Zoraida Cordova

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-27

Zoraida Córdova was born June 26, 1987, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and immigrated to the United States at around age five, growing up in Queens, New York, where she learned English as a second language. Inspired at age thirteen by author Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Córdova began pursuing writing seriously, completing her first novel by nineteen and sending her first query letter to literary agents at seventeen. She attended Hunter College and the University of Montana, and after graduating she interned at a literary and film management agency, where she met the agent who would go on to represent her. Her debut novel, The Vicious Deep, sold to Sourcebooks within a week of submission in 2012 and launched a trilogy (2012–2015) about a lifeguard who develops mysterious powers after a mystical tidal wave. She is best known for the Brooklyn Brujas series (2016–2020), centered on a family of magical Latina witches and described by Córdova as a Latinx take on the witch-family drama, drawing heavily on her own cultural heritage; its first book, Labyrinth Lost, received a starred review from School Library Journal and was optioned for film by Paramount in 2017. Córdova has since written tie-in fiction for the Star Wars franchise, the young adult Hollow Crown duology, and middle-grade novels, and publishes contemporary romance under the pen name Zoey Castile. She co-founded the advocacy and community organization Latinx in Kidlit and co-edits fantasy anthologies celebrating diverse voices in the genre.

Universe(s)

Books

• Labyrinth Lost (2016) · Brooklyn Brujas Core Canon
• Bruja Born (2018) · Brooklyn Brujas Core Canon
• Wayward Witch (2020) · Brooklyn Brujas Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 3 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 0 (None recorded)

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