Our Authors
Who We Are
Brenda Vaca
Founder & Author
Brenda Vaca is a Xicana poet, author, and independent publisher from Sejatnga, Unceded Tongva Territory, known as South Whittier, CA. She earned her B.A. in English at U.C.Berkeley with a Minor in Creative Writing. Later she went on to graduate school in Berkeley earning a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages from the Pacific School of Religion and Graduate Theological Union. She served as an ordained Elder working primarily in "Latinx" communities with the United Methodist Church for 10 years until an interfaith pilgrimage to Central America in August 2015 altered the course of her life. Poetry and writing have been lifelong passions. Riot of Roses is her debut collection of poetry published by her indie house, Riot of Roses Publishing House. She is currently working on her first children's book, Buttonz Finds His Mojo, under the imprint Oh My Gatos Books. She is the host of the weekly Instagram live series "Friday Fire" and the monthly co-host of "The Post Up" open mic at Uptown Plants Casa Verde LA in Uptown Whittier, CA.
562-632-8553
Diosa Xochiquetzalcoatl
Poet * Slam Champion * Educator
Diosa Xochiquetzalcóatl is a multilingual and multidimensional, 3x slam/spoken word champion and international poetiza and workshop presenter. She is a seasoned language arts educator with a Bachelor's in English and Master's in Cross-Cultural Teaching. Diosa X is a proud member of Tesoro, an international women's poetry troupe, Circulo de poetas and Writers, California Poets in Schools, as a teacher-in-training, CABE and Inlandia. Diosa comes to you today with her third poetry collection, West of the Santa Ana and Other Sacred Places brought to you by Riot of Roses Publishing. Her other collections include, A Church of My Own (2021) and Hechizera: Sus Sultry Spells (Editorial Raíces, 2022). You can find all of her pertinent information at https://linktr.ee/DiosaX.
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VOTH
Debut Author
Knowing what it’s like to be trapped by one’s own mental asylum, VOTH is on a road of enlightenment where he’s learned there’s more than one way to cope with the faces of trauma, to heal, and brings hope to the pain fear created. His debut collection of poetry, Dieagnosis, will be released this Autumnal Equinox 2023.
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VOTH is Voice of the Harbor.
Anastasia Fenald
Author & Poet
Anastasia Helena Fenald (b. 1992) is a second-generation Ukrainian- Hispanic-American poet from Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert. She has been published in Sheila- Na-Gig Online Journal, Acid Verse Literary Journal, The Sims Library of Poetry’s Anthology Poems in Praise of Libraries, and more. Her debut collection Help Me, I'm Here: Poems to Myself (2022) is out now by the World Stage Press in both ebook and paper back copies.
Annalicia Aguilar
Debut Author
Annalicia Aguilar is a Mexican American/mixed-race indigenous poet, screenwriter, playwright, and producer from South Texas who relocated to Los Angeles. She has her MFA in Screenwriting for Film and Television, and her BFA in Acting from AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts. She has been a featured poet for the Trenches Full of Poets Series, Los Angeles Poet Society, Sim’s Library of Poetry, The Community Literature Initiative, and will publish her full length collection of poetry, Broken, But Holding with Riot of Roses Publishing House in 2023. Her first spoken word tour was with Alegria Publishing. When she's not performing or writing, she teaches Performance Techniques for Poets workshops and guest lectures about topics such as Social Media Marketing for Poets. She is an avid believer in storytelling healing the world.
Elodia Benitez
Poet
Elodia Esperanza Benitez is a Mexican American poet from Gilroy, CA bringing the strength of her ancestors and heritage to her work. She began writing at an early age as a way of processing her experiences and those around her. Her poems bring to life those closest to her by way of inviting their voices to sweep across the page. You can find her work in EASTSIDE magazine, the MALCS (Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social) journal and on her Instagram page @elodiabenitez. She is the author of the self-published chapbook Love in Many Faces (2022) and will publish her full length collection, My Nana's Hands with Riot of Roses Publishing House in the fall of 2023.
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Paola Gutierrez
Children's Book Author & Poet
Paola Gutierrez is the author of the self-published Children's book, No me gusta el brócoli/I Don't Like Broccoli. She is the creative genius behind El Libro Feliz y Yo & La Piedrita Feliz. She is currently finalizing the manuscript for her first full length poetry collection.
Sandy Shakes
Spoken Truth Artist
Riot of Roses Publishing House will be opening submissions for 2024 in late 2023. Stay tuned...
