Sofia Quintero

A self-proclaimed “Ivy League homegirl,” Sofía Quintero, a writer, activist, educator, speaker and comedienne, was born into a working-class Puerto Rican-Dominican family in the Bronx. Sofia grew up in the same neighborhood as did Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

>> I talk with Sofia about growing up in her neighborhood, and what it was like at that time, from an ethnic standpoint, from a class standpoint, and from an educational standpoint.

After attending Catholic schools through 8th grade, Sofia then attended a neighborhood public high school that was known to be “rough.” Her older brother and sister, being much older than she, were not able to help with this transition.

>> Sofia shares with us what she learned from her different educational experiences and how she transitioned from one educational context to the next.

She earned a BA in history-sociology from Columbia University in 1990 and her MPA from the university’s School of International and Public Affairs in 1992. An unapologetic generalist who has worked on a variety of issues from fighting police brutality to defending multicultural education, Sofia was named by City Limits Magazine as one of the “New School of Activists Most Likely to Change New York.”

After years of working on a range of policy issues from multicultural education to HIV/AIDS, she decided to heed the muse and pursue a career in entertainment.

>> Listen to Sofia talk about her very interesting career choices prior to becoming a full-time writer AND how she made the transition!

Determined to write edgy yet intelligent novels for women who love hip hop even when hip-hop fails to love them in return, Sofía wrote her debut novel Explicit Content under the pen name Black Artemis. Explicit Content – the first work of fiction about female MCs in the hip-hop industry – was published by the New American Library/Penguin in August 2004. Booklist said of the novel Explicit Content, “Fans of Sister Souljah’s The Coldest Winter Ever (1999) will find this debut novel just as tantalizing. . .”

Her second Black Artemis novel Picture Me Rollin’ hit bookstores in June 2005. Bringing a fresh twist to the home-from-prison tale, Picture Me Rollin’ tells of the story of a young Latina whose obsession with Tupac Shakur leads her on quest to find self-love.  Black Beat wrote of Picture Me Rollin’, “Black Artemis has penned yet another piece of hip hop fiction that’ll have you at the edge of your seat ‘til the very last page.”

>> We discuss Sofia’s novels, her characters, and what people learn from her writing…

Amidst the controversy over the popularity of street lit, Sofía’s hip hop novels written as Black Artemis have been hailed by critics of all stripes – reviewers, educators and readers – for being as intelligent and substantive as they are entertaining and accessible. Her third Black Artemis novel Burn was published in August 2006. True to her mission to use hip hop as “edutainment,” Burn follows a bail bond agent in the South Bronx who – while searching for a missing graffiti artist – uncovers secrets and confronts her pasts.

Sofia’s fiction is taught on college campuses throughout the nation and across disciplines including John Jay, Fordham, Queens, Duke, Syracuse, and Wabash to name only a few.

>> I will personally vouch for her novels; I’ve read every one! They’re fantastic, with riveting characters. Hear Sofia talk about them, and make sure to pick up the books!

She teamed up with fellow hip-hop novelists E-Fierce and J-Love and social justice educator Marcella Runell Hall to co-create and publish Conscious Women Rock the Page: Using Hip-Hop Fiction to Incite Social Change. This multidisciplinary curriculum is based on three novels including Picture Me Rollin’ and contains thirty standards-referenced lessons to meet students where they are yet take them someplace better. CWRP has been hailed by social justice educators from middle school through college across the nation.

Sofia also writes contemporary women’s fiction under her real name. Her debut novella The More Things Change appears in Friday Night Chicas the first chick-lit anthology by and about Latinas. Her novel Divas Don’t Yield was published in March 2006 by One World/Random House and follows four diverse Latinas as they embark on a cross-country road trip from New York City to San Francisco, each packing a little more “baggage” than she thought.

She is also a contributing author to the anthologies Names I Call My Sister, Juicy Mangos, Politics Noir and Dirty Girls: Erotica For Women. In April 2010, Knopf will publish Sofia’s first young adult novel Efrain’s Secret about a Latino boy in the South Bronx who goes to extremes to realize his dream of going to an Ivy League college.

>> Stay tuned to the Powerful Latinas site as we tell you what’s coming up for Sofia in early 2010!

Sofia is also a screenwriter whose first feature-length screenplay Interstates won the 2001 San Francisco Black Film Festival screenplay competition as well as the 1998 Montage Entertainment Diversity in Screenwriting contest and was twice a semi-finalist for the screenwriting lab at Sundance. (The screenplay eventually evolved into the novel Divas Don’t Yield.) Her second screenplay- the baseball comedy M.L.B.- was a finalist for the ABC New Talent Development Award in 2003.

She has written and produced two short films that have screened at festivals worldwide: Corporate Dawgz – a comedic ode to White folks who “get” it – and the anti-romantic comedy Blind Date.

In 2001, Sofía co-founded the nonprofit organization Chica Luna Productions with friends Elisha Miranda and Sonia Gonzalez-Martinez. The mission of Chica Luna is to identify, develop and support women of color who use popular media to engage social justice themes and are accountable to their communities. The organization has two signature projects. The F-Word is a filmmaking institute for women of color where they not only learn craft but also build community and undergo political education. The Media Justice Toolkit is a collection of resources that both promote media literacy and encourage critical examination of depictions of women of color using popular media such as films like Set It Off and the television show Girlfriends to name just a few. In 2006, Chica Luna Productions received the Union Square Award for its visionary approach to using the arts to promote justice.

>> See one of Chica Luna’s latest projects by going here to read more.

With her dear friend and business partner Elisha Miranda, Sofía established Sister/Outsider Entertainment in 2006. SOE is a multimedia production company with several projects in development for television, film and stage. The foremost of these is the web series Sangria Street, a web series described as a Latina Sex in the City slated to launch in 2010. In July 2007, SOE premiered Pandora’s, a groundbreaking multimedia theater production that brought complex visibility to Latina LGBTQ experience to off-Broadway.

>> Don’t miss this interview with a prolific, smart and entertaining Latina writer!

Sofia’s essays have been published in such diverse venues as Ms., Blu, Fuego, 360hiphop.com, PoliticallyBlack.com and MiGente.com, and she and her work have also been profiled in major publications like the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, ColorLines, Latina, and Upscale. Sofía is represented by Avenue A Literry and is regularly invited to speak and perform at colleges and universities throughout the United States via her speakers’ bureau SpeakOut, the country’s only national not-for-profit organization that promotes progressive speakers and artists on campuses and in communities.

Learn more about Sofia and her projects at: www.sisteroutsider.biz, www.blackartemis.com, and www.chicaluna.com.