Karla Cornejo Villavicencio's CATALINA In-Store Event And Book Signing

Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Thursday, August 8th when bestselling author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio comes to the store to present her debut novel Catalina. Karla will read from and discuss her book and will sign copies after the presentation. Karla will be joined in conversation by Yosimar Reyes.

When Catalina is admitted to Harvard, it feels like the fulfillment of destiny: a miracle child escapes death in Latin America, moves to Queens to be raised by her undocumented grandparents, and becomes one of the chosen. But nothing is simple for Catalina, least of all her own complicated, contradictory, ruthlessly probing mind. Now a senior, she faces graduation to a world that has no place for the undocumented; her sense of doom intensifies her curiosities and desires. She infiltrates the school’s elite subcultures—internships and literary journals, posh parties and secret societies—which she observes with the eye of an anthropologist and an interloper’s skepticism: she is both fascinated and repulsed. Craving a great romance, Catalina finds herself drawn to a fellow student, an actual budding anthropologist eager to teach her about the Latin American world she was born into but never knew, even as her life back in Queens begins to unravel. And every day, the clock ticks closer to the abyss of life after graduation. Can she save her family? Can she save herself? What does it mean to be saved?

Brash and daring, part campus novel, part hagiography, part pop song, Catalina is unlike any coming-of-age novel you’ve ever read—and Catalina, bright and tragic, circled by a nimbus of chaotic energy, driven by a wild heart, is a character you will never forget.

KARLA CORNEJO VILLAVICENCIO is the author of the National Book Award finalist The Undocumented Americans. Her work, which focuses on race, culture, and immigration, has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, Elle, n+1, The New Inquiry, Interview, and on NPR.

YOSIMAR REYES hails from East San Jose by way of Guerrero, Mexico. Reyes quickly made a name for himself at the tender age of sixteen, exploded onto local Bay Area stages at the tender age of sixteen with his moving spoken word performances. Reyes’ repertoire has since evolved to include nationally-acclaimed keynotes, writing workshops, and his one-man show, Prieto, a coming-of-age story that explores subjects like migration, sexuality, and socio-economic struggle.

In addition to being the first-ever undocumented poet to achieve Santa Clara County Poet Laureate status, Reyes was chosen to be a 2024 Creative Ambassador by the City of San Jose. 

Amongst numerous accolades, Reyes has been awarded a NALAC Catalyst for Change Grant (2020), a Gerbode Foundation Grant and most recently, a Walter & Elise Haas Creative Work Fund Grant (2023), . His writing has appeared in publications such as MARIPOSAS: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry, Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings and forthcoming UndocuPoetics.

THIS EVENT is free but registration is requested. Registration ends at 5:30 pm on August 8th.

BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.

DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.

WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.

WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.

PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.

OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.

Host or Publisher Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore