Wicked Book Project: Sergio Troncoso and Crime and Punishment

At the Connecticut Literary Festival, I and other authors were interviewed about books that had an
influential and foundational impact in our lives. I chose Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment to talk about in the Wicked Book Project. Take a listen for a few minutes and enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/ct-lit-fest/sergio-troncosos-wicked-book

Book Signing and Troncoso Reading Prizes- December 2025

Friends, I'll be in El Paso, Texas for two events in December of 2025:

A Book Signing at the Barnes & Noble-The Fountains, 1:00-5:00 PM, Thursday, Dec. 18.

For the Troncoso Reading Prizes at the Sergio Troncoso Branch Library in Ysleta, 5:00 PM, Friday, Dec. 19.

Please stop by and say hello and get your books signed for the holidays! I also have some exciting news, which I will reveal ONLY to those who come and chat! Let's celebrate our young readers with the Troncoso Reading Prizes, with a total of six prizes for middle-school and high-school students from Ysleta who have read the most books this season.

2025 Troncoso Reading Prizes

Please join us for the 2025 Troncoso Reading Prizes at Sergio Troncoso Branch Library in El Paso, Texas! Encourage high school and middle school students to read! I can't wait to meet the winners in December. Follow the link to enter. 

https://www.elpasolibrary.org/attend/troncoso-reading-pri/

'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