Steena Hernandez is a writer, avid reader, and life-long dreamer. Through performance, she’s always been a storyteller at heart. She received her BFA in theatre, music, and dance from Texas Tech University and toured in shows, including the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, RENT the Broadway tour, USO, and more. After becoming a mom of two, she decided to turn some of her adventures into stories. She’s been writing children’s stories ever since. Her debut picture book, Lupita’s Brown Ballet Slippers, published with Beaming Books in 2024, and has won several awards including the SCBWI 2025 Crystal Kite Award in the Texas & Oklahoma category, The Northern Lights Book Award in the Art Category, The 2025 Notable Social Studies Trade Books list, and was longlisted for the Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Award.
