News & Press
Here are some interviews, guest blogs, articles, and videos.
Recent News!
Border Myths Released on Latino Book Chat: Conversations with Latino Authors, Illustrators, and More
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Los Monstruos: Ava and the Owl Witch
WNDMG Author Interviews with Jasmine Paolino and Diana López on From the Mixed Up Files of Middle Grade Authors
"I loved inventing the town of Tres Leches. It's a fictional place, but in my heart, it's very real."
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Los Monstruos: Rooster and the Dancing Diablo
Los Monstruos: Felice is a new twist to classic Mexican Folklore for not quite kids, not quite young adults by Lauren Gilger
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Dancing with the devil, guest blog on The Nerd Daily
"I grew up with two versions of the devil, the dark force of the Bible and the well-dressed trickster of South Texas legends."
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How Music, Magic, and Myth Inspire Creativity in Kids on Reading With Your Kids Podcast
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Author Chat with Diana López on YA and Kids Books Central
"I love Rooster! Even though he is half-devil, he has a good heart."
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Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman
Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman wins the Deirdre Siobhan FlynnBass Award for Best Middle Grade Book, sponsored by the Texas Institute of Letters
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Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman featured on the 2024 Lone Star Reading List
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Brave New Teaching Podcast: Modern Folktales and Monsters, an Interview with Diana López
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Latino Book Review Podcast: An Interview with Diana López
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The Texas Standard: South Texas folk tales inspire latest book from Corpus Christi author Diana López
"Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman asks 'what if one of La Llorona's children survived?'"
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Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say—Diana López (Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman) & teacher Araceli Manriquez join the show!
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For Teachers by Teachers: Answering My Students' Call for Culturally Relevant Books
"What I discovered were wonderfully rich imaginations, humor, and insights about seemingly absurd things."
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YA and Kids Book Central: Author Chat with Diana López, author of Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman
"Felice and the Wailing Woman is inspired by a legend I heard often while I was growing up, and that is the story of La Llorona, a ghost-woman who haunts rivers and who will drown anyone who comes near."
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The Latino Bookstore: Texas Author Series featuring Diana López
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The Nerds of Color: Diana López on Monsters, Myths, and Healing in Her New Book, Felice and the Wailing Woman
"Whether on the road through her beloved home state of Texas, or sitting by a campfire, or floating through the water, Diana has the ability to peek behind the veil to find a story."
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The Bend: In Conversation with Diana López on her new series and more
"Each one of us is a story, and most of us are several stories."
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Cover Reveal
The fantastic cover artwork is by Guatemalan comic and animation artist Pablo Leon.
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Sing with Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla
Dora Guzman and Sonia Alejandra Rodriguez discuss Sing with Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla by Diana Lopez and with illustrations by Teresa Martinez
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Diana López: Los amigos mejores son libros
"In this way, writing a picture book is like writing a poem."
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Introducing Young Readers to the Story of Selena
"But the theme that finally settled in my heart was the idea of how she [Selena] was always inviting the audience to sing with her."
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Perseverance, Heritage, and Celebration in Sing With Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla
"Sing with Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla distributes the determination, culture, and joys that encompassed Selena Quintanilla's life and career."
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Read in Spanish
Starred review in Kirkus!
"A worthy, sparkling addition to the long list of Selena Quintanilla biographies."
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'Coco' author Diana Lopez on why a Corpus Christi native can best tell Selena's story
"It's important for someone who shares a part of Selena's history to tell her story, Lopez said."
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Coco, A Story About Music, Shoes, and Family
Corpus Christi Caller Times: 'Coco' author visits King High School
"I really like to bring awareness to Corpus as a Texas city . . . and, I love to bring in the coastal scenes, you know the 'Sparkling City by the Sea.'"
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UHV professor writes book adaptation for Disney
"This story has kind of an off-world setting, so I had to do some world building," Lopez said. "This is like writing fantasy with training wheels."
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Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel
Kirkus: Serving a little hope and a few mood swings
"I don't know how they'd colored that dog such a vivid pink, but it was such a fun, celebratory image—that's the feeling I got when at the race, that despite the way cancer had touched families in serious and tragic ways, there could still be celebration."
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Mamiverse: Q&A with author Diana López
"I knew I had a book idea when I pictured a woman buying nine bikinis because she wanted to show off and enjoy her figure before having a mastectomy."
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Read to Write Stories: An Interview with Diana López
"I am always looking for opportunities to heighten the conflict. It's what drives a novel just as it drives a good conversation. Imagine how bored you are when your friend is relating the non-eventful details of her day, and then imagine how attentive you are when your friend is talking about someone in trouble. We love conflict."
