Jasminne Mendez

Jasminne Mendez is a Dominican-American poet, playwright, translator and award winning author of several books for children and adults. debut middle grade, Aniana del Mar Jumps In (Dial/Penguin, March 2023) was named a 2024 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book and received four STARRED REVIEWS! The Spanish edition Aniana del Mar se avienta is now available. 

Jasminne is the author of Island of Dreams (Floricanto Press), Night-Blooming Jasmin(n)e: Personal Essays and Poetry, Islands Apart: Becoming Dominican American, and Josefina’s Habichuelas (Arte Público Press). Her poetry collection City Without Altar received the 2023 Texas Institute of Letters Best Book of Poetry. 

Mendez is also a translator and has translated Claribel Ortega’s graphic novel Rizos and Amanda Gorman’s picture books Change Sings and Something, Someday into the Spanish editions La canción del cambio and Algo, algún día. Her poetry and essays have been published in numerous journals and anthologies including The Kenyon Review, New England Review, the YA Latinx Anthology Wild Tongues Can’t be Tamed edited by Saraciea Fennell (Macmillan) and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext (Haymarket Books). Based in Houston, Jasminne is co-founder of the Latinx literary arts organization Tintero Projects and co-host of Inkwell, a poetry and writing podcast series. She is an MFA graduate in creative writing  at the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University, a University of Houston alumni, and a Canto Mundo Fellow. Photo Credit: Tasha Gorel.

Visit Jasminne online www.jasminnemendez.com or visit her on Instagram/Twitter @jasminnemendez

Praise for Aniana del Mar Jumps In:

“Incorporating concrete poems, haiku, and tanka, Ani’s aching, determined verse narration weaves English and Spanish words into striking imagery…A painful yet hopeful exploration of family, trauma, faith, and healing.”—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW 

“Via myriad poetic forms and sensorial verse, Mendez viscerally details the emotional family tumult of grief, mistrust, and resentment alongside Ani’s heartfelt quest to reunite with water.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

 “The nuanced depiction of disability, intergenerational conflict, and family trauma make this a must-have for all middle grade shelves.” – School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

 “Mendez’s novel beautifully crafts a first-person narrative with concrete poetry, forming shapes of teardrops, sea creatures, and storms to capture the physical and emotional journey of Aniana’s desire to return to the water and navigate her newly diagnosed disability.” – BCCB, STARRED REVIEW