Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa, a product of the Puerto Rican communities on the island and in the South Bronx, was sent to live with her grandparents where she was introduced to the culture of rural Puerto Rico, including the storytelling that came naturally to the women, especially the older women, in her family. Much of her work is based on her experiences during this time Ms. Llanos-Figueroa’s first novel, Daughters of the Stone, was shortlisted for the 2010 PEN Bingham Award. Her second novel, A Woman of Endurance, (Spanish edition: Indómita), Amistad, HarperCollins 2022 was selected to represent Puerto Rico in the Library of Congress Great Reads, Great Places initiative at the 2024 National Book Festival in Washington, DC. The English-language edition won the 2024 International Latino Award Bronze medal for historical fiction and the ILA Gold Medal for best Spanish-language translation.
POETRY: Issue 35