Hawthornden Brooklyn in Conversation: Julián Delgado Lopera with Mira Jacob

Julián Delgado Lopera's second novel, Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You follows three mesmerizing characters: Ignacio, his daughter Valentina, and his friend Mamadora Eléctrica, as they make their lives in Colombia's underground queer scene. He will discuss this electric story with Mira Jacob, author of the graphic memoir Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations. The evening will also feature a performance by Rify Royalty.

Taylor & Co. Books will have books available for sale.

Doors open at 6:30 PM. Space is limited. Exact location will be shared via a reminder email two days before the event. You will only receive this email if you RSVP.

If you will need accessible seating, or have any other questions, please email [email protected]. You can learn more about Hawthornden Brooklyn here.

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Julián Delgado Lopera is the author of The New York Times acclaimed novel Fiebre Tropical (Feminist Press 2020), the Winner of the 2021 Ferro Grumley Award and a 2021 Lambda Literary award; a finalist of the 2020 Kirkus Prize in Fiction and the 2021 Aspen Literary Prize. Julián is also the author of ¡Cuéntamelo! (Aunt Lute 2017) an illustrated bilingual collection of oral histories by LGBT Latinx immigrants which won a 2018 Lambda Literary Award and a 2018 Independent Publisher Book Award. Julián's work has been supported by The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York Public Library, Baldwin for the Arts, Black Mountain Institute, Creative Work Fund, Hedgebrook, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, Headlands Center for The Arts, Brush Creek Foundation of the Arts, Lambda Literary Foundation and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. His work has appeared in American Short Fiction, Granta, Teen Vogue, The Kenyon Review, McSweeney's, The Rumpus, The White Review, LALT, Four Way Review, Broadly, TimeOut Mag to name a few. He is the former executive director of RADAR Productions and one of the founders of Drag Queen Story Hour. Julián has been curating Latinx history projects for over 10 years in partnerships with places such as the GLBT Historical Society, SF Public Library, El/la Para Translatinas, Galería de la Raza and Brava Theatre. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Julián currently resides in Brooklyn where he is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and Contemporary Latine Literature at CUNY. He worked on Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You during his residency at Hawthornden Brooklyn in 2025.

Mira Jacob is a novelist, memoirist, illustrator, and cultural critic. Her graphic memoir Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award, longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award, and named a New York Times Notable Book. Her novel The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing was a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers pick and named one of the best books of the year by Kirkus Reviews, the Boston Globe and Goodreads. She is a professor at The New School and a founding faculty member of the MFA in Writing at Randolph College.

Rify Royalty is an award-winning international drag performer who has performed in London, Paris, Sydney, Hawaii, Vienna and Italy, among other places. Rify has been performing in drag for over 13 years. They were rasied in Cairo until the age of seven. From a young age, they were drawn to performance and have maintained that passion to this day.

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