevedo's new middle grade duology (called "Riveting and suspenseful" by School Library Journal) was published by Balzer + Bray in 2020. The sequel, MUSE SQUAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TENTH, published in July of 2021. She is Professor of English at the University of Miami, where she directs the MFA program. 

Donna Barba Higuera grew up in central California surrounded by agricultural and oil fields. As a child, rather than dealing with the regular dust devils, she preferred spending recess squirreled away in the janitor’s closet with a good book. Barba Higuera is the author of Lupe Wong Won't Dance, El Cucuy is Scared, Too! and The Last Cuentista. Her Middle Grade and Picture Books are about kids who find themselves in odd or scary situations. Barba Higuera lives in Washington State with her family, three dogs and two frogs. 

Las Musas is a collective of women and non-binary (identifying on the female spectrum) Latinx Picture Book, Middle Grade, Chapter Book, and Young Adult authors.  Their mission is to spotlight the new contributions of Las Musas in the evolving canon of children's literature and celebrate the diversity of voice, experience, and power in our communities.  

Chantel Acevedo - Website

Donna Barba Higuera - Website

Las Musas Books - Website