Emiliana Puyana is the editor of We Are La Cocina: Recipes in Pursuit of the American Dream.

TBF: Why did you write your new book? (What was your inspiration? Where did the idea start?)

Emiliana Puyana: To tell the stories of the women who make up our program. To create a platform to celebrate the kinds of people who make up the sort of communities that we at La Cocina believe can and should exist in every corner of the globe. And, to celebrate the communities that thrive today despite a system of oppression and marginalization.

TBF: What’s the last book you read, loved, and can’t stop recommending? 

EP: High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey From Africa to America by Jessica B. Harris

TBF: What’s the first book you remember reading? 

EP: Green Eggs & Ham

Emiliana Puyana is one of 300 authors who will appear at the 2019 Texas Book Festival which takes place October 26-27th 2019 in downtown Austin. The Festival is free and open to the public! Check out all of this year’s authors.