the misadventures of a paperback writer
PORTFOLIO
Melanie Romero is a trilingual writer based in Orange County with overseas connections in Mexico City, Paris, and London. It was during childhood weekend trips to Randy’s $1-a-book stall at the OC Market Place that she discovered a passion for reading and, eventually, writing. She graduated from the University of Southern California with two bachelor’s degrees in Creative Writing and Cinema and Media Studies and a master’s degree in Literary Editing and Publishing. Today, she serves as Editor at Lil’ Libros. In her free time, she can be found indulging in challah and kanelbullar, saving the bees, or getting lost among the shelves of independent bookstores.
Contact: melanieromeromx@gmail.com
PUBLISHED BOOKS
J IS FOR JANUCÁ
2022 – Lil' Libros
Grab your dreidels and start frying your latkes - the Festival of Lights is fast approaching!
This alphabetical hardcover delves into each letter of the Spanish alphabet to bring to life the many items - from aceite and bendiciones to papas and tierra - that shed light on the miracle of Hanukkah. Observe families lighting the menorah, spinning the dreidel, hearing the Hanukkah story, and feasting on kugel and sufganiyot for eight precious nights.
AMOR DE COLORES
2022 – Lil' Libros
Following the success of Singing - Cantando de colores, Amor de colores will introduce your little ones to all the colorful ways we see love in the world around us. Children will adore this heartwarming read that teaches them the colors of the rainbow and more.
FEATURED INTERVIEWS
Solid Stories: Why Board Books Are Key Developmental Tools by Gail Cornwall
2023 – School Library Journal (SLJ)
"Melanie Romero is an editor at Lil’ Libros who grew up singing Selena songs and watching telenovelas with her mom. She says that the dual-language board books in the “Life Of” biography series celebrating people from Selena to Dolores Huerta aren’t supposed to be intelligible to toddlers standing alone. Rather, the act of explaining these cultural heroes 'is really what keeps the glue of the family [and] breaks down that generation gap,' she says. 'We cater to kids; we also cater to parents.'”
Independent Publishers Meet Demand for Latinx Books for Kids by Shelley M. Diaz
2023 – School Library Journal (SLJ)
“'We soon realized we needed to grow with our community—the same community that has believed in us since day one, the reason why we are here,' says editor Melanie Romero. 'Being community-owned allows for two things to happen. First, the injection of capital helps Lil’ Libros’ organic growth, and second, we build generational wealth as a community.'”
Lil’ Libros is paving the way for young, bilingual readers by Destiny Torres
2022 – University of Southern California – USC Annenberg Media: Dímelo
"For Romero who grew up in Orange County, Calif., the work she does at Lil’ Libros is very personal because she grew up 'being afraid and embarrassed' to speak her native language.
'I grew up in a very… white community. I wasn’t raised in a place where bilingualism or my culture was celebrated,' Romero said."
EDITED BOOKS
The following galleries of books are titles I have taken through the stages of publication, primarily editing, at Lil' Libros.
SPRING 2024
COMING SOON!
FALL 2023
SPRING 2023
FALL 2022
SPRING 2022
FALL 2021
LIBROMOBILE: ARTS & CULTURE COLUMN
Starting February 2023, #OffThePage is featuring Melanie Romero as our monthly columnist. Our Arts & Culture column was initially founded by local journalist Gabriel San Román in May 2020. Since then we have collaboratively featured over 25 stories and paid nearly 10 contributors from our community. Pitch Melanie a story or email us for more information!
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FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
HEY 'GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW,' PLEASE NEVER DO A JEWISH WEEK
An opinion piece, published by Jewish-adjacent website, Alma, that leans into the disastrous airing of "Mexican Week" on Season 13 of The Great British Baking Show, which prompts for the other televised moments revolving around Jewish baking that suggest the show should never again focus on multicultural baked goods they have no business recreating if not done with proper research
TALKING LIT
2021 – University of Southern California – Talking Lit
A digital magazine, published by my Master's cohort in Spring 2021, that I spearheaded as editor-in-chief and in which I published a poem, "queen's," and an op-ed, titled "Princess Diana Saved Immigrant Mothers...and Meghan Markle," for the features and op-ed sections respectively
REVELATIONS
2020 – University of Southern California – "Revelations"
A short story, from our anthology, [talking out loud], titled "Revelations," that expands on my original poem, "Girl, Interrupted," following my perspective as a seven-year-old child in an abusive parental household, one in which I am deprived of seeing my older sister, who is gay, for five years although she inhabits the bedroom across from mine and is locked inside nearly 24/7
I'M A PROUD JEW - AND PROUD OF MY CATHOLIC MEXICAN-SPANISH HERITAGE
A biographical account of losing my father, which intersects into my familial roots and how growing up as both Catholic and Jewish has paved the way for how I see myself in regards to faith and how I will then raise my future children multi-culturally
GIRL INTERRUPTED
2019 – King's College London Creative Writing Society - "Girl Interrupted"
A short poem, titled "Girl Interrupted," from the issue, Reverie, that describes the time my then closeted sister came out to me when I was seven years old and munching on cereal in our family home, now published in the KCL Creative Writing Society's 2018-2019 anthology, "Reverie"
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
15 MEANINGFUL QUOTES FROM DERRY GIRLS: A LOOKING GLASS INTO IRISH HISTORY
2021 – Babylon Radio - "15 Meaningful Quotes from Derry Girls: A Looking Glass into Irish History"
An entertainment article that delves into a popular handful of quotations from Derry Girls that shine a light on Irish history, especially in regards to the Troubles
WHY THE LOVABLE IRISH ACTOR, PAUL MESCAL, SHOULD BE ON YOUR RADAR
2021 – Babylon Radio - "Why the Lovable Irish Actor, Paul Mescal, Should Be on Your Radar"
An entertainment article that makes the reader fall in love with Paul Mescal, the beloved male protagonist of "Normal People," whose stunning performance in this Irish drama that plucked him out of obscurity and right into the spotlight