About Mirtle
I'm Mirtle Peña-Calderón, a storyteller, editor, journalist, and author based in Miami.
I am bilingual in English and Spanish, and I have spent 13 years in agencies and newsrooms learning how stories work and why they matter.
I started in agencies, learning how brands speak. I moved into newsrooms, learning how stories work, with bylines at People Chica by People en Español, HOLA! USA, mitú, FIERCE by mitú, and more.
Then I founded Latinidad Collective, my own media company, to do both on my own terms.
I am also the co-author of The Book of Awesome Latinas, written with Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda and published in March 2026.
Today I work as a bilingual editor and storytelling strategist, helping writers, founders, creatives, and organizations find the story underneath what they're building and say it in a way that actually lands.
Why I Do This Work
I grew up understanding that stories are how communities hold themselves together. They help us make sense of hard things, pass down what matters, find purpose, and connect.
I have seen firsthand what happens when someone is made to feel that their story does not belong. That it is too complicated, too specific, too niche, or too different to matter in the larger scope of things. It does not just affect their writing, but how they see themselves and what they can be.
Storytelling is not just a craft. It is how we make sense of who we are and where we come from. When someone loses access to their own voice, something real is lost.
My work is about helping people get that back. Not by simplifying their stories, but by honoring everything that makes them who they are (the nuance, the culture, the lived experience, and the mundane moments) and helping it land the way it deserves.
Publications I've Appeared In
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