New York Times-bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz Cruz will give a public reading of her work at “The Mochila Review Presents: In the Shadow of Melissa de la Cruz” at 7 p.m. Monday, April 16 in the Kemper Recital Hall inside Spratt Hall at Missouri Western State University. The reading is free and open to the public.
The Missouri Humanities Council has awarded a grant of $2,500 to Missouri Western in support of the project, which is sponsored by The Mochila Review, Missouri Western’s national undergraduate literary journal. In addition to funding from MHC, the event is made possible through support from the St. Joseph Public Library and Missouri Western’s Prairie Lands Writing Project, School of Fine Arts, Center for Multicultural Education, International Student Services and Center for Student Involvement.
De la Cruz will sign copies of her books during a catered reception following the reading. Copies of the Spring 2018 issue of The Mochila Review, featuring winning stories from a contest guest-judged by de la Cruz, will also be available at the event.
De la Cruz is the 2018 guest judge of The Mochila Review’s annual contest for undergraduate writers. Out of many applicants, she selected the winning story, “Summer in Autumn,” by Allegheny College student Jeremy Shaban.
“Melissa de la Cruz is a common name in many households, and her novels demonstrate to writers of all ages what can happen when you keep working on your craft,” said Dr. Kunkel, editor-in-chief of The Mochila Review. “We’re thrilled we can bring her to Missouri Western and indebted to the Missouri Humanities Council and many supportive members of our university.”
De la Cruz is the award-winning author of more than forty fiction and nonfiction titles, most popularly the Blue Bloods, Witches of East End and The Isle of Lost series (the latter is based on the Disney Channel Original Movie The Descendants). Her newest book, Love and War, is a sequel to Alex and Eliza about Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler’s romance and comes out on April 17 (advance copies will be sold at de la Cruz’s Missouri Western reading).
A graduate of Columbia University, where she majored in English and art history, de la Cruz grew up in Manila and currently lives in West Hollywood, California, with her family. To learn more about de la Cruz, her books, and her most recent activities, visit melissa-delacruz.com.
The MHC is the only state-wide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971. For more information about the grants program of the Missouri Humanities Council, call 314-781-9660 or 800-357-0909 or write to the MHC at 543 Hanley Industrial Court, Suite 205, St. Louis, Missouri 63144-1905.
For more information about The Mochila Review, visit mochilareview.com.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.