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The Wittliff's literary curator, Steve Davis talks to author Sergio Troncoso about his new book, ... more The Wittliff's literary curator, Steve Davis talks to author Sergio Troncoso about his new book, "Nepantla Familias" (Texas A&M Press and The Wittliff Collections), an anthology of Mexican American authors writing on the topic of families living "in-between" cultures and how their experiences can help us all have more empathy for one another.

"A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity." ---Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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Sergio Troncoso talks about his novel NOBODY'S PILGRIMS: Three teenagers (Turi, Molly, Arnulfo) i... more Sergio Troncoso talks about his novel NOBODY'S PILGRIMS: Three teenagers (Turi, Molly, Arnulfo) in search of their American dreams drive across the country in a stolen pickup as evil people are after the contraband hidden in their truck. A novel that somewhat predicted the pandemic, Nobody's Pilgrims is set in a dystopian America where grit, intelligence, luck, and love are needed to survive.

The border goes beyond the border in a story about who belongs in the United States and how finding your place in this world is about finding the right person to be with you. A literary novel with the propulsion of a thriller, Nobody's Pilgrims both offers and questions the possibility of escape in America -- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn meets No Country for Old Men. (Lee & Low Books: Cinco Puntos Press, 2022)

“Troncoso delivers a surprisingly fast-paced, character-driven story....A sublime, diverse cast drives this tale of looking for a safe, welcoming home.”
---Kirkus Reviews

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Teaching Documents by Sergio Troncoso

Nepantla Familias brings together Mexican American narratives that explore and negotiate the many... more Nepantla Familias brings together Mexican American narratives that explore and negotiate the many permutations of living in between different worlds—how the authors or their characters create, or fail to create, a cohesive identity amid the contradictions in their lives. Nepantla—or living in the in-between space of the borderland—is the focus of this anthology. The essays, poems, and short stories explore the in-between moments in Mexican American life—the family dynamics of living between traditional and contemporary worlds, between Spanish and English, between cultures with traditional and shifting identities. In times of change, family values are either adapted or discarded in the quest for self-discovery, part of the process of selecting and composing elements of a changing identity. Edited by award-winning writer and scholar Sergio Troncoso, this anthology includes works from familiar and acclaimed voices such as David Dorado Romo, Sandra Cisneros, Alex Espinoza, Reyna Grande, and Francisco Cantú, as well as from important new voices, such as Stephanie Li, David Dominguez, and ire’ne lara silva. These are writers who open and expose the in-between places: through or at borders; among the past, present, and future; from tradition to innovation; between languages; in gender; about the wounds of the past and the victories of the present; of life and death. Sergio Troncoso, David Dorado Romo, Reyna Grande, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Francisco Cantú, Rigoberto González, Alex Espinoza, Domingo Martinez, Oscar Cásares, Lorraine M. López, David Dominguez, Stephanie Li, Sheryl Luna, José Antonio Rodríguez, Deborah Paredez, Octavio Quintanilla, Sandra Cisneros, Diana Marie Delgado, Diana López, Severo Perez, Octavio Solis, ire'ne lara silva, Rubén Degollado, Helena María Viramontes, Daniel Chacón, Matt Mendez.

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Teacher's Guide to Nobody's Pilgrims, by Sergio Troncoso. Three teenagers in search of their Amer... more Teacher's Guide to Nobody's Pilgrims, by Sergio Troncoso. Three teenagers in search of their American Dreams drive across the country in a stolen pickup as evil people are after the contraband hidden in their truck. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn meets No Country for Old Men.

“Troncoso delivers a surprisingly fast-paced, character-driven story. For example, readers watch Turi evolve from a meek 16-year-old loner to a capable young man who genuinely cares for his ‘semi-friend’ Arnulfo. At the same time, the road trip keeps the tightly plotted narrative moving across the country, all while villains (there are quite a few) close in. The cast also shines, including one criminal henchman harboring a tender affection for his ‘hulking giant’ of a partner. The author rounds out his memorable tale by touching on contemporary topical issues, like prejudices against caramel skin and undocumented immigrants. A sublime, diverse cast drives this tale of looking for a safe, welcoming home.”
---Kirkus Reviews

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"On good days I feel I am a bridge. On bad days I just feel alone," Sergio Troncoso writes in thi... more "On good days I feel I am a bridge. On bad days I just feel alone," Sergio Troncoso writes in this riveting collection of sixteen personal essays in which he seeks to connect the humanity of his Mexican family to people he meets on the East Coast, including his wife's Jewish kin. Raised in a home steps from the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, Troncoso crossed what seemed an even more imposing border when he left home to attend Harvard College.

