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| At Ink's launch party at Cuba Libre in Philadelphia |
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| My parents |
I was born in Bangkok, Thailand — the daughter of a Mexican-Guatemalan artist and an American businessman. I grew up in Guatemala, and moved to the United States when I was 15. I studied filmmaking and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., which — it has to be said -- suited me for none (and every one) of the occupations I've plied since.
I've done stints as everything from art gallery assistant to the director of a historic opera house, but eventually found my way, permanently, to newspapers. I've been staff writer, production coordinator, editor and managing editor at a string of local weekly newspapers in New York and Pennsylvania, and for about a year edited a monthly magazine as well.
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| At Al Día News |
I'm now the managing editor at Al Día News Media, Philadelphia's leading Spanish-language newspaper and web site (pontealdia.com), where I edit and write in English and Spanish.
I'm something of a social media enthusiast, at both work and play, and habitually haunt the Latinos in Social Media twitter party (#latism), Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Chat (#sffwrtcht) and Feminist Sci Fi (#feministSF).
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| Reading at Taller Puertorriqueño |
In addition to news, I write speculative fiction and poetry. My poetry has appeared in Dappled Things, Graham House Review, We'Moon, La Bloga's Floricanto online, Scheherezade's Bequest at Cabinet des Fees and is slated to appear in an upcoming issue of Bull Spec. My fiction has appeared in Crossed Genres #24 and in the Fat Girl in a Strange Land and Crossed Genres Year Two anthologies, and is slated to appear in upcoming issues of Strange Horizons, GUD magazine and in the anthology Menial: Skilled Labor in Science Fiction.
My novel, Ink, was published by Crossed Genres Publications Oct. 15, 2012. Go to www.inknovel.com for the latest information about it. You can order it on Amazon here.
I'm a member of the Words Are In Order online writing group.
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| Before a family tamalada |
Though my favorite place in world is a small log cabin in the Central New York woods, I live in a charming, dilapidated old farmhouse about an hour outside of Philadelphia, with my husband (a diehard Minnesota Twins fan) and a brilliant and cantankerous teenage daughter who refuses to speak Spanish though her pronunciation is perfect.
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| De tal palo tal astilla |
10 things you might not know about me:
• No earring is too big
• I jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet
• I chose to live off the electrical grid for a number of years
• I apprenticed with a traditional herbalist
• I cannot stand still if a cumbia is playing
• I can, and will, drink coffee any time of the day or night
• I wanted to grow up to be an archaeologist
• My favorite word in English is luminous; my favorite word in Spanish is naipe
• I use a wooden press to make my tortillas
• I've snacked on crunchy ants
Interviews with me:
SF Signal - SFFWRTCHT
Mamiverse
Fox News Latino
The Skiffy and Fanty Show (podcast)
The Hispanic Reader
Al Día News (in Spanish)
Sincerely, Ezzy
Natalia Sylvester's Fresh Ink
Nice things said:
SF Squeecast: You Can't Put Your Finger There!
Los Angeles Review of Books: Don't Let the Future Be Written For You
The Latinidad List: Best Books of 2012
To go to my Goodreads author page, click here; to go to my Amazon author page, click here.
Contact me via e-mail at svourvoulias(at)yahoo(dot)com
