Aida Salazar

Aida Salazar is an award-winning author, arts activist, and translator whose writings for adults and children explore issues of identity and social justice. She is the author of the critically acclaimed middle grade verse novels, THE MOON WITHIN (International Latino Book Award Gold Medal, Americas Award Honor); LAND OF THE CRANES (Américas Award, California Library Association Beatty Award, Northern CA Book Award, NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, Jane Addams Peace Honor, International Latino Book Award Honor); as well as A SEED IN THE SUN (Tomás Rivera Children's Book Award, ALA RISE Feminist Book Project Top 10 Book, NCTE Notable Poetry/ Verse Novel Honor, Jane Addams Peace Award Finalist). Her other works include the bio picture book JOVITA WORE PANTS: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter (Caldecott Honor, Malka Penn Award, International Latino Book Awards- Rising Star and Gold Medal); the picture book anthology, IN THE SPIRIT OF A DREAM: 13 Stories of Immigrants of Color (Eureka Silver Medal); the board book series, MY LIVING WORLD which includes, WHEN MOON BLOOMS, WHEN WATER FLOWS, WHEN SUN RISES, and the anthology CALLING THE MOON: Period Stories by BIPOC Authors. Aida's most recent verse novel, ULTRAVIOLET, published by Scholastic 2024, about a 13-year-old boy who falls in love for the first time and sees everything in ultraviolet colors, is a loose companion to her first novel, THE MOON WITHIN.  ULTRAVIOLET received a glowing review from the New York Times who called it "savagely funny and deeply human." Salazar was named a finalist for the NSK Nuestdat Children's and Young adult Literature Award for ULTRAVIOLET. She has translated works by Alejandra Algorta, Isabel Quintero, Traci Sorrell, Jackie Azua Kramer, Baptiste and Miranda Paul. She lives with her family of artists in Oakland, CA.