Short Bio
Monica Zepeda is a third generation Mexican American from Southern California who lives by the beach with her husband and their unbelievably cute cats. She earned an MFA in playwriting before working in the entertainment industry. The award-winning independent film she wrote, Collusions, is available on most video on demand platforms. Her jobs have included a bookseller in London, a researcher of miracles, and she is now a Teen Services librarian. She won Lee & Low’s New Visions Award for her debut YA novel, Boys of the Beast, the story of three strangers who also happen to be cousins and their road trip in their Grandma Lupe’s classic Thunderbird. In addition to writing, Monica collects cupcake recipes and loves to travel.
Long Bio
Monica Zepeda is a third generation Mexican American from Southern California. She spent her teenage years in the desert wilds of Joshua Tree and escaped to civilization to become an English major at UCLA. After graduation, she moved to London, working in a bookshop and freezing in an unheated flat in Kensington. And because London + English major = love of theater, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in playwriting from Arizona State University.
Monica worked in the entertainment industry as a reality television segment producer and video game writer. As a screenwriter, she was a finalist at the Austin Film Festival and was selected for a Disney/ABC Television Writing Fellowship. An independent feature film she wrote, Collusions, won Best Picture at IFS Film Festival. (Collusions is available to view on most VOD platforms.)
She now spends her days as a Teen Services Librarian. She also writes YA novels because her teenage angst is a never-ending source of material. Her debut novel, Boys of the Beast, won the Lee & Low New Visions Award and was published in April 2022.
Monica enjoys making crafty things, collecting cupcake recipes, and traveling. This former desert girl now lives by the beach with her husband and their unbelievably cute cats.