Guadalupe Garcia McCall

McCall at the 2018 Texas Book FestivalGuadalupe García McCall is an author, poet, and educator. She was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. She is the recipient of the 2012 Pura Belpré Medal for narrative.

Early life Guadalupe García McCall was born in Coauhila, a Mexican state adjacent to Texas. She immigrated to the United States with her family when she was six years old, and grew up in Eagle Pass, a small border town in South Texas. When McCall was 17 years old, she lost her mother to cancer, and has since "found solace in her writing and in her education".

Career She holds a B.A. in Theatre and English from Sul Ross State University in Alpine and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. McCall currently serves as an assistant professor of English at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. Her first novel, Under the Mesquite, debuted in October 2011 and received the prestigious Pura Belpré Award for narrative in 2012. She has written three more young adult novels in addition to many stories and poems that have been published in periodicals. García McCall has been called "a leading voice in Chicana and Latina children’s and young adult literature".

Awards

Year Work Award Category Result Ref 2012 Under the Mesquite Américas Award — Honorable Mention International Latino Book Award Adventure/Drama – English Honorable Mention Pura Belpré Award Author 2013Tomás Rivera Award— Summer of the Mariposas Amelia Bloomer Project List — Selected Nebula AwardAndre Norton Award Westchester Young Adult Fiction Award Fiction