Torrey Maldonado
YA author · Tight, What Lane?
“Kids need to know how much you care before they care about how much you know.”
About Torrey
New York City’s current and former Chancellors have praised Torrey Maldonado as a top teacher and author. He has taught for over twenty years in his Brooklyn childhood hometown. His middle-grade titles include Tight, which won a Christopher Award and was named a Washington Post and NPR best book of the year, Secret Saturdays, and What Lane?. His newest book is titled Hands. Growing up, Torrey hated books because “they were boring or seemed to hate or dismiss people where I’m from.” Culturally responsive books and educators inspired him to teach and write. Voted a Top Latino Author and best Middle Grade and Young Adult novelist for African Americans, his work reflects his and students’ experiences and is praised for its current feel, realness, and universal themes.
Appearances
Every time Torrey Maldonado has taken the stage with House of SpeakEasy.
College Readiness after-school workshop
Union Settlement
Torrey led a College Readiness after-school workshop for SpeakTogether at Union Settlement in East Harlem in October 2019 and on December 4, 2019.
No Sleep Till
Joe's Pub at The Public Theater
Torrey also performed on stage for Seriously Entertaining at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater on September 17, 2019, speaking on the evening’s theme, "No Sleep Till".