Meg Medina is an American children’s book author of Cuban descent whose books celebrate Latino culture and the lives of young people. She is the 2023 – 2024 National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature. Medina is the recipient of the 2019 John Newbery Medal for her middle grade novel, '' Merci Suárez Changes Gears''.

Early life and education

Medina is the youngest of two daughters of Lidia Regla Metauten and Juan Norberto Medina, who emigrated from Cuba in the early 1960s. The couple separated shortly before Medina’s birth, and her mother relocated with her children to

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, where they were joined over the years with remaining family members from Cuba. Medina often points to her early life experiences as the underpinnings of her works, which examine themes of immigration, family estrangements, separation from loved ones, and financial hardships. Medina attended P.S. 22 in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

, followed by Junior High School 189. During her high school years, Medina reconnected briefly with her father and attended

Seekonk High School Seekonk High School is a public high school operated by Seekonk Public Schools in Seekonk, Massachusetts, United States. It serves the district's 9–12 student population. The school's mission statement is ''"All students will achieve their m ...

in Massachusetts, where her father had settled with his new wife and family. Medina began her studies at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

of the City University of New York, although she ultimately transferred to

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

to complete her degree. She married a childhood friend, Javier Menendez, in 1983 and graduated the following year, majoring in Communication Arts and minoring in English Writing.

Career

Medina first worked briefly as an editorial assistant at

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in the Monarch Press division before a ten-year teaching career in the

New York City Public Schools The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

and later, after relocating with her family to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1988, in the

School District of Palm Beach County The School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC) is the tenth-largest public school district in the United States, and the fifth largest school district in Florida. The district encompasses all of Palm Beach County. For the beginning of the 201 ...

. Medina began writing as a freelance journalist for iCE Magazine, the

Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...

, and South Florida Parenting magazine. The family again relocated in 1998 with their three children to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, where Medina turned her attention to writing fiction for young readers. Medina's debut middle grade novel, '' Milagros: Girl from Away'', was published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in 2008. Medina then began a relationship with

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books fro ...

. '' Tia Isa Wants a Car'', a picture book based closely on her aunt’s purchase of a family car, received the

Ezra Jack Keats Book Award The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award is an annual U.S. literary award. At the Ezra Jack Keats Book Awards Ceremony every April, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation presents the New Writer Award (since 1985) and New Illustrator Award (since 2001) to an au ...

in 2011. Her young adult novel, '' Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass'', following the harrowing experience of Piddy Sanchez in the crosshairs of a school bully, was awarded the

Pura Belpré Award The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina author and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It was given every oth ...

for writing in 2014 and the

International Latino Book Awards The International Latino Book Awards (ILBA) are annual awards given to authors, translators, and illustrators for books written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Founded in 1997, the ILBA is listed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquart ...

for Best YA Fiction in English in 2014. Her picture book '' Mango, Abuela, and Me'', about a Spanish-speaking grandmother and her English-speaking granddaughter, received the

honor in writing and illustration in 2016. Her young adult historical fiction novel '' Burn Baby Burn'', about 17-year-old Nora Lopez surviving the summer of 1977 as a serial killer is stalking young women in her neighborhood, was long-listed for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

and received the Westchester Fiction Award in 2017. Medina received the Charlotte Huck honor and the John D

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

in 2019 for her middle grade novel, '' Merci Suárez Changes Gears'', which depicts the life of 12-year-old Merci Suárez in her daily struggles with her Cuban-American family as they face the challenge of an

Alzheimer’s Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

diagnosis for her beloved grandfather, Lolo. Medina has advocated more diversity in children’s literature, supported emerging authors, and worked in literacy initiatives aimed at the Latino community. She was a founding member of

We Need Diverse Books We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) is a nonprofit organization created to promote diversity of multiple forms in children's literature and publishing, which grew out of the Twitter hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks in 2014. The organization's programming inc ...

, serves on their Advisory Committee, and is a faculty member of the Hamline Masters in Fine Arts for Children’s Writing.

Awards and recognition

*Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for ''Tia Isa Wants a Car'' (2012) *Charlotte Zolotow Commended Title for ''Tia Isa Wants a Car'' (2012) * Cybils Award for ''Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass'' (2013) *

In the Margins Award The In the Margins Award, established in 2013, is an annual literary award presented to fiction and nonfiction "self published books by, for and about people of color living in the margins." The primary audience of the books is generally individua ...

for ''Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass'' (2014) *

for ''Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass'' (2014) *International Latino Book Award for ''Burn Baby Burn'' (2014) *'' CNN''' s "10 Visionary Women" list * Latino Book Award for Best Young Adult Fiction Book (first place) for ''Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass'' (2014) * Latino Book Award for Best Young Adult Fiction Book (second place) for ''The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind'' (2014) *2015 Top Ten New Latino Authors by Latino Stories *

Author Honor Book (2016, for ''Mango, Abuela and Me'') *

longlist (2016, for ''Burn Baby Burn'') *2016 New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association *Westchester Library Association Fiction Award (2017, for ''Burn Baby Burn'') *Southerner of the Year (2017) *

(2019, for ''Merci Suárez Changes Gears)'' *Charlotte Huck Honor Book for (2019, for ''Merci Suárez Changes Gears'') *

Henrico County, Virginia Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

, Board of Supervisors' commendation of Meg Medina (2019) *

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

Joint Resolution 934 commending Meg Medina, agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 18, 2019 and agreed to by the Senate, February 23, 2019 *

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

Resolution 130 commending Meg Medina on winning the John Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 2019. *Appointed National Ambassador for Children's Literature for 2023 - 2024 by the Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader

Articles

*''A Deaf Girl Finds Her Voice on Martha’s Vineyard in the 19th Century'', 2020,

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

*''Dark Magic and Other Escapes in These Summer Y.A. Novels'', 2018,

*''The Writer's Page: On Writing the American Familia'', 2015,

Horn Book ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

Bibliography

*'' Tia Isa Wants a Car'' (2011) *''Tia Isa Quiere Un Carro'' (2012) *'' The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind'' (2012) *'' Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass'' (2013) *'' Mango, Abuela and Me'' (2015) *''Mango, Abuela Y Yo'' (2015) *'' Burn Baby Burn'' (2016) *''Yaqui Delgado Quiere Darte Una Paliza'' (2016) *'' Merci Suárez Changes Gears'' (2018) *''Merci Suárez se pone las pilas'' (2020) *''Evelyn del Rey is Moving Away'' (2020) *''Evelyn del Rey se muda'' (2020) *''Sonia Sotomayor'' (2021) *''Merci Suárez Can't Dance'' (2021)

Anthologies

*''Been There, Done That'', edited by Mike Winchell, (2016) *''Flying Lessons & Other Stories'', edited by Ellen Oh, (2017) *''The Radical Element'', edited by Jessica Spotswood, (2018) *''The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth'', edited by Cheryl and Wade Hudson, (2020) *''Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed'', edited by Saraciea Fennell, (2021)

External links

Official website
*
2019 Newbery Medal Acceptance Speech

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Meg American children's writers American writers of Cuban descent Living people Writers from Alexandria, Virginia Hispanic and Latino American writers People from Queens, New York Queens College, City University of New York alumni Writers from Richmond, Virginia American writers of young adult literature Newbery Medal winners 1963 births