A quick glance at the books written by Diane Gonzales Bertrand shows a writer who grabs inspiration from her many roles as daughter, wife, mother, and teacher. Although she has written stories and poems since childhood, it was her decision to study writing in graduate school at Our Lady of the Lake University that created an avenue for publication. As she read and studied literature from international authors, she gained confidence to write about her own Mexican-American heritage. She also discovered the editors of Arte Publico Press, who welcomed the style of her familia-friendly novels Sweet Fifteen, Lessons of the Game, and Close to the Heart. Encouraged by Texas librarians and her own two kids, Diane wrote the children’s novel Alicia’s Treasure, and two award-winning novels for middle school students Trino’s Choice, and Trino’s Time. Her published picture books Sip, Slurp, Soup, Soup/ Caldo, Caldo, Caldo, Family, Familia, The Last Doll, Uncle Chente's Picnic, and The Empanadas that Abuela Made have all earned “Best Bilingual Book” recognition from the National Latino Literary Awards. Recently, her first book with Raven Tree Press, My Pal, Victor/Mi amigo Victor earned the 2005 Schneider Family Book Award given by the American Library Association. Her collection of bilingual short fiction, Upside Down and Backwards, earned Honorable Mention in the Paterson Prize for Young Adults and was a finalist for the Writers League of Texas Teddy Book Award for children’s books. New titles include a children’s biography, Ricardo’s Race and a bilingual book for preschoolers, We are Cousins/Somos Primos. Her new novel, The Ruiz Street Kids, (2006) is both bilingual and written for readers 8-11.
Diane is Writer-in-Residence at St. Mary’s University where she teaches writing, works with new authors, and continues to develop her own writing projects. She is a native of San Antonio, Texas and grew up in the Woodlawn Lake area. She has been married over twenty-five years to Nick C. Bertrand, a self-employed businessman. Their children are Nicholas Gilbert, a student at Texas State University, and daughter, Suzanne, a student at Texas Christian University. Both children have been valued editors and critics for their mother’s literary projects since she began writing for publication in 1989.