Inside the Latinx Storyteller Conference: Alexandra Villasante, Michael Solis & Aida Salazar

04/21/25 • 23 min

¡Hola, Bookworms! Last fall, AGG and Sergio hit the Big Apple for the first-ever Latinx Storyteller Conference, hosted by the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival (LKBF). This unforgettable gathering brought together Latinx authors, artists, educators, and publishing professionals in celebration of our stories and our comunidad.

In this special bonus episode, we’re sharing on-the-ground interviews with three incredible voices in the literary world: Alexandra Villasante (co-founder of the conference), YA author Michael Solis, and poet-novelist Aida Salazar. From building spaces for Latinx creators to navigating the publishing world, these conversations are full of gems for writers, readers, and storytellers alike.

📍 The 2025 Latinx Storyteller Conference is coming up this fall (Sept 12–13 at Scholastic HQ in NYC) — and registration opens later this month!

✍🏽 Register & learn more here!
🗞️ Subscribe to the newsletter for early access to tickets, manuscript/portfolio consults, and behind-the-scenes content

🎥 Catch the video interviews on YouTube: @LosBookisPodcast
📲 Follow us: @Los.Bookis.Podcast | @adriangaston.garcia | @que_viva_sergio_lopez
📲 Follow the conference: @LKBFstorytellers on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok & Threads

Gracias for listening—and stay tuned for more bonus episodes from the conference!
Hasta luego, bookworms ✨📚
Produced by Antonio Caro.

📍 The 2025 Latinx Storyteller Conference is coming up this fall (Sept 12–13 at Scholastic HQ in NYC) — and registration opens later this month!

✍🏽 Register & learn more here!
🗞️ Subscribe to the newsletter for early access to tickets, manuscript/portfolio consults, and behind-the-scenes content

Gracias for listening—and stay tuned for more bonus episodes from the conference!
Hasta luego, bookworms ✨📚
Produced by Antonio Caro.

Previous Episode

Maricas

In this episode, AGG and Sergio sit down with Santiago Jose Sanchez to discuss their debut novel, exploring themes of immigrant families drifting apart, the struggle of feeling like someone else, and the journey to find belonging. They also delve into why they chose not to include a coming-out narrative in their book, the personal significance of Hombrecito, navigating pain and loss, and their experiences growing up in both Miami and Colombia.

About the Author: @sntsnchz
Santiago Jose Sanchez is a queer Colombian American writer and artist born in Ibagué, Colombia. Their stories have been featured in McSweeney’s Quarterly, ZYZZYVA, Subtropics, and Joyland. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Yale University, Sanchez teaches at Grinnell College and lives in Iowa, Miami, and New York City. Hombrecito is their debut novel.

About the Book: Hombrecito
Santiago Jose Sanchez plunges us into the heart of one boy’s life. His mother takes him and his brother from Colombia to America, leaving their absent father behind but disappearing herself once they get to Miami. As he grows, the boy embraces his queerness as wholeheartedly as he embraces his new home, but not without a sense of loss. His relationship with his mother becomes fraught, tangled, a love so intense that it borders on vivid pain but is also the axis around which his every decision revolves.

Connect with Los Bookis!
@Los.Bookis.Podcast
@adriangaston.garcia
@que_viva_sergio_lopez

Produced by Antonio Caro @agcaromaya