Melissa Lozada-Oliva

From the hyper-online author of Dreaming of You comes a spiky and surprising short stories about women and their jealous men, predatory teachers, monsters, fame, inherited trauma, and their own personal BS.A short story collection from the author of Dreaming of You and Candelaria. These stories explore the pain and uncertainty of girlhood and young adulthood. Stylish, subversive, and suspenseful, Lozada-Oliva uses elements of body horror and fabulism to great effect, investigating themes of class, race, gender and sexuality, and late stage capitalism.

Your granddaughters are lost, Candelaria. Bianca, the brainy archaeologist, had to forfeit her life's work in Guatemala after her advisor seduced and deserted her. Paola, missing for over a decade, resurfaces in Boston as a brainwashed wellness cultist named Zoe. And Candy, the youngest, is a recovering addict who finds herself pregnant by a man she's not even sure ever existed. None of this concerns you of course, until a cataclysmic earthquake hits Boston. Now you must traverse the crumbling city to reach the Watertown Mall Old Country Buffet—for a reason you still cannot disclose—battling strange entities and your own strange past to save your granddaughters and possibly the world. Author of Dreaming of You Melissa Lozada-Oliva delivers an unsettling, raucous debut novel written with tongue-in-cheek humor and sharp cultural criticism that unearths one troubled family’s legacy, feasting on diasporic identity politics and examining the limits of bodily autonomy and the dangers of wanting to belong at any cost. A sweeping, mystical novel following three generations of women as they grapple with muddled pasts and predetermined futures, Candelaria is a story of love that eats us alive.

A macabre love story in verse about celebrity, loss, and longing following a poet who resurrects pop star Selena from the dead. Absurd, lyrical, and heartfelt, Melissa Lozada-Oliva's Dreaming of You is a genre-bending novel in verse that examines questions of death, love, celebrity, and queer identity. Melissa, a young Latinx poet grappling with loneliness and heartache, brings Tejano pop star Selena Quintanilla back to life. The séance kicks off an uncanny trip narrated by a Greek chorus of gossiping spirits as Melissa journeys through a dead celebrity prom, encounters her shadow self, and performs karaoke in hell. An eerie, sometimes gruesome, yet moving love story, and an interrogation of Latinidad, womanhood, obsession, and disillusionment, Dreaming of You grapples with the cost of being seen for your truest self.

A macabre love story in verse about celebrity, loss, and longing following a poet who resurrects pop star Selena from the dead. Absurd, lyrical, and heartfelt, Melissa Lozada-Oliva's Dreaming of You is a genre-bending novel in verse that examines questions of death, love, celebrity, and queer identity. Melissa, a young Latinx poet grappling with loneliness and heartache, brings Tejano pop star Selena Quintanilla back to life. The séance kicks off an uncanny trip narrated by a Greek chorus of gossiping spirits as Melissa journeys through a dead celebrity prom, encounters her shadow self, and performs karaoke in hell. An eerie, sometimes gruesome, yet moving love story, and an interrogation of Latinidad, womanhood, obsession, and disillusionment, Dreaming of You grapples with the cost of being seen for your truest self.

One of the most original performance poets of her generation, Melissa Lozada-Oliva has captivated crowds across the country and online with her vivid narratives. Humorous and biting, personal and communal, self-deprecating and unapologetically self-loving, peluda (meaning “hairy” or “hairy beast”) is the poet at her best. The book explores the relationship between femininity and body hair as well as the intersections of family, class, the immigrant experience, Latina identity, and much more, all through Lozada-Oliva’s unique lens and striking voice. peluda is a powerful testimony on body image and the triumph over taboo.

From acclaimed poet and author Melissa Lozada-Oliva comes an evocative coming-of-age story of infatuation, belonging, and trust built and broken. We meet our narrator hanging around the nail salon where her mother works, eavesdropping on her conversation with one of the regulars, Helen. But she’s really hoping to see Helen’s daughter, Patty - older, rebellious, and completely captivating. When Helen invites her over to their house to help organize a home office, she jumps at the opportunity. But as the day goes on, she encounters something she shouldn’t and gets caught up in the sinister nature of other people’s property and private lives.