Spotlight: Creative Collaboration with Matt de la Peña

INKLUDED: Spotlight Event June 2026 – Creative Collaboration with Matt de la Peña

New York Times bestselling author, Matt de la Peña, and editor of critically-acclaimed YA and MG fiction, Krista Marino recognize the importance of keeping the spotlight on marginalized and underrepresented communities. During a time when there are more eyes than ever before on diversity in literature, it is especially important for young readers to see reflections of themselves and their experiences through a story’s characters and themes. This author and editor collaborate not only to create these powerful stories but to shape and protect diverse, authentic voices in storytelling. But what does this collaboration look like?

In this Spotlight, we will discuss the creative collaboration between an author and an editor in creating diverse literature for young readers. What is the dynamic between an author and an editor? What does an author and an editor writing “side-by-side” look like? How are emotional, real-world experiences implemented in books for young readers? How do themes of cultural identity and diversity influence the way reluctant young readers interact with literature?

Matt de la Peña and Krista Marino will share what the collaborative writing process between an author and an editor looks like, discuss diversity in the writing space, and answer any burning questions you might have!

This is an online-only event. Registration will close on Wednesday, June 17, at 3pm EDT.

This event is free, but we encourage any amount of donation to help Inkluded to continue our mission into 2027.

Matt de la Peña (he/him) is the #1 New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author of seven young adult novels (including Mexican WhiteBoy and We Were Here) and nine picture books (including Last Stop on Market Street and Home). In 2016, he was awarded the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific (UOP), where he attended school on a full basketball scholarship. In 2019, Matt was awarded an honorary doctorate from UOP.

Krista Marino (she/her) is the vice president and associate publisher of Delacorte Press, where she works to publish bestselling, critically acclaimed, kid-friendly young adult and middle grade fiction. Among her list are bestselling series like The Maze Runner; literary gems, like Kathleen Glasgow’s Girl in Pieces; genre-bending classics, like Rory Power’s Wilder Girls; trendsetters, like Karen M. McManus’s One of Us Is Lying; and masterful works of worldbuilding fantasy, like Amélie Wen Zhao’s Song of Silver, Flame Like Night.

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