Mountains and Me

Rio Cortez is the New York Times bestselling author of picture books The ABCs of Black History illustrated by Lauren Semmer (Workman, 2020); The River Is My Sea, illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin (S&S, 2024); The Blue Velvet Chair, illustrated by Aaron Marin (S&S, 2025); and The ABCs of Women's History, illustrated by Lauren Semmer (Workman, 2025). Her debut poetry collection, Golden Ax, was published to critical acclaim by Penguin, and praised by Roxane Gay, Ross Gay, Tope Folarin in Vulture, Ron Charles in The Washington Post, Brenda Shaughnessy, Morgan Parker, NPR, and more. The poetry collection was also longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry and the Pen America Open Book Award. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, she now lives, writes, and works in Harlem.