Episode 44 - Natalia Sylvester

Photo Credit: Eric Sylvester

I was super excited recently to talk to Natalia Sylvester about her YA novel, Running, which was just published last week.

We had to speak by phone due to the pandemic, but Natalia's passion about her work and issues of equity still came through loud and clear. We first met two years ago when her book tour brought her to Miami and she came on the show to talk about her second novel, Everyone Knows You Go Home.

Running is her first young adult novel, and you will fall in love with her protagonist, Mariana "Mari" Ruiz. The 15-year-old Cuban American girl's dad is a Republican U.S. senator running for president. Mari's family lives in Miami, and for as long as she can remember her life has revolved around her dad's campaigns.But this one is different. As more demands are made of her, she begins to rebel. As she learns more about her dad's stances on issues like the environment and gentrification, she grows more disenchanted with the family business and decides to start speaking out about the things that matter to her.

Natalia and I discuss having her book published during a pandemic, what led her to write a YA novel and how she overcame some of the hurdles the publishing industry often puts up for writers of color.

Interview Highlights:

Natalia reveals...

- why she doesn't consider herself to be an activist

- how she came to decide to write for her community no matter the consequences

- why she reads a lot of YA

Click here to listen to the episode.

We’ll send a free copy of Running to the first listener to contact us on Twitter or Facebook tell us one of the writers Natalia said she would invite to an hour-long Zoom call.

If you've won a ReadMore giveaway in the last 90 days, you're ineligible. And, if we ever walked together to CHS, you're probably ineligible. ReadMore does not have a friends and family plan. You can also help Natalia and the show by purchasing Running here.