Jasminne Mendez is Pura Belpré Honor Award recepient and a Dominican-American poet, playwright and author of several books for children and adults. She is also a poet, playwright, translator, and professional audiobook narrator. Her most recent publication Aniana del Mar Jumps In (Dial), a novel in verse about a young girl diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and others. Her YA memoir, Islands Apart: Becoming Dominican American (Arte Público Press) and her debut poetry collection, City Without Altar (Noemi Press), were recently recognized with honors and awards by the Texas Institute of Letters and her debut picture book Josefina’s Habichuelas (Arte Público Press) was the 2022 Writer’s League of Texas Children’s Book Discovery Prize Winner. She has translated Amanda Gorman’s best-selling picture books Change Sings (La canción del cambio) and Something, Someday (Algo, algún día), the best selling picture book The 1619 Project: Born on the Water (El proyecto 1619: Nacieron sobre el agua) by Nikole Hannah Jones and Reneé Watson and the Pura Belpré Award Winning graphic novel Frizzy (Rizos) by Claribel Ortega.
