MÓNICA MANCILLAS
Children's Book Author & Speaker

Bio
Mónica Mancillas's work includes award-winning title Mariana and Her Familia (Balzer + Bray), The Worry Balloon (Roaring Brook Press), How to Speak in Spanglish (Penguin Workshop), Sing it Like Celia (Penguin Workshop, 2024), and Leyendas/Legends (Chronicle, 2025). Her books center on themes of identity, culture, and mental health, while challenging those outdated tropes that have historically left Latine voices in the margins.
Born in the small coastal town of Ensenada in Baja California, México, Mónica moved with her parents to the United States when she was two-years-old. As a child, she loved nothing more than to study and explore self-expression through writing and music. After graduating Valedictorian from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, she earned a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley, after which she moved to Los Angeles where she worked for ten years in the recording industry.
Today, Mónica runs her own business teaching children how to play the piano. She spends her days writing, reading, and tending to her much-adored daughter, husband, and dog, Annie.
Micro Bio
Mónica Mancillas is a musician and educator who authors picture books and Middle Grade fiction and non-fiction. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. Her books include award-winning title Mariana and Her Familia (Balzer + Bray), The Worry Balloon (Roaring Brook Press), How to Speak in Spanglish (Penguin Workshop), Sing it Like Celia (Penguin Workshop, 2024), and Leyendas/Legends (Chronicle, 2025).
Headshot 1

Photo credit: Cathryn Farnsworth
Headshot 2
