XánathCaraza
Author Poet Artist
Xánath Caraza is a traveler, educator, poet and short story writer. In 2018 for the International Latino Book Awards she received First Place for Lágrima roja for “Best Book of Poetry in Spanish by One Author” and First Place for Sin preámbulos / Without Preamble for “Best Book of Bilingual Poetry by One Author”. Her book of poetry, Sílabas de viento / Syllables of Wind, received the 2015 International Book Award for Poetry. It also received Honorable Mention for Best Book of Poetry in Spanish in the 2015 International Latino Book Awards.
She is the recipient of the Beca Nebrija para Creadores 2014 from the Instituto Franklin in Spain. Her poem, “Ante el río/Before the River” was selected by the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in 2013 to promote Day of the Dead.
Caraza is an Award Winning Finalist in the 'Fiction: Multicultural' category of the 2013 International Book Awards. Her book Conjuro was awarded second place in the ‘Best Poetry Book in Spanish’ category and received honorable mention in the ‘Best First Book in Spanish, Mariposa Award’ category of the 2013 International Latino Book Awards. She was named number one of the 2013 Top Ten “New” Latino Authors to Watch (and Read) by LatinoStories.com.
Her short story collection, Lo que trae la marea/ What the Tide Brings, is an Award Winning Finalist in the ‘Fiction: Short Story Category of the 2014 International Book Awards’; it also received second place in ‘Best Translated Book of Fiction, Spanish to English’ category and Honorable Mention in ‘Best Popular Fiction in Spanish’ category of the 2014 International Latino Book Awards, it also made the Notable Latino Books 2012-2013 by LatinoStories.com. Caraza has been nominated for the 2013 Pushcart Prize for short fiction. Caraza won the 2003 Ediciones Nuevo Espacio international short story contest in Spanish and was a 2008 finalist for the first international John Barry Award. Originally from Xalapa,Veracruz, Mexico, she has lived in Vermont and Kansas City. She has an M.A. in Romance Languages. She lectures in Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Her books of verse Where the Light is Violet, Black Ink, Ocelocíhuatl, Conjuro and her book of short fiction What the Tide Brings have won national and international recognition. Her other books of poetry are Hudson, Le sillabe del vento, Noche de colibríes, Corazón pintado, and her second short story collection, Metztli. She has been translated into English, Italian and Greek; and partially translated into Nahuatl, Portuguese, Hindi, Turkish, and Rumanian. For the José Martí Publishing Awards, The National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), she has been a judge since 2013. Caraza curates NaPoMo (National Poetry Month) for Con Tinta Literary Association since 2012. In addition, she writes for Seattle Escribe, La Bloga, Revista Literaria Monolito. She curates the National Poetry Month, Poem-a-Day project, for the Con Tinta Literary Organization since 2012. Caraza was a judge for the 2014 and 2013 José Martí Publishing Awards, The National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP).
Caraza has participated in Ethnic Voices Poetry Series, Riverfront Reading Series, Palabra Pura, Big Tent Reading Series, 2º Festival Internacional de Poesía de Occidente 2014 in El Salvador, Casa da America Latina, Lisbon, Portugal, Encuentros Literarios, in Segundo Festival de Música y Poesía de Puente Genil, Andalusia, Spain in 2014, KC Fringe Festival 2014, Envision, Empower, Embrace: Inspiring Change for Women 2014, Mostra de Educação Ciência e Arte 2014, Apucarana, Paraná, Brazil, Festival Latinoamericano de Poesía de New York City de 2013, X and XI Festival Internacional de Poesía de la ciudad de Granada, Andalusia, Spain 2013 and 2014, International Women’s Day 2012, Floricanto Barcelona 2011 and 2012, Festival de Flor y Canto 2010, USC. Caraza is an advisory circle member of the Con Tinta literary organization and a former board member of the Latino Writers Collective in Kansas City.
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