Black Dove

Public awareness of issues such as mass incarceration, the prison-industrial complex, and police brutality have risen due to activist books and issues such as Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Swimming with Sharks considers how these issues affect the everyday lives of mothers who know, statistically, their sons are the most at-risk in this system. Ana Castillo is a prominent voice in the Latino/a community, with a dedicated and enthusiastic readership. She is extremely active, publishing as a translator, poet, and academic researcher alongside her fictional prose. Her name attracts the attention of multiple audiences. To give a sense of her wide range: while promoting Give It to Me (2014), Castillo went on a bookstore tour, but was also the keynote speaker at the National Latina/o Psychological Association conference, guest teacher at multiple writing workshops, and guest lecturer at various universities speaking on the intersection of structural racism and mental health.