Speaker

Mariana Llanos is an award-winning children’s books writer, poet, and translator. Born in Lima, Peru, her picture book Benita and the Night Creatures/Benita y las criaturas nocturnas received a 2024 Pura Belpre Honor (American Library Association) and was the winner of the Oklahoma Book Award in the children’s category. She’s also the author of the 2022 Oklahoma Book Award winner Run Little Chaski/Corre Pequeño Chaski!. Other titles include Luca’s Bridge/El puente de Luca (2021 ALSC Notable Book Awards), Eunice and Kate (Paterson Prize Books for Young Readers) Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess (Campoy-Ada Awards), the audio story Qoritika and the Three Alpacas, featured on Tiny Tales by Pampers Podcast produced by Sony Music Entertainment. among others.

In 2017, Mariana received the Oklahoma Human Rights Award for her work visiting schools in different countries around the world through virtual technology. That same year she was selected as the Best Latino Artist by the Hispanic Arts Council of Oklahoma. Her newest work is the first book in a chapter book series titled, Vampirita (Reycraft Books, 2024) and her upcoming chapter book series, Martina and her Bright Star (Reycraft Books, 2025).

She’s a co-founder of LatinxPitch, a virtual event that boosts the representation of Latino creatives in the children’s publishing industry and co-chair of the Latino Committee for the Firehouse Arts Center in Norman Oklahoma. In addition to writing, Mariana is an experienced speaker who visits schools regularly. She resides in Oklahoma City with her children.