Rebecca Burke

My novel When I Am Singing to You won First Place for YA ebooks (English/Spanish)in the 2012 International Latino Book Awards. And it's named one of the "16 Essential Latino Children's Books" on Mamás Latinas, the leading bilingual online site for Hispanic moms (780,000 unique visitors a month!).

All three of my novels are about teen girls who confront such crises as abandonment, divorce, job exploitation, and animal cruelty. They face tough tests with humor, intelligence, and a fierce heart--something much easier for fictional characters than real human beings.

I was a university writing teacher for 12 years and taught a popular course called Writing for Young Adults. I’ve been a regular book reviewer for the Des Moines Register and had my own review column in a regional magazine. I've also been published in literary periodicals, magazines, and literature textbooks.

Since 2000 I've worked in publishing, writing for and editing over two dozen language arts textbooks that include major anthologies of literature (multicultural, American classic short stories, and world lit) as well as 9 Shakespeare plays, among other subjects.

Alone and with family, I’ve lived and sometimes taught in many countries, including England, Spain, and the Netherlands.

The subject of my award-winning novel When I Am Singing to You is a young Chicana girl, which might seem far outside my experience to those who don't know me. In fact, for many years I worked in the corn fields and meat processing plants of Iowa, often alongside Mexican Americans. They were working to feed their families while I was working for school money. I started at age 13 and did this backbreaking work every summer until I was 19. Later, I lived and taught in Mexico City, a beautiful city that I still love and visit.