'New' Book Review of Nepantla Familias

This is a book review I had never seen before of the book I edited, Nepantla Familias. Thank you, Josh Cook, for a thoughtful read and review. Texas A&M University Press tells me it's a bestseller!

"Nepantla Familias explores life in the liminal spaces between borders. The essays, poems, and short stories in this anthology, all by Mexican American writers, present the conflicts — internal and external — that occur in these spaces between nations, cultures, and languages. They raise questions like: How does someone who straddles two worlds fit into either? Is it possible to live in both? What is lost when someone chooses, or is forced to choose, one world over the other? The answers vary, but in the attempts to find them, a main theme emerges: the power of storytelling to work through pain and forge identity."

https://smashingtreasuredcrockery.medium.com/book-review-nepantla-familias-and-the-power-of-storytelling-1fcd018af837

Troncoso Writing Workshop at Mark Twain House, July 1

Please join us for a one-day workshop at the Mark Twain House & Museum, Tuesday, July 1, 5-7:30 PM, in Hartford, Connecticut. Thank you for helping to spread the word to those in the Hartford area! 

The author of eight books, Sergio Troncoso graduated from Harvard College and received two graduate degrees from Yale University. A Fulbright scholar and past president of the Texas Institute of Letters, he has been inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame. The El Paso City Council voted to rename the Ysleta public library branch as the Sergio Troncoso Branch Library. His work has appeared in CNN Opinion, Houston Chronicle, Other Voices, New Letters, Yale Review, Pleiades, Michigan Quarterly Review, Texas Highways, and Texas Monthly. He teaches at the Yale Writers' Workshop.

 

https://marktwainhouse.org/event/writers-workshop-with-sergio-troncoso-in-person/

2025 Yale Writers' Workshop-Work-in-Progress Intensive

What a terrific group of writers I had at the 2025 Yale Writers’ Workshop-Alumni Intensive! They made my year! Cynthia Johnstone, Victoria Hunt, Lisa Ann Dulin, Bruce Parker, Bettina Meade, Pranjal Shirwaikar, Robin Harris. We got so much work done, and I’m proud of them. 

 

Yale Writers’ Workshop 2025

Faculty at 2025 Yale Writers’ Workshop and Faculty reading. Thank you to my colleagues (and friends): Jotham Burrello, Lisa Page, Kirsten Bakis, Molly Gaudry, Trey Ellis, Sybil Baker, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, Mary Collins, Mishka Shubaly.

https://summer.yale.edu/academics/yale-writers-workshop

Sergio Troncoso Visits Harvard/Radcliffe Raza

Thank you Harvard/Radcliffe Raza for inviting me to give a talk at Harvard Hall and to answer questions from your members! I loved it! Raza was so important to my surviving Harvard as a poor Mexican American student from the border. Always give back to your community to help the next generation and to strategize with them about how to empower themselves. These students are from all across the country. So proud of all of them!

 

Winners of the 2024 Troncoso Reading Prizes

I was so thrilled to meet the winners of the Troncoso Reading Prizes at the Sergio Troncoso Public Library. In the photo are Nathaniel Sanchez, Jorge Manjarrez, Celine Guevara, Ariya-Jade Rojas. Not in photo: Robert Guevara and Layla-Sol Burciaga.

These young readers read the most books from October 15 to December 3 and wrote 100-word essays on their favorite books. Congratulations!🎈 🎉🎊 I loved answering their questions about writing and education. What a great event. I also gave them signed copies of one of my books, the library staff created certificates for each winner, and they received the prizes below.

First, Second, and Third Place for students in 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in middle school/high school; First, Second, and Third Place for students in 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade in grade school/middle school.

First Place receives a $150.00 gift card, Second Place receives a $125.00 gift card, and Third Place receives a $100.00 gift card. All prizes are gift cards from Barnes and Noble Booksellers. A total of six prizes are awarded in the two categories every year.

 

IAIA Chapter House Journal's Review of Nobody's Pilgrims

Thank you Rey M. Rodriguez for reviewing NOBODY’S PILGRIMS in IAIA Chapter House Journal:

 “A masterfully wrought thriller road trip from El Paso, Texas to Kent, Connecticut... Troncoso writes about the new pilgrims of this country. Those who some are calling vermin or saying that immigrants are poisoning the blood of this country. In other words, those people who some people would call nobody’s children.... These immigrants—like Turi, Molly, and Arnulfo—represent as Troncoso has confirmed in his writing and lectures the best values of this country. They show us what it means to work hard and make it on your own. They show us the importance of fighting for your place. They show us that we need each other and we must help others to succeed.”

https://chjournal.com/chapter-house-blog/2024/11/15/book-review-of-nobodys-pilgrims-written-by-sergio-troncoso-by-rey-m-rodrguez

Nepantla Familias on Texas Public Radio

I recently did an interview on the anthology I edited, NEPANTLA FAMILIAS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MEXICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE ON FAMILIES IN BETWEEN WORLDS, for Fronteras on Texas Public Radio. I've included the link below. It's probably one of the best radio/podcast interviews I've given on this book and the concepts behind my work. It's 28 minutes and discusses the anthology, works in it, and the ideas and complexities I tried to achieve by choosing the work. I hope you enjoy it. 

"A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity."   —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

https://www.tpr.org/podcast/fronteras/2024-11-15/fronteras-nepantla-familias-explores-identity-hybridity-of-the-mexican-american-experience

Sergio Troncoso Day in El Paso County and Texas Literary Hall of Fame

I had such a fantastic time in El Paso and Fort Worth over the past few days. Here are some photos from my trip. The El Paso County Commissioners, and particularly Iliana Holguin, surprised me by declaring Sergio Troncoso Day on October 28, 2024! I am so grateful to receive such support from my hometown, and I will always keep writing about the border, and promoting writers from the border, so that we can tell our stories and define ourselves, rather than allow others who do not know the border to define us.

Also, I was inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame in Fort Worth on October 29, 2024, another shocker for me from home. Also inducted were Stephen Graham Jones, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Tracy Daugherty, Jan Seale, Molly Ivins, and Cormac McCarthy. Again, I am grateful to Texas Christian University for this wonderful honor! So many El Paso and Forth Worth friends made the trip to support me, including Shelby McCue, Jeff Jenkins, Luis Galindo, and Laurie Ryan. My wife Laura was also there; we are with Professor Matthew Pitt, who is on the board of judges. It was a night of festivities!

El Paso Times Interviews Sergio Troncoso on Texas Literary Hall of Fame

Thank you to my friends in El Paso who alerted me about this video and article on the Texas Literary Hall of Fame for the front page of The El Paso Times! I'm grateful. I'm working on another novel right now, actually struggling with another chapter. Siempre trabajando, wherever I am! I always remember my parents and family during good moments like these, because I know I wouldn't be anywhere without their values, without their love, without their many lessons I learned in Ysleta.

Article in The El Paso Times:

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/life/arts/2024/09/29/award-winning-author-sergio-troncoso-joins-texas-literary-hall-of-fame/74691128007/