Lourdes Leiner Author of In Vitro

Lourdes Leiner author of Sequence, Spider's Silk, Spit It Out and more will be discussing her newest release In Vitro at Phoenix Center for the Arts!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Set in a near-future America shaped by rising authoritarian control and biomedical innovation, In Vitro follows the story of women whose bodies become battlegrounds between technology, politics, and autonomy. The novel explores reproductive rights, the ethics of artificial life, and the struggle to preserve humanity in an increasingly mechanized world. Told through haunting, poetic prose, In Vitro blurs the line between body and machine, asking how far society will go to engineer perfection and what it means to remain human. Rooted in the landscapes and lore of the American Southwest, In Vitro reimagines the futures of women navigating power, technology, and survival. Through speculative storytelling and vivid imagery, the book envisions what it means to reclaim agency in worlds still haunted by history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lourdes Leiner is a poet, educator, and community advocate based in Tucson, Arizona. She is the author of five poetry collections: Stitches, Spit It Out, Silk, Sabotage, and Sequence (which was released alongside her debut music EP). Her forthcoming speculative science fiction novel, In Vitro, highlights the issues of bodily autonomy, women's futures, and the dystopian southwest. Lourdes highlighted southwestern poetry at the NYC Poetry Festival. She served as a Writer in Residence at Catalyst Studios (2025) and has received a University of Arizona Poetry Center fellowship.

She is dedicated to the transformative power of language; she is a current partner with Pima Community College. Lourdes has worked internationally as a mentor through Angloville programs in London and Oxford. She regularly leads workshops, readings, and performances that foster creativity and expand access to the arts, particularly for underserved communities. Rooted in the Sonoran Desert, Lourdes draws inspiration from the landscapes, cultures, and histories of Tucson. She is an active participant in the city’s vibrant literary and arts scene, where she continues to research and create at the intersections of art, culture, and community.