The Talon Review nominated Tom谩s Baiza, director of the Advising and Academic Support Center, for the 2025 Best of the Net anthology. Baiza’s nonfiction essay, “On Inconvenient Spanglish Characters 鈥� Or How We Don’t Have to Speak in Italics,” appeared in the publication’s . Natasha Kane, editor-in-chief of The Talon Review, recognized Baiza and the essay for its “shrewd craftiness in how artists use creative outlets to comment on the world we share.”
“The essay focuses on readers’ varied reactions to the characters I’ve written 鈥� characters who challenge expectations about ethnicity and linguistic representation in American literature,” Baiza said. “I’m honored that The Talon Review saw merit in the work and chose to submit it for consideration in the Best of the Net anthology.”