News and information for staff members and the Madison community
Vol. I No. 4 - February 17, 2006
My name is Luana Monteiro; I currently work as a Bilingual Resource Specialist at Memorial and Muir.
I also write, as do many of us, and in August of 2005 my first collection of short stories, "Little Star of Bela Lua," was published, followed by a generous book review in People magazine, complete with photo.
I was recently asked to write a few words on what working for the Madison School District while being famous has been like.
The truth is, the literary market, specifically for short stories, is so abysmally small that I'm far from famous (and light-years from the rich part); without all my good friends in the district making such a fuss over the book, there is no way anyone could perceive me as the least bit famous. I will admit: there were moments when I felt like a celebrity. For instance, a first grader once complained to me, "Ms. Luana, I saw your picture in a magazine at the doctor's office, I told my mommy I knew you and she didn't believe me."
Another time, an enthusiastic ESL teacher interrupted my conversation with a ninth-grader saying, "She's published a book you know. AND she's been in People magazine," to which the student responded: "Nah-uh." She quickly produced a copy of the book along with the article. After inspecting the items skeptically, the student pronounced, "That ain't her." At that moment, the magnitude of my superstardom dawned upon me.
Finally, earlier this year, I was honored with the "Awesome Author's Award" ribbon from Mrs. Padden's kindergarten class, made of colorful construction paper and glitter. Anyone can get the Booker Prize, but this literary award is definitely unique.
My deepest gratitude to all of you. It’s due to your love and support that I can wear my sunglasses in the hallways. A special thanks to the book clubs of Memorial colleagues Judy Wong and Robin Reed for pampering me and further inflating my ego.
Last Updated: Thu Apr 13 14:17:54 2006
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