Mariana Llanos

About Mariana

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Mariana Llanos was born in Lima, Peru. Mariana developed an early passion for writing poetry, short stories, and plays all the way through school.  She studied Theatre in the prestigious school CuatroTablas based in Lima, and moved to Oklahoma in 2002. In 2013, she published her first book, Tristan Wolf which won a Finalist spot in the 2013 Readers’ Favorite Book Award. Since then, she has published several books in English and Spanish. Her work geared toward an adult audience has appeared on Writer's Resist, Blackbirds Thirds Flight, a Haunting of Words, among others. But Mariana’s real passion was ignited after discovering the magic of virtual technology. Using Skype and Google Hangouts, she has visited more than 150 schools in the United States and around the world. These visits allow Mariana to spread her love for reading and writing, as well as to promote understanding and cultural awareness. In 2014 she won the Most Outstanding Latino Artist in Literature given by the Hispanic Arts Council of Oklahoma.  In 2017, Mariana was awarded the Global Citizen Award in Arts by the World Experiences Foundation for her contribution to multicultural literature, and the 2017 Human Rights Award given by the United Nations Association of Oklahoma City, which recognizes individuals’ contributions to the principles of Human Rights. She was selected as 2017 Best Artist in an award ceremony organized by the Hispanic Arts Council of Oklahoma. She's a founding member of #LatinxPitch, an online initiative to books representation of Latino creators in the publishing industry. Mariana's most recent works include Luca's Bridge (Penny Candy Books 2019), Eunice and Kate (Penny Cancy Books 2020) and the upcoming Run Little Chaski (Barefoot Books 20121).