Ashley Granillo is the author of Pura Belpré Honor book, Cruzita and the Mariacheros. She is a Mexican American writer and an associate professor of English in Los Angeles, California. She holds a BA and MA in English: Creative Writing from California State University Northridge, and an MFA in fiction with a crossy-study in screenwriting from the University of California Riverside, Palm Desert. She got her start as a writer at age five when she illustrated and “published” her first book through Telfair Elementary's Student Author Project in Pacoima, California. This project paired kindergartners with fifth grade students, where they mentored, wrote, illustrated, and promoted their book collaboration.​  

 

Many of the themes Ashley writes about are inspired about her home, family, her love for animals, and music. Choir Grrrl (Lerner 2026) emphasizes the need for queer, Latina musicians in the world of rock. Pura Belpré Honor Book,Cruzita and the Mariacheros (Lerner 2024), is a testament to home, family, and music, as well as her Mexican American heritage. In her short story, "Besitos," which appears in the Latine/x Anthology, Where Monsters Lurk & Magic Hides, she explores the various ways in which young adults experience love.

 

While she grew up in a predominantly Latinx and Hispanic community, Ashley was one of the few kids in her neighborhood who only spoke one language. She was never taught about her family’s heritage or traditions––aside from making delicious tortillas.​  She came to discover one tradition, Dia de los Muertos, after reading Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree in fourth grade.  

 

The power of books, how they exchanged cultural knowledge and emotion, made Ashley realize how important her stories would become one day.​ As she continues to grow, so does the topics she writes about.

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