News & Press
Here are some interviews, guest blogs, articles, and videos.
Recent News!
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
Read more
Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman
Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman featured on the 2024 Lone Star Reading List
Read more
Brave New Teaching Podcast: Modern Folktales and Monsters, an Interview with Diana López
Listen here
Latino Book Review Podcast: An Interview with Diana López
Listen here
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?'"
Listen here
Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say—Diana López (Los Monstruos: Felice and the Wailing Woman) & teacher Araceli Manriquez join the show!
Listen here
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."
Read more
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."
Read more
The Latino Bookstore: Texas Author Series featuring Diana López
Watch here
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."
Read more
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."
Read more
Cover Reveal
The fantastic cover artwork is by Guatemalan comic and animation artist Pablo Leon.
Read more
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
Watch now
Diana López: Los amigos mejores son libros
"In this way, writing a picture book is like writing a poem."
Read more
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."
Read more
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."
Read more
Read in Spanish
Starred review in Kirkus!
"A worthy, sparkling addition to the long list of Selena Quintanilla biographies."
Read more
Cover Spotlight, Sing With Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla
"Radiant and sparkling, this beautiful cover celebrates the magnetic personality and inspiring life of Selena Quintanilla, beloved Queen of Tejano music."
Read more
Cover reveal for Sing With Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla
"I love that illustrator, Teresa Martinez, chose Selena's most famous concert for the cover of our picture book..."
Read more
'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."
Read more
Lucky Luna
MG Latinx Characters & Their (Sometimes) Complicated Relationship with Spanish
"Although many Latinx children and teens tackle Spanish confidently and with smooth results, others are not so lucky."
Read the full article
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."
Read the full article
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.' "
Read the full article
Book Review: Coco, A Story About Music, Shoes, and Family by Diana López
"Author Diana López has done a fantastic job adapting the film into written form."
Read the review
The Courier News: Coco Author Shares Stories With St. Charles Bilingual Students
"Students asked Lopez about how involved she was with the book. To their surprise, she told them she did not illustrate or design the book—that was a job for illustrators and graphic designers."
Read the full article
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."
Read the full article
Nothing Up My Sleeve
10 Enthralling Middle Grade Books Where Reality and Fantasy Collide
See Wiki
Latinos in Kid Lit: Q&A with Author Diana López about Nothing Up My Sleeve
"Writers harvest ideas and voices from their environment, and that's exactly what I did. I even called my nephews when I was looking for creative insults like 'Fungus Foot, Toilet Clogger, Slobber Boy, and Stink Bomb.' Yup, they get total credit for that."
Read the full interview
Latinos in Kid Lit: Nothing Up My Sleeve by Diana López
"Another quality that I love about Diana López's books is their attention to character development, and Nothing Up My Sleeve doesn't disappoint. With magic as the backdrop, she conjures three well-rounded, realistic characters who face struggles and earn triumphs just like any real kid might."
Read the full article
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."
Read the full interview
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."
Read the full interview
Latinos in Kid Lit: Teaching Tips for Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel
"In a Social Studies and Language Arts classes, teachers can use the book as a launching point for their own students' service projects as well as a geographic study of San Antonio."
Read the complete article
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."
Read the full interview
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."
Read the complete article
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.'"
Read the complete article
The New York Times: Fear and Self-Loathing
"Her decision to show all the girls' insecurities about 'proving' their friendship, and the parallels she draws between Windy's struggle to be popular and her father's bizarre makeover (dyed hair, blue contact lenses) after flubbing a job interview, provide ample fodder for young minds to mull. When tragedy strikes after a round of insistent squeezing, well, there's a lesson that shouldn't be dismissed."
Read the complete article
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."
Read the full interview
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."
Read the complete article
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!'"
Read the full interview
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."
Read the complete article
Odds and Ends
Latinx in Kidlit Book Festival: Celebrating the Richness of Latinx Stories, A Kokila Showcase
Watch here
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."
Read more
The Chills at Will Podcast—Episode 95 with Diana Lopez
Imaginative Author of Books for all Ages
Listen here
The Latinx Kidlit Book Festival
Remember Me, Stories of Family, Icons, and our Culture in Historical Fiction
Listen here
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"
Watch video
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."
Read more
'Meet Troupe 21's Diana López
"Family is the theme I keep returning to. I find family relationships to be both challenging and fulfilling."
Read more
Alumna and author of Pixar's "Coco" novel inspires readers with inclusive storytelling
"A Texas State alumna is inspiring readers of all ages with engaging stories and colorful characters in both her adult novellas and middle-grade books."
Read more
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."
Read the full article
"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!"
Listen to interview
The 5th Annual MAS Summer Seminar featuring artist Mayra Zamora and author Diana Lopez
Texana Reads: Corpus Christi native Diana Lopez inspires with her books, by Dr. Manuel Flores
"In all her works, Lopez has kept true to her form of character development by using narrative to explain everyday life events for people who - for many Mexican Americans - seem to live just right down the street."
Read the complete article
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."
Read the complete article
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."
Read the full article
From Latinopia Word: Diana López reads "Quinceanunca: Never Fifteen"
American Book Review Reading Series: Diana López
American Microreviews & Interviews: Diana López of Huizache Magazine
"This is what inspired the title Huizache. It refers to a tree common in South Texas. It's a short tree with thorns, and it's considered a nuisance by farmers. Most people think it's ugly, so you don't really see huizaches in the nurseries, which only further proves how undesirable it is--so undesirable, in fact, that it gets pulled out like a weed. No matter. It's a stubborn tree. It comes back, and it blooms gold."
Read the full interview
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."
Read the complete article
