Carlos Alberto Pablo Hernandez (born January 14, 1971) is an American writer of science-fiction and fantasy. He is best known for the young adult novels Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, which won the 2020 Pura Belpré Award, and its sequel, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe.
Career
editHernandez earned his Ph. D. in English, with an emphasis in Creative Writing, from Binghamton University in 2000. He is an English professor at the City University of New York in the Borough of Manhattan Community College campus. He also teaches in the Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Program in CUNY’s Graduate Center.[1]
Hernandez’s interest in game-based learning led him to co-found the CUNY Games Network[2] and the Board Game Designers Group of New York.[citation needed] He has served as lead writer and a game designer on Meriwether, a computer role-playing game charting the voyage of the Lewis and Clark expedition released in 2017[3] and as literary curator on the 2020 Apple Arcade game Dear Reader, a word- and literature-identification game.[citation needed] He is currently finalizing Negocios Infernales, a tabletop roleplaying game he co-created with C. S. E. Cooney, for Outland Entertainment.[4]
Personal life
editHernandez lives in Queens, New York, with his wife, World Fantasy Award author C. S. E. Cooney.
Sal and Gabi series
editMain article: Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
Main article: Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe
The Sal and Gabi novels are works of young adult fiction that mix Cuban traditions and beliefs with science fiction. The books follow the adventures of Sal Vidón and his best friend Gabi Reál as they handle the consequences of Sal’s ability to open portals to alternate universes, all the while attending Miami’s premier magnet school, Culeco Academy of the Arts.
The first Sal and Gabi novel was described by Kirkus Reviews as “a breath of fresh air”[5] while Publishers Weekly gave both novels starred reviews, applauding Break the Universe’s “nonstop sense of wonder [that] accompanies a genuinely heartwarming and humorous tone” and concluding that “Sal and Gabi are clearly a fictional team destined for greatness.”[6]
The Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria
editA collection of twelve speculative short stories that, in the words of reviewer for the LA Review of Books, “defies categorization by bringing together elements of Latina/o and speculative writing in a masterful mashup of science, magic, and cultural belief.”[7]
Stories included: “Aphotic Ghost,” “Homeostasis,” “Entanglements,” “International Studbook of the Giant Panda,” “Macrobe Conservation Project,” “Los Simpáticos,” “More Than Pigs and Rosaries Can Give,” “Bone of My Bone,” “Magical Properties of Unicorn Ivory,” “American Moat,” “Fantaisie Impromptu no.4 in C#min, op.66,” and “Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria.”
Works
editThe Sal and Gabi Series
- Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. Disney Hyperion, 2019.
- Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe. Disney Hyperion, 2020. Winner of the 2020 Pura Belpré Award.
Short story collection
The Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria. Rosarium Publishing, 2016.
Novel
Abecedarium: A novel in ten stories. Co-authored with Davis Schneiderman. Chiasmus Media, 2007.
References
editCategory:Living people Category:1971 births Category:American science fiction writers Category:American writers of Cuban descent Category:21st-century American male writers
- ^ "Faculty and Staff, The Graduate Center-CUNY". www.gc.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Game On: How Four Community College Professors Spawned the CUNY Games Network". EdSurge. 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ Hawkins, Cynthia (2012-12-18). "Meriwether: A Conversation with Game Designers Carlos Hernandez and Joshua DeBonis". The Nervous Breakdown. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Negocios Infernales". Outland Entertainment. 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ "Sal & Gabi Break the Universe". Kirkus Reviews. 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Children's Book Review: Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ Sanchez-Taylor, Joy (2016-10-08). "Fantasy or Faith? Carlos Hernandez's "The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)