Initially, "outsider status" was thrust upon him; later, he adopted it willingly, writing about the Southwest and Chicanos in an effort to communicate who he was and where he came from to those unfamiliar with his childhood world. He wrote to maintain his ties to his parents and his abuelita, and to fight against the elitism he experienced at an Ivy League school. "I was torn," he writes, "between the people I loved at home and the ideas I devoured away from home."

Troncoso writes to preserve his connections to the past, but he puts pen to paper just as much for the future. In his three-part essay entitled "Letter to My Young Sons," he documents the terror of his wife's breast cancer diagnosis and the ups and downs of her surgery and treatment. Other essays convey the joys and frustrations of fatherhood, his uneasy relationship with his elderly father and the impact his wife's Jewish heritage and religion have on his Mexican-American identity.

Crossing Borders: Personal Essays reveals a writer, father and husband who has crossed linguistic, cultural and intellectual borders to provoke debate about contemporary Mexican-American identity. Challenging assumptions about literature, the role of writers in America, fatherhood and family, these essays bridge the chasm between the poverty of the border region and the highest echelons of success in America. Troncoso writes with the deepest faith in humanity about sacrifice, commitment and honesty.

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Four Teaching Guides for From This Wicked Patch of Dust, by Sergio Troncoso. Pilar and Cuauhte... more Four Teaching Guides for From This Wicked Patch of Dust, by Sergio Troncoso.

Pilar and Cuauhtemoc Martinez and their four children begin life in the shantytown of Ysleta on the United States-Mexico border. They struggle to stay together despite cultural clashes, different religions, and politics after September 11, 2001. Daughter Julieta is disenchanted with Catholicism and converts to Islam. Youngest son Ismael, always the bookworm, is accepted to Harvard but feels out of place in the Northeast where he meets and marries a Jewish woman. Will their shared history and once-common dreams be enough to hold together a family from Ysleta, this wicked patch of dust?

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Lupe Perez crosses the Rio Grande to work for Helen Rogers in El Paso, Texas, in a story about th... more Lupe Perez crosses the Rio Grande to work for Helen Rogers in El Paso, Texas, in a story about the physical borders between us as well as the metaphysical borders between imagination and reality. "Day of the Dead" is one of the twelve stories in The Last Tortilla and Other Stories, by Sergio Troncoso.

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Three boys play a dangerous game that becomes a test of character on the Mexican-American border.... more Three boys play a dangerous game that becomes a test of character on the Mexican-American border. "A Rock Trying To Be a Stone" is one of the twelve stories in The Last Tortilla and Other Stories, by Sergio Troncoso.

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A short story about a young man from El Paso, Texas who falls in love with an older woman from Me... more A short story about a young man from El Paso, Texas who falls in love with an older woman from Mexico and rediscovers his Mexican heritage. "Angie Luna" is one of the twelve stories in The Last Tortilla and Other Stories, by Sergio Troncoso.

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The point of writing stories should be not only to preserve cultural heritage, but also to challe... more The point of writing stories should be not only to preserve cultural heritage, but also to challenge it. "Why Should Latinos Write Their Own Stories?" is one of the essays in Crossing Borders: Personal Essays, by Sergio Troncoso.

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Dolores Rivero, Troncoso's abuelita, taught him to fight for what is right, as well as to be self... more Dolores Rivero, Troncoso's abuelita, taught him to fight for what is right, as well as to be self-critical, which helped him to appreciate Judaism. "Fresh Challah" is one of the essays in Crossing Borders: Personal Essays, by Sergio Troncoso.

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"A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity." ---Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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“Troncoso delivers a surprisingly fast-paced, character-driven story....A sublime, diverse cast drives this tale of looking for a safe, welcoming home.”
---Kirkus Reviews

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Four Teaching Guides for From This Wicked Patch of Dust, by Sergio Troncoso. Pilar and Cuauhte... more Four Teaching Guides for From This Wicked Patch of Dust, by Sergio Troncoso.

