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Lilliam Rivera

Lilliam Rivera

Graduate Adjunct - MFAC
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Lilliam Rivera is a MacDowell fellow, a screenwriter, and an award-winning author of nine works of fiction: a forthcoming horror book, four young adult novels, three middle grade books, and a graphic novel for DC Comics. Her books have been awarded a Pura Belpr茅 Honor, been featured on NPR, New YorkerLos Angeles Times, NY Times, and multiple 鈥渂est of鈥 lists. Her novel Never Look Back is slated for an Amazon movie adaptation. A Bronx, New York native, Lilliam currently lives in Los Angeles.
 

Q&A with Lilliam Rivera

How did you come to teach at Hamline MFAC?
There was an opening this year and I was asked to come in to interview. I鈥檚 great to be a part of the faculty especially since I鈥檓 such a fan of so many of the instructors.
What鈥檚 your favorite part of residency?
My favorite part of residency is in the unexpected smaller conversations being had outside of the classrooms where you will surprisingly learn something innovative.
How would you describe your faculty advising style?
My faculty advising style is to approach the work not from a place of expertise but from a place of curiosity where we are all open to learning. The approach is to facilitate something new to emerge, to experiment, and most importantly, to have fun.
What鈥檚 your favorite book to recommend to MFAC students?
I think every writer and instructor should read Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses and The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez. We can all benefit from dismantling the harm done in antiquated ideas of what the 鈥渞ight鈥 way of writing should be.
Fire hydrant photo taken by Lilliam Rivera, faculty in Hamline's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program

We asked you to send a photo that represents a favorite Hamline memory. What's happening in your photo?
This photo I took on the walk back to the hotel from campus. I love the randomness of this red hydrant in the midst of all that green.

Minnesota is a really special place.

 

Young adult

Never Look Back, by MFAC faculty Lilliam Rivera

Never Look Back

Bloomsbury YA, 2020

  • A 2021 Pura Belpre Honor Book for YA

  • Never Looks Back sings its own love song to the world.鈥 鈥 NPR
  • 鈥淒efying expectation and categorization, Never Look Back is a book not to be read with the mind but to be experienced with the soul.鈥 鈥  Booklist (starred review)
  • 鈥淭his #OwnVoices novel is highly recommended for all teen collections.鈥濃School Library Journal (starred review)

Other young adult

We Light Up the Sky
Bloomsbury, 2021

Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story
DC Comics, 2021

Dealing in Dreams
Simon & Schuster, 2019

The Education of Margot Sanchez
Simon & Schuster, 2018

Middle grade

Barely Floating
Kokila Books, 2023

Goldie Vance: The Hocus-Pocus Hoax
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021

Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020
 

Adult Horror

Tiny Threads
Del Rey Books, 2024