Charis welcomes author and editor Zoraida Córdova in conversation with contributors Mark Oshiro, Linda Raquel  Nieves Pérez, Claribel Ortega, Lilliam Rivera, and Vita Ayala for a celebration of Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space. From stories that take you to the stars, to stories that span into other times and realms, to stories set in the magical now, RECLAIM THE STARS takes the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world.

Follow princesses warring in space, haunting ghost stories in Argentina, mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean, swamps that whisper secrets, and many more realms explored and unexplored; this stunning collection of seventeen short stories breaks borders and realms to prove that stories are truly universal.

Reclaim the Stars features both bestselling and acclaimed authors as well as two new voices in the genres: Vita Ayala, David Bowles, J.C. Cervantes, Zoraida Córdova, Sara Faring, Romina Garber, Isabel Ibañez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Yamile Saied Méndez, Nina Moreno, Circe Moskowitz, Maya Motayne, Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez, Daniel José Older, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro and Lilliam Rivera.

ZORAIDA CÓRDOVA is the acclaimed author of more than a dozen novels and short stories, including the Brooklyn Brujas series, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: A Crash of Fate, and The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina. In addition to writing novels, she serves on the board of We Need Diverse Books and is the coeditor of the bestselling anthology Vampires Never Get Old. She is the cohost of the writing podcast, Deadline City, and writes romance novels as Zoey Castile. Zoraida was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and calls New York City home. When she’s not working, she’s roaming the world in search of magical stories.

MARK OSHIRO is the Hugo-nominated writer of the online Mark Does Stuff universe (Mark Reads and Mark Watches), where they analyze book and TV series. Their debut novel, Anger Is a Gift, was a recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award for 2019. Their lifelong goal is to pet every dog in the world.

LINDA RAQUEL NIEVES PÉREZ is an Afro-boricua writer born on a rainy night in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, which they often blame for their obsession with writing water goddesses with stormy tempers. Her goal is to see more curls and fat bodies portrayed in the books they read. When she’s not buried between casebooks and sketch-books, you can ﬁnd her talking about her latest reads and Pride and Prejudice on Twitter (@MissLindaBennet) and Instagram (@linda.reads).

New York Times Bestselling and award-winning author, CLARIBEL A. ORTEGA is a former reporter who writes middle-grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she’s co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club and helping authors navigate publishing with her consulting business GIFGRRL. Claribel is a Marvel contributor and has been featured on Buzzfeed, Bustle, Good Morning America and Deadline. Claribel’s debut middle grade novel GHOST SQUAD is out now from Scholastic and is being made into a feature film. Her forthcoming books include Witchlings (Scholastic) and the graphic novel Frizzy (First Second.)

Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of the young adult novels Never Look Back, a Pura Belpré Honor winner, Dealing In Dreams, The Education of Margot Sanchez, as well as the Goldie Vance series for middle-grade readers, and the stand-alone middle-grade novel Barely Floating. Her latest works include a young adult science fiction novel, We Light Up the Sky, for Bloomsbury (Oct 5, 2021) and a graphic novel for DC Comics, Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story (September 14, 2021), both named “Best Books of 2021” by Kirkus Review and School Library Journal. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, the New York Times, and Elle, to name a few. Lilliam lives in Los Angeles.

Vita Ayala is a trans-non-binary Afro-Puerto Rican writer born and bred in New York City, where they grew up dreaming dreams of dancing on faraway worlds, fighting monsters on the block, and racing fish along the bottom of the ocean. Before Vita began freelancing as a writer, they worked in book retail, event coordination, building management, baking, and museum security (day and graveyard shift). They’ve broken at least one of every bone in their body, which means they can feel the rain coming. Vita writes both comics and prose fiction and has written for publishers such as: Black Mask Studios, DC (comics), Dynamite, IDW, Image Comics, Macmillan, Marvel Comics, Realm, Valiant, and Vault Comics. Vita currently resides in New York City with their wife and cat sons.

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

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