Francine Rodriguez

Francine Rodriguez grew up in and around downtown Los Angeles. She worked as a Federal Investigator, and Federal Mediator. She also practiced law, and worked as a counselor in the field of psychology. Her earlier works focused on marginalized individuals, primarily Latina women from the community, She has published numerous short stories in literary journals, and her work appears in various anthologies such as Taboos and Transgressions, The Best of 2023, and The Best of 2025. She has been nominated for two Pushcart Awards for short stories entitled An Hour In the Life of A Five-Year-Old Pool Player, and Dream Merchant.

Her work is inspired by the people she met along the way for whom she wanted to give a voice and whose stories needed to be told. Her stories often depict struggles with racism, sexism, ageism, exploitation, poverty, and conflicts between culture and community, family and lovers. Her characters nevertheless sustain not only as victims but as heroines.