Somewhere We Are Human
Book Launch Event
Book Launch Event | Sunday, June 5, 2022, 3-6pm
TMR is pleased to partner with Exile Content Studio to support the first book launch event for the highly anticipated anthology Somewhere We Are Human. This book, edited by Sonia Guiñansaca and Reyna Grande, is published by HarperCollins and will be in stands June 7, 2022.
About the Book Launch.
The Mistake Room (TMR) and Exile Content Studio proudly join forces to support the first book launch event for the highly anticipated anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. Edited by internationally renowned queer poet and social justice activist Sonia Guiñansaca and American Book Award winning writer Reyna Grande, Somewhere We Are Human brings together a collection of stories and art by undocumented and formerly undocumented migrants. Seeking to shift the immigration debate—now shaped by stereotypes and xenophobia—towards one rooted in humanity and justice, Somewhere We Are Human aims to provoke a sense of urgency, hope, and perseverance for readers through a multitude of immigrant experiences.
Somewhere We Are Human is published by HarperCollins through its HarperVia imprint. It will be on stands on June 7th, 2022.This pre-release book launch event re-imagines the conventional book reading as a community celebration. Hosted by the book’s editors at TMR’s Downtown LA venue, the event will encompass readings, an art exhibition, tabling by community organizations, music, food and drinks.
While no RSVP is necessary, we do encourage it in order to plan for a successful event. You can RSVP to the event HERE
For the safety of the community, proof of vaccination will be required for entry to the event. In lieu of vaccination proof, a negative COVID-19 test (antigen or PCR) taken no earlier than 48hrs prior to the event can also be presented for admission. Additionally, masks must be worn while inside the gallery space at the event.
READINGS BY: Julissa Arce, Carolina Rivera Escamilla, Fei Hernandez, Francisco Aviles Pino, Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley, and Alexa Vasquez.
MUSIC BY: DJ Sizzle Fantastic of Cumbiatón.
TABLING BY: Informed Immigrant, CHIRLA, Detention Watch Network, Translatin@ Coalition, No Us WithOUT You.
About the Participants.
Reyna Grande is the author of the bestselling memoir, The Distance Between Us, (Atria, 2012) where she writes about her life before and after she arrived in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant. The much-anticipated sequel, A Dream Called Home (Atria), was released in 2018. Her other works include the novels, Across a Hundred Mountains, (Atria, 2006) and Dancing with Butterflies (Washington Square Press, 2009) which were published to critical acclaim. Reyna has received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, and the International Latino Book Award. The young reader’s version of The Distance Between Us received a 2017 Honor Book Award for the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature and a 2016 Eureka! Honor Awards from the California Reading Association, and an International Literacy Association Children’s Book Award 2017. Reyna’s work has appeared in The New York Times, CNN, The Lily at The Washington Post, and more. She has appeared on Oprah's Book Club and is a member of the Macondo Writer’s Workshop founded by Sandra Cisneros, where she has also served as faculty. Currently, she is at work on several projects due to published in 2021-22.
Sonia Guiñansaca is an internationally acclaimed poet, cultural organizer, and social justice activist. Born in Ecuador (proud Kichwa-Kañari), at the age of 5 theymigrated to the United States to reunite with theirparents in NY. Guiñansaca co-founded some of the largest undocumented organizations in the U.S and they have been awarded residencies and fellowships from Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation, Poetry Foundation, British Council, and the Hemispheric Institute for Performance & Politics. Guiñansaca has performed at the Met, the NYC Public Theater, and more, and has been featured on PEN American, Interview Magazine, Latina Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Teen Vogue, CNN, NBC, and PBS to name a few. They have been named 1 of 10 Up and Coming Latinx Poets You Need to Know by Remezcla, as well as one of 13 Coolest Queers on the Internet by Teen Vogue. Sonia Guiñansaca self-published their debut chapbook Nostalgia and Borders in 2016. They are a contributor for the new edition of ColonizeThis! Anthology (2019 Seal Press), and This is Not a Gun (2020 Sming Sming Books/Candor Arts). They are also featured on Stop Telling Women to Smile (2020 Seal Press).
HarperVia is an imprint of HarperCollins dedicated to publishing extraordinary international voices, offering readers the change to encounter other lives and other points of view via the language of the imagination.
Exile Content Studio is the fastest growing media and entertainment company focused on the 550 million Spanish speakers worldwide.
The Mistake Room (TMR) is an independent non-profit contemporary art space and global-reaching platform for culture and ideas.
Credits
Somewhere We Are Human, Book Launch Event is organized by TMR and curated by César García-Alvarez, TMR Artistic and Executive Director.
Major support for this event is generously provided by Exile Content Studio.
Additional support is provided by Kaeli Deane & Chris Beals; Tina Perry & Ric Whitney; Analia Saban; and Dr. V. Joy Simmons.
Music sponsored by Informed Immigrant
Image Credits: Images courtesy of The Mistake Room, Los Angeles. Copyright 2022. Photo Credit: Megan McIsaac.