Mauricio Novoa was born and raised in Glenmont, Maryland, to Salvadoran refugees. He received his master’s degree from Queens University of Charlotte. Memorias from the Beltway is his first full-length collection of poetry. His work has also been published in the Petigru Review, Acentos Review, Blue Mesa Review, Latino Book Review, The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States, and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatinNext. He currently lives in Austin, Texas, with his partner and pet tortoise, where he volunteers at Resistencia Books and the Barrio Writers program in Pflugerville.