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table;clear:both"><img width="731" height="1024" src="https://inlandiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/AlexEspinoza-by-Cat-Gwynn-731x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-7863" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: bottom; width: 311px;"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption" style="box-sizing:inherit;display:table-caption;margin-bottom:1em;margin-top:0.5em;caption-side:bottom">Portraits of author Alex Espinoza</figcaption></figure></div><p style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px 0px 25px"><strong style="box-sizing:inherit">Alex Espinoza</strong> (he/him/his/they) is a queer writer with a disability. He was born in Tijuana, Mexico––on Kumeyaay original lands–– to Purepécha parents from the state of Michoacán and raised in Southern California, on Gabrieliño-Tongva land. His debut novel, <em style="box-sizing:inherit">Still Water Saints</em>, was published to wide critical acclaim. His second novel, <em style="box-sizing:inherit">The Five Acts of Diego León</em>, was the winner of a 2014 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. He is the author of the nonfiction book <em style="box-sizing:inherit">Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime</em>. His newest novel, <em style="box-sizing:inherit">The Sons of El Rey</em>, was published in June 2024 from Simon and Schuster.</p><div class="wp-block-image" style="box-sizing:inherit"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized" style="margin:0px auto;box-sizing:inherit;display:table;clear:both"><img width="684" height="1024" src="https://inlandiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Author-Photo-by-Felisha-Carrasco-684x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-7864" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: bottom; width: 322px;"></figure></div><p style="box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px"><strong style="box-sizing:inherit">Susan Straight</strong> was born in Riverside, California, where she still lives with her family. Her memoir, <em style="box-sizing:inherit">In the Country of Women</em>(Catapult Books, 2020) was a national bestseller. It was a Best Book of the Year by NPR and CodeSwitch, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence, and a Finalist for the Clara Johnson Prize for Women’s Literature. Her latest novel is <em style="box-sizing:inherit">Mecca </em>(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, March 2022).</p></div><div class="blog-post-single-pagination" style="box-sizing:inherit"></div></div><aside id="sidebar" class="col col-4 col-last" style="box-sizing:inherit;float:left;margin-right:0px;width:300px"><div id="sidebar-inner" style="box-sizing:inherit"><section id="block-9" class="widget widget_block widget_media_image" style="box-sizing:inherit;margin-bottom:30px"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized" style="margin:1em 40px;box-sizing:inherit"><a href="https://inlandia-institute.square.site/" style="box-sizing:inherit;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-transform:uppercase;vertical-align:middle;font-family:sans-serif"><img width="816" height="692" src="https://inlandiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Inlandia-Bookshop.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5181" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: bottom; object-fit: contain;"></a></figure></section></div></aside></div></div><br><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div><font size="1"><font face="georgia, serif"><i>Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, </i></font><i style="font-family:georgia,serif">Distinguished Professor of </i><i style="font-family:georgia,serif">Creative Writing</i></font></div><div><div><font size="1"><font face="georgia, serif">**She/her & </font><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Surname is Hedge Coke, no hyphen**</span></font></div></div><div><font size="1"><i style="font-family:georgia,serif"><a href="https://coffeehousepress.org/collections/shop/products/look-at-this-blue" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Look at This Blue </a></i></font></div><div><font size="1"><br></font></div><div><div style="font-family:georgia,serif"><i>     Weird Times, Be Kind</i></div><div style="font-family:georgia,serif"><i><br></i></div><div style="font-family:georgia,serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/allisonh" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank"><font size="1">Allison Adelle Hedge Coke</font></a></div></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><div dir="ltr"><font face="georgia, serif" style="color:rgb(0,0,0)" size="1"><i><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">Director, Medical Health and Humanities DE, UCR School of Medicine</div></i></font><div><font size="1"><i style="font-family:georgia,serif">Director, </i><font face="georgia, serif"><i>Along the Chaparral</i></font></font></div><font face="georgia, serif"><div><a href="mailto:allisonh@ucr.edu" target="_blank"><font size="1">allisonh@ucr.edu</font></a></div><div><a href="mailto:allisonh@medsch.ucr.edu" target="_blank"><font size="1">Allison.hedgecoke@medsch.ucr.edu</font></a></div></font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font face="georgia, serif" size="1">(909) 848-3803 messages - VM/text</font></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="color:rgb(36,36,36);font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;font-size:x-small">If this correspondence arrives past your work hours, please do not feel obligated to respond until an appropriate time. </span><span style="color:rgb(36,36,36);font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;font-size:x-small">Respecting work/life balance is important to me.</span></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font face="georgia, serif" size="1"><br></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br>