About

David Bowles is a queer Mexican American author and translator from south Texas, where he works as an associate professor at the University of Texas Río Grande Valley. Among his more than forty books are the multiple-award-winning They Call Me Güero and its companion They Call Her Fregona (Kokila), as well as My Two Border Towns (Kokila), Ancient Night (Levine Querido), Secret of the Moon Conch (Bloomsbury) and The Prince & the Coyote (Levine Querido).

His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, School Library Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children’s Literature.

Additionally, David has worked on several TV/film projects, including Victor and Valentino (Cartoon Network), the Moctezuma & Cortés miniseries (Amazon/Amblin) and Monsters and Mysteries in America (Discovery).

In 2017, David was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters and served as its president from 2024 to 2026. In 2019, he co-founded the hashtag and activist movement #DignidadLiteraria, which has negotiated greater Latinx representation in publishing. In 2021, he helped launch Chispa, the Latinx imprint of Scout Comics, for which he worked as editor-in-chief.

David’s literary representation is Taylor Martindale Kean and Stefanie Von Borstel of Full Circle Literary. Follow him on most social media platforms: @DavidOBowles 

You can contact David at bowlesdo@gmail.com


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13 Comments

  1. i like your book

  2. I love you David ❤ Your books are great!

  3. I have just purchased a copy of BorderLore. In it I found a story that I have been seeking for a long time. “Lady In Black.”.It is heartbreaking. I was wondering if you are familiar with a tale in which a wedding is about to take place and everyone is awaiting the arrival of the groom.A mysterious stranger dressed in black arrives and tells the bride,and the guests that the groom has been killed.

  4. I love the Clockwork Curandera– next volume please!

  5. love your books

  6. Are your books translated to portuguese?

  7. Hi read your article of learning Nahuatl and I was wondering if you had any pointers or tips for me I would like to learn more. I also saw that you are also from the Rio Grande we have a family ranch there. Thank you for your work.

  8. Karla,

    I actually have a free online course you can take: https://nahuatl.thinkific.com/courses/freenahuatl2020

  9. What book is this line from?
    “When wounds are healed by love
    the scars are beautiful. “

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