ABOUT MAYRA
Award-winning, multi-genre Puerto Rican author Mayra Calvani has written fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. She’s been writing tales since she was ten years old, and her children’s stories about the violin capture the enchantment and magic of Victorian Europe and reflect her love of classical music and this magical instrument. Her work has appeared in numerous publications such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal, Multicultural Review, Bloomsbury Review, among others.
She’s the co-author of the ForeWord Best Book of the Year Award winner, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, as well as the International Latino Books Award winner, Latina Authors and Their Muses. She holds a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Western Literature, and has taught classes at SavvyAuthors.com on the art of book reviewing and children’s picture book writing.
Under her pen name Zoe Kalo, she writes young adult fantasy and gothic fiction.
She lives and writes in Brussels, Belgium, where she is the Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI Benelux.
AWARDS:
2024 Shortlisted for the I Am in Print Awards (Violeta’s Adventures in Doll-Land, Caribbean gothic horror)
2024 Historical Novel Society First Chapters Competition Honorable Mention Award (Violeta’s Adventures in Doll-Land, Caribbean gothic horror)
2022 SCBWI’s “Work of Outstanding Promise” Grant
2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Story Competition Finalist (Two Graves, novella under her pen name Zoe Kalo).
2018 Shortlisted for the Dante Rossetti Awards for Young Adult Fiction (Chameleon, teen Caribbean gothic under her pen name Zoe Kalo)
2016 First Place Winner – International Latino Book Awards under Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Book Category (Latina Authors and Their Muses, anthology)
2015 Eric Hoffer Awards Finalist for Young Adult Fiction (The Luthier’s Apprentice, YA fantasy)
2014 Suspense Magazine’s “Best of 2014″ List (The Luthier’s Apprentice, YA fantasy)
2011 Foreword Best Book of the Year Award Winner (The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, nonfiction)
2011 Global Ebooks Awards Winner (The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, nonfiction)
2011 USA News National Best Book Award Finalist (The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, nonfiction)
2011 EPIC Finalist (The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, nonfiction)
2011 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist (The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, nonfiction)
2011 International Book Awards Finalist (Frederico, the Mouse Violinist, picture book)
2009 EPIC Finalist (Humberto, the Bookworm Hamster, picture book)
2008 Dream Realm Award Finalist for Best Horror (Dark Lullaby, horror)
2007 ABC’s Children’s Picture Book Competition Finalist (The Doll Violinist, picture book)
2006 Writer’s Digest Writing Competition Honorable (The Doll Violinist, picture book)