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Nobody's Pilgrims, 2022

Nobody's Pilgrims is an adventure story about three teenagers, Turi, Molly, and Arnulfo, on the r... more Nobody's Pilgrims is an adventure story about three teenagers, Turi, Molly, and Arnulfo, on the run from evil and unwittingly carrying even a greater menace in their stolen truck. The border goes beyond the border in a story about who belongs in the United States and how finding your place in this world is about finding the right person to be with you. A literary novel with the propulsion of a thriller, Nobody's Pilgrims both offers and questions the possibility of escape in America -- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn meets No Country for Old Men. (Lee & Low Books: Cinco Puntos Press, 2022)

"The castoffs and castaways of Nobody's Pilgrims hit the road in search of the American Dream, a long shot made longer by the pack of human devils hot on their trail. In this superb novel, Sergio Troncoso gives us a fresh take not only on the great American road trip, but on the American Dream itself in all its glorious and increasingly fragile promise. The propulsive force of this novel, and the destination it ultimately brings us to, left me wanting more, and yet feeling completely satisfied. As only the best novels do."
--Ben Fountain, PEN/Hemingway award-winning author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara

"In a world marked by cruelty, corruption, bigotry and disease, Troncoso shows us there's still room for love. With his finely honed prose style, he takes us on a journey across the country with three young hungry teens whose dreams are the only lifelines they have left. A powerful, compelling read."
--Octavio Solis, author of Retablos: Stories From a Life Lived Along the Border

"Eloquent, bold and terrifying, Nobody's Pilgrims is a fresh new take on the ancient themes of innocence pursued by evil, and of the young finding their way through a chaotic and uncertain world. Turi, Arnulfo and Molly are original and uniquely endearing, and they're a pleasure to travel with, even on such a frightening journey."
--Elizabeth Crook, author of Monday, Monday

"Nobody's Pilgrims offers a stark vision of a country whose social ills have sullied the path to the pursuit of happiness. Yet its intrepid protagonists Turi and Molly persevere, charting their own map and adapting, like generations of dreamers, immigrants, and adventurers before them, to the latest hurdles of our troubled world. Sergio Troncoso has given us a timely dystopian tale heavy with anguish but invigorated by resilience."
--Rigoberto González, author of Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa

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Nepantla Familias: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature on Families in between Worlds, 2021

Edited by award-winning writer and scholar Sergio Troncoso, this anthology includes works from familiar and acclaimed voices such as David Dorado Romo, Sandra Cisneros, Alex Espinoza, Reyna Grande, and Francisco Cantú, as well as from important new voices, such as Stephanie Li, David Dominguez, and ire’ne lara silva. These are writers who open and expose the in-between places: through or at borders; among the past, present, and future; from tradition to innovation; between languages; in gender; about the wounds of the past and the victories of the present; of life and death.

Sergio Troncoso, David Dorado Romo, Reyna Grande, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Francisco Cantú, Rigoberto González, Alex Espinoza, Domingo Martinez, Oscar Cásares, Lorraine M. López, David Dominguez, Stephanie Li, Sheryl Luna, José Antonio Rodríguez, Deborah Paredez, Octavio Quintanilla, Sandra Cisneros, Diana Marie Delgado, Diana López, Severo Perez, Octavio Solis, ire'ne lara silva, Rubén Degollado, Helena María Viramontes, Daniel Chacón, Matt Mendez.

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Lee & Low Books, 2019

Book summary for A Peculiar Kind of Immigrant's Son, a collection of linked short stories on immi... more Book summary for A Peculiar Kind of Immigrant's Son, a collection of linked short stories on immigration by Sergio Troncoso. Immigrants find their home beyond the border, try to fit in, and are outsiders as present struggles and memories of the past pull their selves in different directions.

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With a foreword by renowned novelist Rolando Hinojosa-Smith and comprised of personal essays abou... more With a foreword by renowned novelist Rolando Hinojosa-Smith and comprised of personal essays about the impact of drug violence on life and culture along the U.S.-Mexico border, the anthology combines writings by residents of both countries. Mexican authors Liliana Blum, Lolita Bosch, and Diego Osorno write riveting, first-hand accounts about the clashes between the drug cartels and citizens' attempts to resist the criminals. American authors, including José Antonio Rodríguez and José Skinner, focus on how the corruption and bloodshed have affected the bi-national and bi-cultural existence of families and individuals. Maria Cristina Cigarroa shares her poignant memories of life in her grandparents’ home now abandoned in Nuevo Laredo.

