Anna Lapera is a mixed-race Guatemalan-American author and educator. Her debut upper middle grade novel, Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice, was named one of the “Most Anticipated Middle Grade Reads of 2024” by School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox. She teaches middle school by day and writes stories about spunky kids stepping into their power in the early hours of the morning. She is a Pushcart prize nominee, a Tin House and Macondo Writers Workshop alum, a member of Las Musas and a past Kweli Journal mentee. When she’s not writing or teaching, you can find her occasionally playing the drums or searching for the crispiest plátano frito in town. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, two daughters and a rescue dog named Leo.
