Nathalie Alonso has always loved to write — a passion that blossomed when her grandmother gifted her an electric typewriter at the age of nine. Today, she’s a versatile wordsmith whose work spans children’s books, sports journalism and freelance writing on topics ranging from science and food to travel, wellness and more.
Born and raised in her beloved borough of Queens, where she still lives, Nathalie is Cuban American and spoke Spanish before she spoke English. She considers being bilingual a superpower. True to her Cuban roots, she loves baseball and since 2006 she has been part of the editorial team for MLB Español, the official Spanish-language website of Major League Baseball. In that role, she has focused on telling the stories of players and coaches from Latin America, and has covered All-Star Games and World Series. She is a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
As a freelance journalist, Nathalie has reported on a wide range of subjects — from how centuries-old timber in New York City is being studied to understand climate change, to efforts to rename bird species originally named after colonial figures, to a profile of the first American journalist granted extensive access to North Korea. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Outside, AFAR and Refinery29, among other outlets.
In 2014, Nathalie attended her first workshop at the Highlights Foundation to learn the craft of writing for children’s magazines. Her work has since appeared in TIME for Kids, FACES and COBBLESTONE. In 2019, she was awarded the inaugural Highlights Foundation Diversity Fellowship in Children’s Literature, which gave her the resources to seriously pursue children’s book writing. Her picture books include Old Clothes for Dinner?! and Take Me Out to the Ballgame! (Barefoot Books), and Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos (Calkins Creek), which was recognized as a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. Nathalie has also written for the educational market, for clients such as Curriculum Associates, Gibbs Smith Education and Lumina Datamatics.
Nathalie earned a B.A. in American studies from Columbia University in New York City.
