About this Event
Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Saturday, March 21 at 6:30 PM when San Francisco author René Peña-Govea comes to the store to present her new novel for Young Adults Estela, Undrowing. René will be joined in conversation by Aida Salazar and will sign copies of her book after the presentation.
to preorder a copy of Estela, Undrowning.
In her raw and resonant debut novel, René Peña-Govea seamlessly interweaves prose and poetry to uplift the power of language, the courage to fight injustice, and the complex beauty of finding your people—perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X and Carolina Ixta’s Shut Up, This is Serious.
Estela Morales is one of the only Latinas who tested into San Francisco’s most exclusive public high school. In her senior year, Estela just wants to keep her head down, eke out a passing grade from her racist Spanish teacher, and get into her dream college.
But after placing second in the Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest behind a non-Latino student, Estela is thrust into citywide debates about merit, identity, and diversity.
Things only get messier when her family is threatened with eviction. As Estela’s friends organize against bigotry and her landlady increases the pressure, Estela is suffocating and finds release only in poetry and in a breathless new romance. When tensions finally reach their breaking point, Estela must find a way to undrown the community she loves—and herself.
René Peña-Govea is a writer, educator, and musician born and raised in San Francisco. René published her first poem and released her first album at age fifteen, and since then, has been named a Publishers Weekly Spring 2026 Writer to Watch, an inaugural Bay Beats musician, a YBCA-100 Honoree, a Las Musas Hermana, an SFPL Brown-Handler Resident, a Creative-in-Residence at The Ruby, and a Nomadic Literary awardee. She works as a middle school librarian, and performs music with three generations of La Familia Peña-Govea and as René y Familia. Estela, Undrowning is her first novel.
Aida Salazar is an award-winning author, translator, and arts activist whose writings explore issues of identity and social justice. Her critically acclaimed verse novels and picture books have received over twenty five awards including an ALA Caldecott Honor, an ALA Pura Belpre Honor, The Malka Penn Human Rights in Children's Literature Award, The Américas Award, two Tomás Rivera Book Awards, a NSK Nuesdtat Finalist, several Gold Medal International Latino Book Awards among other distinctions. She lives with her family of artists in Oakland, CA.
THIS EVENT is free but registration is requested. Registration ends at 6:00 pm on March 21.
BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.
DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.
WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.
WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:15 and 6:30 PM for the event.
PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.
OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Mrs Dalloway's, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, United States
USD 0.00
