Gwendolyn Zepeda

Gwendolyn Zepeda was born in Houston, Texas in 1971 and attended the University of Texas at Austin. She began her writing career on the Web in 1997, with her long-running site gwendolynzepeda.com and as one of the founding writers of entertainment site Television Without Pity. Her first book was a short-story collection called To the Last Man I Slept with and All the Jerks Just Like Him (Arte Público Press, 2004).

Zepeda’s first children’s book, Growing Up with Tamales (Piñata Books) is a 2009 Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended Title. Her first novel, Houston, We Have a Problema (Grand Central Publishing, 2009) won praise from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist for its wit and upbeat story. Novelist Alisa Valdez Rodriguez calls Zepeda “a master wordsmith.”

A two-time Houston Arts Alliance literary fellowship winner and award-winning poet, Zepeda regularly lectures at universities throughout Texas. Her upcoming books include another children’s book – Sunflowers (Piñata Books, 2009) – and a new novel from Grand Central Publishing called Lone Star Legend.

Praise for Growing Up with Tamales / Los tamales de Ana:
"[This] charming story celebrates the satisfaction found in accomplishing a goal - no matter how big or small - and the trust new responsibility engenders. Young readers will delight in Zepeda's use of repetition and will giggle over the story's jocular ending."

- Kirkus Reviews "