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Choke
Victoria Advocate: UHV Professor's Book Becomes a Movie
Lopez's experience as a middle school teacher partially influenced Choke.
"These three girls came in, and they had bloodshot eyes," she remembered, "and I thought they were smoking pot."
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Psychology Today: The Choking Game is Not Just a Movie
"In terms of The Choking Game, social media unfortunately makes the choking seem cooler because it appears as if 'everyone is doing it.'"
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The Latino Author: Interview with Diana López
"My high school English teacher, Cindy Sullivan, made us keep two journals—a standard journal and a reader response one. I was very shy, so I didn't say much in class, but Ms. Sullivan and I had conversations via the journals. When I graduated, I had so much to discuss, but no one around me who could entertain what I was thinking. I called Ms. Sullivan, and she let me visit her, ramble on, for hours."
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Confetti Girl
Victoria Advocate: Diana López wins the William Allen White Award
"I think middle school is the most interesting time period in life," she said. "You are leaving behind childhood but not yet ready for adulthood. That leads to a lot of concerns and emotions that middle school students struggle to express. It can be difficult for them to articulate what's going on."
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La Bloga: Interview with author Diana López
"I was brainstorming as I drove home from work one day, and that's when I saw one of my neighbors. She was in a rocking chair with cartons of eggs all around and a 'cascarones for sale' sign. There are people in San Antonio who save eggshells all year round, so they can sell cascarones during Easter and Fiesta. 'That's it!' I thought. 'Vanessa's house is full of cascarones!'"
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Beyond the Book: Confetti Girl by Diana López
"And throughout every stage of the process, I was always delighted with how much I loved this book in all of its manifestations. Diana's voice is so lovely and sweet, and as cliched as it sounds, this book truly made me laugh and cry."
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Odds and Ends
Friend Friday hosted by Kirby Larson
"I can't think of a richer source of inspiration than diving into my history with my cousins. That's why Lucky Luna is like a love letter to all the primas I grew up with."
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10 Enthralling Middle Grade Books Where Reality and Fantasy Collide
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Latinx in Kidlit Book Festival: Celebrating the Richness of Latinx Stories, A Kokila Showcase
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Kris 6 News: Local author pays visit to old stomping grounds in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month
"López is a Corpus Christi native and Del Mar alumna. She returned to her old stomping grounds on Thursday to speak with students about her passion for writing."
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The Chills at Will Podcast—Episode 95 with Diana Lopez
Imaginative Author of Books for all Ages
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The Latinx Kidlit Book Festival
Remember Me, Stories of Family, Icons, and our Culture in Historical Fiction
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Hispanic Heritage Month: Viva Corpus Christi!
"Author Diana Lopez Presents '¡Viva Corpus Christi!,' a Virtual Presentation Provided as Part of Del Mar College's Observance of Hispanic Heritage Month"
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Hispanic Heritage Month: Coastal Bend Author Reads, Writes Books for Kids
"Coastal Bend children's author Diana Lopez said she wants to present characters who look, sound, and share the same traditions as people in her community."
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Characters Like Me
"I thought, just for fun, I wonder if I can write a story. I haven't looked back. At this point, I have six middle-grade books, and I know I have more in me."
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"How to write a book with Diana Lopez" on The A.M. Show
Words on a Wire hosted by Daniel Chacon
"This week, we visited with Lopez to discuss her novel adaptation for the Disney/Pixar film, Coco!"
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The 5th Annual MAS Summer Seminar featuring artist Mayra Zamora and author Diana Lopez
Publishers Weekly: BookExpo and BookCon 2018: Authors Explore the Multiplicities of Diversity, by Claire Kirch
"Four years ago . . . the long-simmering frustration among many in the industry and beyond concerning the lack of diversity in contemporary children's literature boiled over, and We Need Diverse Books was born."
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The Rivard Report: 'Coco" author Diana López Illuminates the 'Magik' of Storytelling
"One of the really nice details of [Tomás and the Library Lady], is that it captures the moment when you're reading, and you leave your world and enter into another world," López said. "Your imagination goes there."
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From Latinopia Word: Diana López reads "Quinceanunca: Never Fifteen"
American Book Review Reading Series: Diana López
La Bloga: On the Road With Book Smugglers
"The activists will return to Nuestra Palabra in Houston and study the lessons learned to find additional opportunties to bring banned books back to the children of Tucson's schools. That the action entailed humor and love stands for the world to see the protest as an act of love."
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