Mariana Llanos

Mariana Llanos is a children’s books writer, poet, and translator. Born in Lima, Peru, she’s the author of several books including the 2024 Pura Belpre Honor Book Benita y las criaturas nocturnas/Benita and the Night Creatures, and the 2022 Oklahoma Book Award winner Run Little Chaski/Corre Pequeño Chaski(Barefoot Books 2021). Other titles include Luca's Bridge/El puente de Luca (2021 ALSC Notable Book Awards), Eunice and Kate (Paterson Prize Books for Young Readers) Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess (Campoy-Ada Awards), the audio story Qoritika and the Three Alpacas, featured on Tiny Tales by Pampers Podcast produced by Sony Music Entertainment. among others. Her latest book is a chapter book series titled Vampirita and the Angry Mob (Reycraft Books 2024). She’s a co-founder of LatinxPitch, a virtual event that boosts the representation of Latino creatives in the children’s publishing industry and co-chair of the Latino Committee for the Firehouse Arts Center in Norman Oklahoma. She's also included in the Oklahoma Teaching Artist roster in the Creative Writing category.  In addition to writing,  Mariana is an experienced speaker who visits schools regularly. She resides in Oklahoma City with her children.