In their introduction, editors Sarah Cortez and Sergio Troncoso write that this anthology was “born of a vision to bear witness to how this violence has shattered life on the border, to remember the past, but also to point to the possibilities of a better future.” The personal essays in this collection humanize the news stories and are a must-read for anyone interested in how this fragile way of life between two cultures, languages and countries has been undermined by the drug trade and the crime that accompanies it, with ramifications far beyond the border region.

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In the border shantytown of Ysleta, Mexican immigrants Pilar and Cuauhtemoc Martinez strive to te... more In the border shantytown of Ysleta, Mexican immigrants Pilar and Cuauhtemoc Martinez strive to teach their four children to forsake the drugs and gangs of their neighborhood. The family’s hardscrabble origins are just the beginning of this sweeping new novel from Sergio Troncoso.

Spanning four decades, this is a story of a family’s struggle to become American and yet not be pulled apart by a maelstrom of cultural forces. As a young adult, daughter Julieta is disenchanted with Catholicism and converts to Islam. Youngest son Ismael, always the bookworm, is accepted to Harvard but feels out of place in the Northeast, where he meets and marries a Jewish woman.

The other boys--Marcos and Francisco--toil in their father’s old apartment buildings, serving as cheap labor to fuel the family’s rise to the middle class. Over time, Francisco isolates himself in El Paso, while Marcos eventually leaves to become a teacher but then returns, struggling with a deep bitterness about his work and marriage. Through it all, Pilar clings to the idea of her family and tries to hold it together as her husband’s health begins to fail.

This backdrop is shaken to its core by the historic events of 2001 in New York City, which send shockwaves through this newly American family. Bitter conflicts erupt between siblings, and the physical and cultural spaces between them threaten to tear them apart. Will their shared history and once-shared dreams be enough to hold together a family from Ysleta, this wicked patch of dust?

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“On good days I feel I am a bridge. On bad days I just feel alone,” Sergio Troncoso writes in thi... more “On good days I feel I am a bridge. On bad days I just feel alone,” Sergio Troncoso writes in this riveting collection of sixteen personal essays in which he seeks to connect the humanity of his Mexican family to people he meets on the East Coast, including his wife’s Jewish kin. Raised in a home steps from the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, Troncoso crossed what seemed an even more imposing border when he left home to attend Harvard College.

Initially, “outsider status” was thrust upon him; later, he adopted it willingly, writing about the Southwest and Chicanos in an effort to communicate who he was and where he came from to those unfamiliar with his childhood world. He wrote to maintain his ties to his parents and his abuelita, and to fight against the elitism he experienced at an Ivy League school. “I was torn,” he writes, “between the people I loved at home and the ideas I devoured away from home.”

Troncoso writes to preserve his connections to the past, but he puts pen to paper just as much for the future. In his three-part essay entitled “Letter to My Young Sons,” he documents the terror of his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis and the ups and downs of her surgery and treatment. Other essays convey the joys and frustrations of fatherhood, his uneasy relationship with his elderly father, and the impact his wife’s Jewish heritage and religion have on his Mexican-American identity.

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Helmut Sanchez is a young researcher in the employ of renowned Yale professor Werner Hopfgartner.... more Helmut Sanchez is a young researcher in the employ of renowned Yale professor Werner Hopfgartner. By chance, Helmut discovers a letter written decades ago by his boss mocking guilt over the Holocaust. Appalled, Helmut digs into the scholar's life and travels to Austria and Italy to uncover evidence of Hopfgartner's hateful past. What will Helmut do with the truth he discovers?

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The son of Mexican immigrants, Sergio Troncoso has a rare knack for celebrating life. Writing in... more The son of Mexican immigrants, Sergio Troncoso has a rare knack for celebrating life. Writing in a straightforward, light-handed style reminiscent of Grace Paley and Raymond Carver, Troncoso spins passionate, thoughtful, and surprising stories that reflect his experience crossing linguistic and cultural borders. In his widely acclaimed story "Angie Luna," the tale of a feverish love affair in which a young man from El Paso rediscovers his Mexican heritage, Troncoso explores questions of self-identity and the ephemeral quality of love. "A Rock Trying to Be a Stone" is a story of three boys playing a dangerous game that becomes a test of character on the Mexican-American border. "My Life in the City" focuses on a transplanted Texan's yearning for companionship in New York City. "Remembering Possibilities" delves into the terror of a young man attacked in his apartment while he takes solace in memories of a lost love. Troncoso sets aside the polemics about social discomfort sometimes found in contemporary Chicano literature and concentrates instead on the moral and intellectual lives of his characters.

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