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BIOGRAPHY

SHORT BIO (ENGLISH) - Alyssa Reynoso-Morris is a queer Afro-Latine/x and Indigenous (Taino) award-winning storyteller, author, and motivational speaker with Dominican and Puerto Rican roots. She is also a mother, community organizer, gardener, forager, and beekeeper. During the day, she works with community members, non-profit organizations, and government officials to make the world a better place. Then she puts on her writer’s hat to craft heartfelt stories. Alyssa was born and raised in The Bronx, New York, and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA, with her family. She is the author of Plátanos Are Love & Los plátanos son amor (a NCTE Charlotte Huck Recommended Read); The Bronx Is My Home; Gloriana Presente: A First Day of School Book & Gloriana Presente:De la República Dominicana al Bronx; Bold, Brilliant and Latine: Meet 52 Latine and Hispanic Heroes from Past and Present; and Pieces of Home. She hopes you enjoy her stories. You can learn more about her at alyssaauthor.com

SHORT BIO (SPANISH) - Alyssa Reynoso-Morris es una autora y oradora motivacional afro-latine/x y indígena (Taino) queer de ascendencia dominicana y puertorriqueña. También es madre, organizadora comunitaria, jardinera, recolectora y apicultora. Durante el día, trabaja junto a miembros de la comunidad, organizaciones sin fines de lucro y funcionarios del gobierno para hacer del mundo un lugar mejor. Luego, se pone su sombrero de escritora para crear historias llenas de corazón.

Alyssa nació y creció en el Bronx, Nueva York, y actualmente vive en Filadelfia, Pensilvania, con su familia. Es autora de Plátanos Are Love y Los plátanos son amor (recomendado por NCTE Charlotte Huck); The Bronx Is My Home; Gloriana Presente: A First Day of School Book y Gloriana Presente: De la República Dominicana al Bronx; Bold, Brilliant and Latine: Meet 52 Latine and Hispanic Heroes from Past and Present; y Pieces of Home.

Espera que disfrutes sus historias. Puedes conocer más sobre ella en alyssaauthor.com.

LONG BIO (ENGLISH)

Alyssa Reynoso-Morris is a queer Afro-Latine/x and Indigenous (Taino) award-winning storyteller, author, and motivational speaker with Dominican and Puerto Rican roots. Her ability to weave compelling stories has opened many doors for her as an author, speaker, and resume writer.

She is also a mother, community organizer, gardener, forager, and beekeeper. During the day she works with community members, non-profit organizations, and government officials to make the world a better place.

Then she puts her writer’s hat on to craft heartfelt stories about home, family, food, and the fun places she has been. She is the author of Plátanos Are Love & Los plátanos son amor (a NCTE Charlotte Huck Recommended Read); The Bronx Is My Home; Gloriana Presente: A First Day of School Book & Gloriana Presente:De la República Dominicana al Bronx; Bold, Brilliant and Latine: Meet 52 Latine and Hispanic Heroes from Past and Present; and Pieces of Home.

Alyssa was born and raised in The Bronx, New York, and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA with her family.

Alyssa served her community as the Chief of Staff for her local State Representative. Together, they worked to bring funds to the district, pass legislation, and organize events to ensure the needs of constituents were met.

Prior to this, Alyssa interned for Parvati Swayamrojgaar, a microfinance organization working to break the poverty cycle in the slums of India, taught English at an orphanage in Tanzania, and facilitated the establishment of the Women’s Witness Protection Program for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

She also assembled a team of 70 volunteers who worked to build an aquaponic unit (a system that grows fish and crops without waste) and a water purification system in an under-resourced community in the Dominican Republic. Her team fundraised, wrote grants, and developed lesson plans focused on sustainable development.

As for her writing journey, she was awarded a Yuyi Morales Diversity and More Merit Scholarship in 2020 for the Craft and Business of Writing Children's Picture Books course offered through the Children’s Book Academy. She earned a Las Musas Mentorship and an Editor-Writer Mentorship from The Word for picture books in 2020. She was also selected as a mentee through the PB Chat Mentorship program but withdrew due to being offered representation.

