I’m excited to finally share the news that Nina Moreno will be writing a middle grade novel! Even cooler, she’s partnering with artist Courtney Lovett for the illustrations sprinkled throughout the book!

Shelly Romero at Scholastic has bought world rights to Join the Club, Maggie Diaz by Nina Moreno (Don’t Date Rosa Santos), illustrated by Courtney Lovett. The illustrated middle grade novel follows a 12-year-old Cuban American girl who is determined to discover who she is and what her “thing” is, no matter how many activities or clubs it takes. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; Laura Crockett at Triada US Literary represented the author, and Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary represented the illustrator.

We’ve been sitting in this news for a year now, so it’s very exciting for us to be able to talk about it. MAGGIE was Nina’s pandemic book, a spot of joy in the mess that was 2020, and every interaction pertaining to developing, writing, and editing the manuscript brought a smile to my face!

Shelly and I have wanted to work on a project together for a while, and Shelly and Nina have wanted to work on a project together for a while, so it seemed fitting that she and Nina collaborated to make this fun, Lizzie-McGuire-but-Cuban manuscript come to life! When it came time to find the perfect artist to make Maggie jump off the page, it was truly a no-brainer to go with Courtney. Look at her art!

This is a whole new adventure for me and for Nina––middle grade and illustrated work. It’s been such a joy so far! Congratulations, Nina!

Go add Join the Club, Maggie Diaz to your TBR!