Phillip
D. Cortez
"Every face tells a story, and every story deserves to be told."
Phillip D. Cortez is an award-winning author and speaker from El Paso, Texas. His picture book I'll Be The Moon: A Migrant Child's Story won the International Latino Book Award. He speaks to schools, libraries, and conferences about the border, migration, family, and the power of owning your own story.
Speaking
Stories that
move rooms.
Phillip speaks to schools, libraries, booksellers, and conferences across the country. Every talk comes from the same place: El Paso, the border, and the families who cross it.
I'll Be the Moon: A Migrant Child's Story
A read-aloud and conversation about migration, separation, and the love that crosses borders, built around the award-winning picture book.
For elementary schools, libraries, and family events
Every Story Deserves to Be Told
Why owning your narrative changes everything, especially for kids who rarely see their families in books.
For middle and high schools, educators, and community groups
Writing the Border
What it takes to write honestly about immigration and home without flattening the people who live it.
For conferences, literary festivals, and bookseller events
The Work
Books that start
conversations.
From bilingual picture books to a manifesto on happiness, every book Phillip has written starts with the same belief: stories change people.
Nuestra luna, nuestro hogar
Our Moon, Our Home / Nuestra luna, nuestro hogar
A bilingual board book adaptation of I'll Be The Moon, from The Collective Book Studio.
I'll Be The Moon: A Migrant Child's Story
A tender picture book about a migrant child's journey and the love that crosses every border.
Seré la luna
The Spanish-language edition of I'll Be The Moon.
#TheHappyManifesto
Three practical rules for happier students.
Pancakes For Dinner!
The best dinner ever, and the joy of celebrating little moments with family.
Ava & the "Monsters"
A curious girl, strange desert creatures, and a uniquely El Paso adventure.
When I Close My Eyes
A bilingual picture book about dreams and the stories we tell ourselves at night.
Night Rhythms
Where it all began: the sounds and rhythms of nighttime.
The Blog
The Better Than
Good Blog.
Essays on family, El Paso, storytelling, and the unexpected lessons that come from paying attention. Published on Substack, free to read and share.
"I was always making up stories to try and get out of trouble anyway. But that sort of comes with the territory when you've got four brothers."
Phillip Dominic Cortez was born in El Paso, Texas, where he became fascinated with books and stories at a very early age. It wasn't long before he wanted to write his own.
He began his career as a freelance sports writer for his local paper before moving on to op-eds, editorials, and feature stories. His children's book Night Rhythms was published in 2011, followed by When I Close My Eyes (2013), Ava & the "Monsters" (2015), and Pancakes For Dinner! (2016). In 2018 he published #TheHappyManifesto: Three Rules for Happier Students, which led to The Better Than Good Blog.
His most recent work, I'll Be The Moon: A Migrant Child's Story and its Spanish-language edition Seré la luna, won the International Latino Book Award. A bilingual board book adaptation, Our Moon, Our Home / Nuestra luna, nuestro hogar, arrives January 26, 2027 from The Collective Book Studio.
He lives in El Paso with his wife Patty and their four children: Ivan, Cameron, Ava, and Zoe. He is still fascinated, daily, by the many stories they tell.
Get in Touch
Let's start
a conversation.
For speaking and school visits, use the booking form. For book signings, media, or just to say hello, email Phillip directly.