Edna Coyoy

Ilustrator
Written By Wayne J. Pitts
Edna.jpg

Edna Coyoy is the principal graphic designer for Vista Tranquila Publishers, LLC, responsible for layout and design of all children’s books and ancillary material. Born in Guatemala, Edna is a teacher and graphic designer with training in editorial design. A nature lover, she is passionate about books and writing. She has successfully completed a variety of workshops in lettering, illustration, and creative writing, specializing in workshops with children. Her workshop experiences are one of her greatest sources of inspiration and creative ideas as she mixes written messages with pattern experiments, simple illustrations, and color codes that help inspire her extraordinary designs. An accomplished artist, Edna is an active member of the artist collective, Limonada Bandida. See more of her work on Instagram.

Edna Coyoy es la diseñadora gráfica principal de Vista Tranquila Publishers, LLC, responsable de la maquetación y el diseño de todos los libros infantiles y material auxiliar. Nacida en Guatemala, Edna es profesora y diseñadora gráfica con formación en diseño editorial. Amante de la naturaleza, le apasionan los libros y la escritura. Ha realizado con éxito diversos talleres de lettering, ilustración y escritura creativa, especializándose en talleres con niños. Sus experiencias en los talleres son una de sus mayores fuentes de inspiración e ideas creativas, ya que mezcla mensajes escritos con experimentos de patrones, ilustraciones sencillas y códigos de color que ayudan a inspirar sus extraordinarios diseños. Artista de talento, Edna es miembro activo del colectivo de artistas Limonada Bandida. Puede ver más de su trabajo en Instagram.

Wayne J. Pitts

Wayne grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, surrounded by mountaineers and

Appalachian farmers who liked nothing more than sitting around a fire, spinning terrific tales

that always teetered on the fringes of truth and the slippery slope of fiction. It was here that he

learned the key points of storytelling. It is fitting that Wayne’s first contact with a Guatemalan

happened in a bean field on the banks of Upper Creek in Morganton, since that’s where so many

of his recollections seem to be rooted. It was there that he met a group of travelling migrant farm

workers who his father had hired for the green bean harvest. Their incomprehensible chattering

and traditional indigenous clothing captured his fascination.

In 2004, he finally made his way to Guatemala, spending most of his time among the peoples of

Alta Verapaz, visiting one or two times a year over the next decade. In 2016, Wayne and his wife

moved to Guatemala fulltime and gradually, he extended his travels and work experiences to all

twenty-two departments of the country. He has been flogged by turkeys, chased by pigs, hollered

at by monkeys, and countless mosquitoes have feasted on his blood. He has hung out with police

officers, visited many jails, slept outside in a cornfield, climbed a volcano, been hospitalized, and

he’s pretty sure he’s seen a ghost or two.

As a criminologist and human observer, Wayne has seen incredible goodness in the people of

Guatemala and the troubling consequences of colonialism, corruption, and organized crime. As a

writer, Wayne seeks to share his love of the Guatemalan people he has known, their incredible

generosity, their unwavering work ethic, their love of a hearty celebration and a good meal, and

their resiliency in the face of economic deprivation, separation from loved ones, and security

concerns. Guatemala is a fascinating country! There is such incredible diversity in both the

people and the landscape. He desires that his writings will stimulate curiosity to encourage

readers to want to learn more about this captivating country.

Wayne received his Bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Western Carolina University in

1991. After serving in the Peace Corps in Senegal West Africa, he attended graduate school at

the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, completing his Master’s in sociology in 1995

and his Ph.D. in the same field in 2003. He was a tenured professor of criminology at the

University of Memphis, where he spent eight years before going to work as a research

criminologist at RTI International in 2012. He has lived in Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala

and he currently has multiple work activities across Central America and the Caribbean. He has

been happily and enthusiastically married to his best friend Kim for nearly 30 years. Together

they have two grown sons, Forrest and Walker, and a lovely daughter-in-law Annika. All are also

storytelling adventurers!

Previous

Erin Raxón
Next

Luis Fernando Hernández