Alyssa’s amazing agent is the talented Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez at Context Literary Agency. Alyssa is also an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

Alyssa is honored to be a Musa with LAS MUSAS BOOKS. Their mission is to spotlight the contribution of Las Musas in the evolving canon of children's literature and celebrate the diversity of voice, experience, and power in our communities. Las Musas Books shares resources and invaluable information about the publishing industry through its website, podcast, and webinar series. They also offer a mentorship program that I was a part of; I’m excited to pay it forward and mentor a future Hermana.

Alyssa is also a member of KidLit In Color, which is a group of traditionally published BIPOC creatives. We nurture one another, amplify diverse voices, and advocate for equitable representation in the industry. Our work includes picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade fiction and nonfiction.

She hopes you enjoy her stories.

Awards I’ve Won

Gloriana Presente: A First Day of School Story - 2025 Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards (PADIBA) Commended Title

Gloriana Presente: A First Day of School Story - International Latino Book Awards - Silver Medal for Most Inspirational Picture Book (2025)

Plátanos Are Love - International Latino Book Awards - Bronze Medal for Best Children’s Fiction Picture Book (2025)

Los Plátanos Son Amor - Junior Library Guild Book (2024)

Los Plátanos Son Amor - The Best Children's Books of the Year in Spanish [2025 edition], Bank Street College of Education, Children's Book Committee

Plátanos Are Love - Recommended Literature List (2024), California’s Department of Education

Plátanos Are Love - KNEA Reading Circle List - Primary Title (2023), Kansas National Education Association

Plátanos Are Love - Charlotte Huck Recommended Read (2023), NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English)

Powerful Latina in Education (2023), Powerful Latina Awards - Presented by El Sol Latino Newspaper and Hispanic Media

Author of the Year Award (2023), Philadelphia Latin American Book Festival

Arcadia’s 40 Under 40 (2025), Arcadia University - Learn more here.

Young Distinguished Arcadia Alumni (2022), Arcadia University

Young Dominican Professional (2022), Dominicanos in the Delaware Valley

Al Dia 40 Under 40 (2021), Al Dia - Learn more here.

Dominican Citizen of the Year (2017), Festival Y Parada Dominicana Philadelphia

Las Musas Mentorship (2020), Las Musas

The Word Mentorship (2020), The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary

Mission Statement

As an Afro-Latine, Queer author, mother, community organizer, and former educator, I write and speak to empower children, families, and communities through stories rooted in identity, culture, and justice. My mission is to affirm young people’s voices, honor their truths, and help them see their uniqueness as a superpower.

Core Values

Storytelling as Empowerment

I believe stories can heal, connect, and transform. I use storytelling to help children feel seen, build confidence, and imagine bold futures for themselves.

Culture is a Superpower

Whether navigating cultures - languages, traditions, values, or food - I celebrate the richness of being multicultural, multilingual, and multidimensional. My work affirms that children don’t have to choose between cultures—they can honor all of who they are.

Every Child Deserves Dignity

I tell the truth with tenderness, hope, and love. I believe children can handle complexity when it is delivered with care, and that joy and justice can coexist on the page.

Community & Intergenerational Wisdom

My stories honor the powerful roles that caregivers, elders, and ancestors play in shaping us. I believe that remembering where we come from helps us step fully into who we are becoming.

Representation & Access Matter

I advocate for equitable access in publishing and education. I am committed to uplifting BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and working-class voices—and to helping others do the same.

FAQs

  • GREAT QUESTION but a LONG ANSWER because it took me 5 years to get published so sit back as I try to summarize my 5-year journey…

    First, you need to write the book, which is HARD. Sign up to my newsletter for writing tips and book recommendations to help you with your craft.

