THE STORIES WE TELL: A CONVERSATION WITH ERIN BOW & DONNA BARBA HIGUERA

In ERIN BOW’s Simon Sort of Says, Simon is known online as a famous survivor of gun violence at school. Two years after the infamous event, 12-year-old Simon and his family move to the National Quiet Zone – the only place in America where the internet is banned. Instead of talking about Simon, the astronomers who flock to the area are busy listening for signs of life in space. And when Simon makes a friend who’s determined to give the scientists what they’re looking for, he’ll finally have the chance to spin a new story for the world to tell. Alebrijes by DONNA BARBA HIGUERA is set in the same universe as her Newbery and Pura Belpré Award-winning novel The Last Cuentista. For 400 years, Earth has been a barren wasteland. The few humans that survive scrape together an existence in the cruel city of Pocatel – or go it alone in the wilderness beyond, filled with wandering spirits and wyrms. When Leandro is separated from his sister and exiled, his consciousness is placed inside an ancient drone and left to fend on its own. But beyond the walls of Pocatel lie other alebrijes like Leandro, who seek a better world – as well as mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, a hidden oasis, and the truth. Moderating is Emmy-winning journalist JOHANNA GOMEZ, host of ReachTV’s Business Traveler.

Buy Simon Sort of Says. – Bow

Buy Alebrijes. – Higuera