Ashley Granillo
David Suh
Ashley Jean Granillo is a Mexican American writer and educator hailing from the San Fernando Valley. She has her BA and MA in creative writing from California State University Northridge and holds her MFA in fiction from the University of California Riverside, Palm Desert. She is also a member of Las Musas, a collective of Latinx authors whose gender identity aligns with femininity. Her short story “Besitos” was featured in Where Monsters Lurk & Magic Hides, a Latine/x short story genre anthology. Her debut middle grade novel, Cruzita and the Mariacheros, was a 2025 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Honor Book.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Ray Bradbury’s, The Halloween Tree and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“I’m trying to embrace the freaking joy,”—Kaya Morgan’s Crowning Achievement by Jill Tew
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Hannah V. Sawyerr, Leslie Adame, Misty Wilson, and Eric Smith
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I want to give Mexican American children and Los Angelinos of all ages a space to see themselves in literature in a way they have never been represented before.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
If you believe that our idea is too silly or “too much” of any emotion, that probably means it’s the one your heart wants to write about, and your heart deserves to be on the page.
