Joanna Cárdenas is Associate Publisher at Kokila. She edited New York Times bestseller A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya, Pura Belpré Honor-winners The First Rule of Punk and Tumble by Celia C. Pérez, Stonewall Book Award Honor Kings of B’more by R. Eric Thomas, and other critically acclaimed books for young readers. Her favorite books center joy, creativity, and imagination; explore our roles as global citizens and stewards of nature; celebrate friendship, family, and community; and are often funny. Joanna also manages Kokila’s growing Spanish-language picture book list. In her career, Joanna co-founded the Rep Matters Mentor Program, was on the board of Latinx in Publishing, and was a Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch honoree. Long before that, she was a bookseller.