    Second, you need to figure out if you will be published traditionally (with a publisher printing, editing, distributing, and marketing your book in which you get a percentage from each sale) or self-publishing (you do all the work, and it is A LOT, but keep ALL of the profits.) Also, there are hybrid publishers now as another option; you pay them a fee to help you publish your book.

    Researching these options will save you a lot of aggregation in the long run. Remember, once you self-publish a book, you won't be able to query that book; and once you sell a book to a publisher, it will be very difficult to get your rights back and self-publish. In other words, make sure you are one hundred percent sure about the publishing path you want to go down, before moving forward.

    For traditional publishing ask yourself: Are you willing to wait years for an agent or publishing deal? Are you okay with collaborating with an editor and publisher on your book and giving away some of your creative control? Are you patient? Are you okay with getting a percentage of each book sale? ​

    For self-publishing ask yourself: Do you have publishing/marketing skills or money to invest in marketing/ an illustrator/ editing services/ formatting? Do you have time to invest in all of the above? Are you okay with your book not being in bookstores and potentially schools and libraries? ​

    All these things and more are worth considering seriously before picking your path! You might be wondering WHERE to look. Google and YouTube are your friends. Follow authors on social media, sign up for their newsletter, and seek out publishing-related podcasts for more information. Look into organizations like The Word - A Storytelling Sanctuary, We Need Diverse Book, and the Latinx KidLit Book Festival.

    A very simplified version of what you might expect when you traditionally publish would be to: 1) write and revise the book to the absolute best of your ability, 2) query to agents, 3) find a literary agent, 4) revise the book with the agent, 5) go on submission, 6) get an offer from an editor at a publishing house 7) your agent negotiates the contract, 8) publish the book in 1-2 years (approx). There are MANY more steps and remember that everyone's publishing journey is different!

    For self-publishing you might 1) write and revise the book, 2) illustrate the book or hire an illustrator, 3) format your book for ebook and paperback 4) look into book distribution, 5) begin marketing 3-6 months before release, 6) release book and continue to do promo.

    Please keep in mind these are incredibly simplified versions of each path, and there are many more steps and sometimes complications but these are the big ones that I think it's important to take into consideration.

  • My journey was full of love and support, first from an editor, Norma Perez-Hernandez. We both went to the same high school, and she gave me a bunch of resources to dive into. Then, I applied for the Las Musas Hermanas Mentorship and was nurtured and challenged by the prolific award-winning and NYT Bestselling author Donna Barba Higuera. I learned so much about craft and the publishing industry through Donna. After this mentorship, I applied for The Words’ Editor-Writer Mentorship Program, which changed my life. I was fortunate enough to work with Jessica Anderson, editor at Christy Ottaviano Books/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. My writing improved in ways I could not even imagine during this mentorship. To top it off, Jessica acquired two of my manuscripts; The Bronx Is My Home comes out in October 2023, and Gloriana Present: A First Day of School Book comes out in 2024. From idea to publication, this has been in the works for about four years. Publishing is a hard and competitive industry, but I am glad I did not stop and kept moving forward. I am grateful to the community I cultivated that supported me along the way.

  • I had three picture book manuscripts and my query letter ready for submission. I created a spreadsheet of agents that were open to clients using Query Tracker. I queried my agent and then the rest is history.

  • While I would love to be able to help every author that reaches out to me with this question, unfortunately, I can't. My agent gets HUNDREDS of submissions and is not able to show preferential treatment. But I can help you with your manuscript and your query letter manuscript. I can help you stand out in an agent’s inbox.

  • Where did you get the idea to write this particular story? I wanted to be a writer since I was 7 years old because I grew up with my Abuela - the original storyteller. She had a second-grade education, but that didn’t stop her from telling the best stories that captivated EVERYONE’S attention. I remember looking up to her and wanting to be like her. I think she knew that because she would rope me into “helping” her tell her stories. These are some of my fondest memories as well as the time we spent in the kitchen together. My love of my Abuela, her stories, and the food we made together inspired Plátanos Are Love.