Today we’d like to introduce you to Gloria Amescua.
Hi Gloria, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I’m an educator, poet, and children’s book writer. My debut lyrical picture book biography, Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, was published in 2021 and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. This biography tells “the remarkable story of how model and teacher Luz Jiménez became “the spirit of Mexico”—a living link between the indigenous Nahua and the rest of the world. Luz became a model for internationally celebrated 20th-century artists and worked with scholars to preserve the Nahuatl language and stories. Through her great pride in her roots and unshakeable spirit, the world came to recognize the beauty and strength of her people.”
I’ve been a writer since childhood, writing poems and stories. I’m proud of my Mexican American heritage. My father was from Mexico, and my mom was Mexican American. Growing up, we didn’t have books where I could see others like me. What saddens me is that I didn’t even question why we didn’t. I’m grateful for my parents’ emphasis on the importance of education. Neither one had the opportunity to receive much of an education. I grew up in the country outside Austin. I’m glad I could live at home and receive both my B. A. and M. Ed. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. I was a high school English teacher (nineteen years), a curriculum specialist at the Texas Education Agency, and an assistant principal. I retired as Director of Secondary Language Arts in RRISD after thirty-three years as an educator. I’m still an educator as I work with teachers and students in presentations about writing and my book (and forthcoming books). Along the way, I continued to write, mostly poetry and mostly sporadically, until I joined some local poetry groups. After I retired, I applied for and attended a Hedgebrook residency and became a CantoMundo fellow (a national poets’ group). My poetry has been published in a variety of literary journals and anthologies. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has published one of my poems in their national textbook literature series.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My journey as an educator and writer hasn’t been smooth, and it’s been a long one. We are educators because we care about the students. However, it’s almost a 24/7 career. I was a single parent for most of my child’s life. That left very little time for me to write. I mainly wrote for myself. However, I became more consistent in writing and presenting when I joined some poetry groups. After I retired and my two granddaughters were young, I decided to try writing children’s books. Starting in 2014, I took writing courses locally at The Writing Barn (TWB) and joined Austin’s Society of Children’s Book Writers and illustrators (SCBWI). Both were invaluable. I wrote several picture books during that time. However, it took until late 2018 to get an agent and a contract for my first book, 2019. I feel incredibly grateful to Bethany Hegedus, creative director and owner of TWB, for the courses she created and all the supportive writers I met through them. Having supportive groups and critique groups of writer friends is invaluable as writers go through all the ups and downs of the publishing journey.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
When I was 74 in 2021, Abrams Books for Young Readers published my first book, Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua. It has received many honors, which I didn’t expect, but truly appreciate. It received three starred reviews and was awarded a Pura Belpré Author Honor. It was also a co-winner of the Américas Award and received three International Latino Book Awards (English): Alda Flor Ada (Gold), Best Educational (Gold), and Most Inspirational (Bronze). It was listed as a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, American Library Association Notable Books, SLJ’s Best Books 2021, and various other Best of Nonfiction/Informative lists for 2021/2022. My book was also a 2022 SCBWI Golden Kite finalist for nonfiction text for Young Readers. Recently, it was honored as a 2023 Rise: Feminist Book Project Top Ten. https://
Since I was young, one of my dreams was to write at least one book and have it published. Later in life, I decided I had to try at least. I’m so glad I did. Do I wish I had believed in myself more when I was younger? I certainly do! However, I’m doing it now. It’s what I want to do in my third age. I turned 76 in mid-January, and I am still working on other books, meeting with a critique group, and have continued to take courses, webinars, read and study. I’m glad to be part of the fantastic Austin writing community and broader writing groups. I have a book under contract, another with a different publisher, and others waiting. I wish publishing picture books wasn’t a long process, but it is. I have a lot more I want to write and publish.
I want to focus on books that weren’t there for Latinx writers when I was young, that show important Latinx contributors in history. Books that empower kids to be proud of who they are. Books that help others understand people in our diverse communities, books about equality, social justice, and relationships. Our Latinx authors are finally being published and seen, but the numbers are minuscule compared to the proportion of our population. As I said earlier, I never saw books that reflected other Latinx people or me. I want to be one of the people that changes that.
My life-long goal has always been to open my mind and encourage others to improve their talents and skills. I want kids and adults to believe in themselves. I want them to be proud of their identity, history, and future. As an educator in all aspects, I want to impact students’ lives positively. As an author, I still feel the most joy when I connect with others, whether they are elementary-age, college students, teachers, or writers. I’m proud of the honors my book has received, but what means the most is that readers relate positively to what I’ve written.
How would we have described you growing up if we had known you growing up?
I grew up out in the country outside Austin, Texas, with a younger and an older brother. I was a quiet, shy kid who was curious and constantly thinking about everything around me. I played with my younger brother on the swings, seesaws, and stilts our father made. I often climbed into an old oak tree in our yard to read and dream about faraway places. Books were my passage to other worlds. The bookmobile van that stopped across the road at our neighbors’ house during the summer was a treasure. I can still feel the motor vibration, the cool air in the van, and the thrill of the search for books. I would leave with a towering stack that I could barely carry every two weeks. I also began to write poems, plays, and stories. As a kid and teenager, I felt I didn’t fit in because I was a Mexican American in Texas who grew up not speaking Spanish. Later, as an adult, I worked on regaining my culture and language and now reflect my heritage in the books I write. My third-grade teacher encouraged me to speak up because I was shy. She made a huge difference in my life because I took her words to heart and began to speak up, make friends, and be active in clubs and bands.
Pricing:
- • $18.99 Hardcover
- • $15.54 eBook
- • $7.99 Audiobook (narrated by Myra Vitela)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gloriaamescua.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gloriaamescuawriter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gloriaamescuawriter
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GloriaAmescua
Image Credits
Sam Bond Photography
