Demetria Martinez will discuss her journey as a renowned author, lecturer, activist, and columnist.

Among Martinez’s most notable books is Mother Tongue, based in part upon her 1988 trial for conspiracy against the United States government in connection with smuggling Salvadoran refugees into the country. She was later found to be not guilty on First Amendment grounds. Martinez’s collection of autobiographical essays, Confessions of a Berlitz-Tape Chicana, earned her the 2006 International Latino Book Award.

The event is co-sponsored by the Latino Writers Collective. It complements the exhibit, Nosotras: Portraits of Latinas, on display at the Central Library through March 7.