Donna Miscolta in conversation at Womb House Books

Please join us at Womb House Books to celebrate the publication of Donna Miscolta's fifth novel, Ofelia and Norma. Donna will be in conversation with author Margaret Juhae Lee and will also be signing books.

and join the community that keeps our doors open and powers our monthly book clubs, author events, and more.

About Ofelia and Norma

Large-bodied twin sisters Ofelia and Norma have always been inseparable, yet their shared identity begins to fracture in community college. As Ofelia loses weight through long, solitary walks, Norma senses the twin bond slipping away and leaves for an out-of-town transfer college, forcing each to confront alone life as a large-bodied woman in an often unkind world.

Ofelia’s deliberate weight loss spirals into disordered eating and an eye-opening mishap, provoking her to move out and leave their emotionally distant mother, Lyla, to fend for herself. Norma finds solace in the solitude of the college pool until she suffers a traumatic experience she cannot share, deepening the rift with Ofelia.

When the sisters finally reconnect, deeply held secrets surface, and Ofelia, shocked by what Norma has endured, vows to help her find resolution—even revenge.

Born and raised in the San Diego area and a former long-time Seattle resident, Donna Miscolta is the author of four books of fiction, including her latest Ofelia and Norma (Regal House Publishing). Recognition for her previous books include being listed as a 2020 Latino Book of the Year, winning the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Multicultural Fiction and an Independent Publishers Award for Best Regional Fiction, twice receiving an International Latino Book Award, and being a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Her stories, essays, and book reviews have appeared in dozens of journals and anthologies. Her latest anthology appearance is in Mixed Roots, edited by Anne Liu Kellor (Beacon Press, October 2026). A recording of her work is part of the Library of Congress PALABRA Archive, a showcase for Latin American and Latino writers. She blogs at donnamiscolta.com about writing, reading, and her life in Spain.

Margaret Juhae Lee is the author of the award-winning Starry Field: A Memoir of Lost History, which was named a best book of 2024 by the San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Independent Review of Books. A former editor at The Nation, she has written for dozens of outlets, including The Nation, Elle, ARTnews, Newsday, Writer's Digest and The Rumpus. She received fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the Korea Foundation, and lives in Oakland with her family.