I’m still pinching myself. I found out that The Inca Weaver’s Tales has won 1st place in the Chapbook category of the 2025 Elgin Awards! There are so many talented poets getting their work out into the world, I honestly didn’t think my debut chapbook, a mini-chapbook at that, stood a chance. When I first heard about the nomination, I had to count the pages of poetry to make sure it even qualified.
There are a lot of kind people in the world. We need reminders of that. There are people who take the time to read and nominate and vote for speculative poetry, including the members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). That warms me.
The fact that so many of them voted this year for a chapbook that celebrates Latine culture, indigenous people, and women in particular, warms me very much.
This chapbook wouldn’t exist without the awesome team behind Sword & Kettle Press’s New Cosmologies series. To repeat what I said when it first came out: Special thanks to Monica Robinson for her careful editing and for creating the lovely cover, to Naseem Jamnia for their stunning work on the layout, and to founding editor Kay Allen for overseeing the New Cosmologies series and including my work as part of it. They’ve put in hours of work stitching each chapbook by hand.
I wouldn’t be half the poet I am if not for my parents’ support. I still remember calling them up during my freshman year of college, explaining how I wanted to add a second major, English with a Creative Writing Emphasis, on top of my Business Economics degree. And they said yes, including when I wound up in the program’s poetry track. Similarly, my sisters have been championing my learning and growth for my entire life, and for that I’ll always be grateful.
Thank you also to my English professors at Santa Clara University, especially those who taught me poetry and those daring enough to include speculative literature in their coursework.
And much love always to my husband and sons, who make it all worthwhile.
People are going to do what they do, they’re going to think what they think, and I am going to go on writing for the open-minded ones out there. That work will include, among other themes, Latine futurisms, the fear of displacement necessitating removal of one’s identity, embracing one’s cultural roots, shared trauma and shared healing, smart and successful Latina businesswomen, and my intersectionality. If I can open someone’s heart and mind a little more in the process, that will warm me most of all.
