The writers below are all featured in My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today. Use the links to their websites to connect with them and learn more.
PERUVIAN-AMERICAN
mariearana.net
My name is Marie Arana. I was born in Lima, Peru and I came to the United States at the age of ten. I’ve written a memoir, two novels, a biography, and my most recent book is called “Silver, Sword, and Stone,” which takes Latin American history back 1,000 years to explain who we are.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
julissaarce.com
Hello. My name is Julissa Arce. I am the author of “My Underground American Dream” and “Someone Like Me.” I am an American from Mexico.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
gustavoarellano.org
My name is Gustavo Arellano. I’m a features writer for the “Los Angeles Times,” author of the book “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America,” and I’m from Orange County, California, specifically Anaheim.
CUBAN-AMERICAN
pablocartaya.com
Hi. My name is Pablo Cartaya, and I am a proud Cuban American. I have written “The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora,” “Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish,” and “Each Tiny Spark.” I am extremely proud to write books that bring a voice to a culture, a people, and to kids, especially, that have not had a voice yet. So thank you. Gracias. Hasta luego.
HAITIAN-AMERICAN
edwidgedanticat.com
My name is Edwidge Danticat. I was born in Haiti and I moved to the United States when I was 12. I write fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and I currently live in Miami, Florida.
NIGERIAN-AMERICAN
akwaeke.com
My name is Akwaeke Emezi. I was born and raised in Nigeria and I am the author of “Freshwater” and the Young Adult novel “Pet.” I live in liminal spaces.
INDIAN-AMERICAN
amitavghosh.com
My name is Amitav Ghosh, and I was born in Calcutta, India. I’ve written nine novels and four or five books of nonfiction. I’ve done a lot of reviewing, and worked in journalism for many publications. So I’ve been writing for a long time.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
rigobertogonzalez.com
I’m Rigoberto González. I was born in the U.S., raised in Mexico and I was educated in the U.S. I’m a writer and a college professor. I identify as an immigrant writer, as a Mexican writer, a Chicano writer, a gay writer. My recent titles are “What Drowns the Flowers in Your Mouth: a Memoir,” and “The Book of Ruin,” a book of poetry.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
reynagrande.com
My name is Reyna Grande, and I am originally from Guerrero, Mexico, but now I live in California. And I am the author of the books “Across 100 Mountains,” “Dancing With Butterflies,” “The Distance Between Us,” and “A Dream Called Home.”
JORDANIAN-AMERICAN
lailahalaby.net
My name is Laila Halaby. I was born in Lebanon. My father was Jordanian. My mom’s American. I have a couple novels, “West of the Jordan,” and “Once in the Promised Land,” and I have a collection of poetry called “My Name on His Tongue.” And I currently live in Tucson, Arizona.
JAPANESE-AMERICAN
joeide.com
My name is Joe Ide. I live in Santa Monica now. I’ve written a series about a character named IQ, who is in essence Sherlock in the hood. And so far that’s me.
KOREAN-AMERICAN
ro-kwon.com
Hi. I’m R.O. Kwon. I’m the author of “The Incendiaries,” which is a book about a woman who gets involved with a group of extremist Christians. I have lived in the U.S. for most of my life and I moved to the States with my family when I was three from Seoul, South Korea, which is where I was born.
MOROCCAN-AMERICAN
lailalalami.com
My name is Laila Lalami. I was born in Morocco and I live in Los Angeles. My books include “Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits,” “Secret Son,” “The Moor’s Account,” and “The Other Americans.”
CHINESE-AMERICAN
yiyunli.com
Hi. My name is Yiyun Li. I grew up in China and I came to America after I graduated from college, and I became a writer. I am the author of six books, including two collection of short stories, three novels, and an essay collection.
COLOMBIAN-AMERICAN
fulmerford.com
Hi. I’m Juan Martinez. I am the author of Best Worst American, and a professor at Northwestern University. I was born in Colombia. I became a U.S. citizen in 2016, and I’ve been living in Chicago for about six years.
INDIAN-AMERICAN
dipikamukherjee.com
Hi. I’m Dipika Mukherjee, and I was born in New Delhi, India, and now I live in Chicago. And I have been writing for many years, and I have got two novels and a short story collection out.
IRANIAN-AMERICAN
dinanayeri.com
Hi. My name is Dina Nayeri. I’m a writer of fiction and nonfiction. I was born in Iran at the time of the revolution and lived there through the Iran-Iraq War and came to the U.S. as a refugee at ten years old.
VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN
vietnguyen.info
Hi. I’m Viet Thanh Nguyen. I’m the author of the short story collection “The Refugees,” the novel “The Sympathizer” and the essay collection “Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War.” I was born in Vietnam, came to the United States as a refugee in 1975, grew up in San Jose, California, and I live and work in Los Angeles.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
joseolivarez.com
What’s up, everyone? My name is José Guadalupe Olivarez. My parents are from Cañadas de Obregon, Jalisco, Mexico. I am from Chicago, Illinois, specifically the South Side, and I grew up in Calumet City, Illinois. My first book of poems is called “Citizen Illegal,” and I’m editing an anthology of Latinx poetry called “The BreakBeat Poets Volume 4 LatinNEXT.”
IRISH-AMERICAN
Hi. My name is Joseph O’Neill. I’m a writer of fiction and nonfiction, and I was born in Ireland, and my mother is Turkish. And I grew up mainly in Holland. And there was a lot of French spoken in the house. And then I was in England for a while, and then I came here [Brooklyn], so I’m very confused.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
My name is Jose de Jesus Ortiz. I was born in East L.A. I was raised in Linwood. I’ve been a sports writer for over 25 years, mainly a baseball writer. I’ve covered the Mets and Astros as lead sports columnist and national baseball writer. I began my career at the “Long Beach Press Telegram,” my hometown newspaper.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
Hi. This is Louie Pérez from Los Lobos. I’m a songwriter, writer, son of immigrants, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my mother and father coming to this country. I owe a lot to them for that. And thank you very much for listening.
ENGLISH-AMERICAN
raynerwriter.com
My name’s Richard Rayner. I’m from a city called Bradford in the north of England. I’ve lived in Los Angeles now for more than 30 years, written for more newspapers than I would care to mention. Written ten books including “Los Angeles Without a Map,” “The Blue Suit,” and “A Bright and Guilty Place.”
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
erikalsanchez.com
I am Erika L. Sánchez. I am a writer and professor from Chicago, Illinois. I’ve written a collection of poetry titled “Lessons on Expulsion,” and a novel titled “I Am Not Your Prefect Mexican Daughter.” I am the daughter of Mexican immigrants.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
restlessbooks.org
Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American and Latino Cultures at Amherst College, and publisher of Restless Books, devoted to world literature in translation. He has written and edited multiple books.
JAPANESE-AMERICAN
misasugiura.com
I’m Misa Sugiura, and I was born and raised near Chicago, Illinois. And my parents are from Japan. And I’ve written two books so far. The first one is called “It’s Not Like It’s A Secret” and the second one is called “This Time Will Be Different.”
VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN
vutranwriter.com
Hi. I’m Vu Tran. I was born in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1975. I escaped Vietnam and came to the States in 1980. I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I am now currently a professor at the University of Chicago. My first novel, Dragonfish, came out in 2015.
NIGERIAN-AMERICAN
ngoziu.com
My name is Ngozi Ukazu. I am from Houston, Texas and my parents came to the United States from Nigeria. As of today I have completed one series of books, the “Check, Please!” series. So my career is just starting out and I hope to have many more books in the future.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
luisurrea.com
Hi. I’m Luis Alberto Urrea. I was born in Tijuana, raised partially in the United States. I have written and published 18 books across the genres, poetry, nonfiction and fiction. My last book is called “The House of Broken Angels.”
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
My name is Ligiah Villalobos Rojas. I am a screenwriter working in Hollywood, both in television and film. Most people know me for a movie that I wrote called “La Misma Luna,” or in English “Under the Same Moon” with Kate del Castillo and Eugenio Derbez.
JAMAICAN-AMERICAN
forwardcomix.com
Hello. My name is Jerome Walford. I’m a writer and artist. My most recent work is the “Gwan Anthology,” which brings my experiences of being an immigrant from Jamaica into the United States and hopefully trying to make a connection with other immigrants from all around the world.
CHINESE-AMERICAN
jennymxie.com
I’m Jenny Xie. I’m a writer and educator and I live in New York City. I was born in China in Anhui Province, and when I was four I immigrated to New Jersey to join my parents, who lived there. I ended up growing up in New Jersey, going to college there. And I now publish poetry and teach writing and poetry to college students in New York and New Jersey.