Romy Natalia Goldberg

Born in the Dominican Republic to her Catholic Paraguayan mother and Jewish American father, Romy Natalia Goldberg has always been fascinated by stories about cross-cultural communication. She has lived in ten countries across the Americas, always maintaining a deep connection to Paraguay. She decided to write about the country she knew and loved in 2008, upon realizing there were no standalone guidebooks to Paraguay on the market. After several years of bus rides, Guaraní lessons and visits to artisan workshops (her favorite part), her guidebook was published by Other Places Publishing in 2012 and expanded in 2017. This led to work with “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” and The Guardian among others.

A trip to the Houston Children’s Museum sent Romy’s writing journey in a new direction. There, she read Carmen Lomas Garza’s In My Family and discovered her passion for transmitting Latinx culture through children’s literature. Her debut picture book, The Good Night Shift illustrated by Isabel Roxas, will be published by Scholastic in 2025.

Romy Natalia is the co-founder of Kidlit Latinx, a support group for aspiring Latinx children’s book creators, and a regular contributor to the Latinx in Kidlit website. She serves as the Regional Advisor for SCBWI Brazos Valley, Texas. Romy Natalia is the recipient of the SCBWI 2022 Stephen J. Mooser Member of the Year Award, SCBWI Austin’s Cynthia Leitich Smith Mentorship Award and Las Musas Hermana mentorship. Find her on twitter @RomyNGoldberg.