Reyna Grande
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Reyna Grande (born 7 September 1975,
Iguala Iguala (), known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located from the state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico. Geography The city of Iguala stands on Federal Highway 95 ...
,
Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
) is a Mexican-American author.


Biography

Grande grew up in poverty with her two siblings in
Iguala, Guerrero Iguala (), known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located from the state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico. Geography The city of Iguala stands on Federal Highway 95 ...
. When she was two years old, her father moved to the U.S. to earn money to build a house in Iguala but wasn't successful. He called for Grande's mother, who left Grande and her siblings with their paternal grandmother. Her father later returned to take her eldest sibling to the United States, but Grande and her other siblings wanted to go as well. Thus, Grande traveled to the U.S. as an undocumented child immigrant via an illegal border crossing at the age of about 9. She went on to become the first in her family to obtain a college degree. Grande attended
Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...
and later transferred to
University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...
, where she obtained a B.A. degree in literature/creative writing. She later received her M.F.A. in creative writing from
Antioch University Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. It is the continuation of Antioch College, which was founded in 1852. Antioch College's first president was politician, abolitionist, and ...
. She has been honored with an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlan Literary Award, the Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature, the California Latino Spirit Award, and most recently, the Barnes and Noble Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers. Grande is a member of the prestigious Macondo Writers Workshop, the workshop founded by
Sandra Cisneros Sandra Cisneros (born December 20, 1954) is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel, ''The House on Mango Street'' (1984), and her subsequent short story collection, ''Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories'' (1991). Her wo ...
. She has taught creative writing at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
Extension's Writer's Program, at VONA (Voices of Our Nation's Arts), the Latino Writer's Conference, Under the Volcano, and more.


Work

Grande's first novel, ''Across a Hundred Mountains''. draws heavily on her own experiences growing up in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and as an undocumented immigrant in the U.S. The book was selected by a number of common read programs. Grande's second novel, ''Dancing with Butterflies'' (Washington Square Press, 2009), was published to critical acclaim. An excerpt of ''Dancing with Butterflies'' was published in 2008 as a short story, titled "Adriana," in ''Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature'' (Bilingual Press), edited by
Daniel Olivas Daniel Anthony Olivas is an American author and attorney. Biography Daniel Olivas was raised near downtown Los Angeles, the middle of five children and the grandson of Mexican immigrants. He attended St. Thomas the Apostle grammar school, and ...
. In 2012, Atria Books published Grande's memoir, ''The Distance Between Us'', a novel about the true and raw difficulties that migrants face when going to a new country without being able to understand the language. It is described as, a coming-of-age story about her life before and after coming to the U.S. as an undocumented child immigrant. In an interview published by the ''
Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 201 ...
'' on 6 December 2012, Grande explained why she decided to part from fiction to tell her story: ''The Distance Between Us'' was a finalist for the
National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English". ''People'' Magazine said of the book, “The emotional and practical challenges for a young immigrant are on full display in Grande’ s evocative, inspiring memoir.”


Awards

* 2006
Premio Aztlán Literary Award The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other ve ...
— for ''Across a Hundred Mountains'' * 2007
American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...
— for ''Across a Hundred Mountains'' * 2010 International Book Award — for ''Dancing with Butterflies'' * 2012 Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award - for ''The Distance Between Us'' * 2015 Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature * 2016 Eureka! Honor Awards from the California Reading Association--for ''The Distance Between Us,'' young reader's edition * 2017 Honor Book Award for the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature - for ''The Distance Between Us,'' young reader's edition * International Literacy Association Children’s Book Award 2017 - for ''The Distance Between Us,'' young reader's version * 2021 California Latino Spirit Award from the California Latino Caucus * 2023 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers *2023 Audies Award, Finalist in Fiction, Across a Hundred Mountains audiobook *2023 Texas Institute of Letters, Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction Finalist, A Ballad of Love and Glory


Bibliography

* ''Across a Hundred Mountains'' (Atria, 2006) — selected: ** 2007 Eastern Connecticut "One Book/One Region" ** 2010
Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and ...
On the Same Page ** 2012 Owensboro Community & Technical College Common Read ** 2013-14 Ramona Convent Secondary School "One School/One Community" ** 2016 Woodland Reads selection, Woodland, CA * ''Dancing with Butterflies'' (Washington Square Press, 2009) * ''The Distance Between Us'' (Atria Books, 2012) — selected: ** 2013
Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...
"Community Read" ** 2014 One Maryland, One Book ** 2014
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
Center for Human Rights One Community, One Book ** 2014
Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) is a public community college in Santa Rosa, California with an additional campus in Petaluma and centers in surrounding Sonoma County. SRJC is governed by the Sonoma County Junior College District. History F ...
Reads ** 2014 San Juan College One Book, One Community ** 2014 Rolling Meadows High School Summer Reading Program ** 2014
California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...
" First Year Experience" ** 2014
Goshen College Goshen College is a Private college, private Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, a ...
"First Year Experience" Selection ** 2014
Monroe County, Michigan Monroe County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 154,809. The largest city and county seat is Monroe, Michigan, Monroe. The county was establi ...
's One Book/One Community ** 2014-15
Butte College Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico, Orland, and Oroville, California. History After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community ...
"Book in Common" ** 2014-15
Chico State University California State University, Chico (Chico State) is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 " normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growin ...
"Book in Common" ** 2015 Sandy Springs Reads Sandy Springs, GA ** 2016 Camarillo Reads Camarillo, CA ** 2016 Colorado Mountain College Common Reader Selection ** 2016 One Book/One Community, Saginaw, MI ** 2017
Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a public polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the largest of the three polytechnic universities in the California State University syst ...
"First Year Experience" Common Read ** Notre Dame Academy Common Reader 2017, KY **CityRead Book 2017, Brentwood, CA ** Timberland Reads Together 2017, WA, ** 2017 One Book, One Canyon, Telluride, CO,+ ** 2017 Estes Park One Book, One Valley ** 2017 Northern Kentucky University First Year Experience ** 2017 Avila University First Year Experience ** 2017 Marist College Common Read ** 2017 Cal State University, Monterey Bay Common Reading Experience ** 2018 Keker First Year Common Read, UNC Greensboro ** Rochester Reads 2018 ** MacReads 2018 at Linfield College ** One Book/One Michiana 2018 ** All Henrico Reads 2018 *
A Dream Called Home: A Memoir
'' (Simon and Schuster, 2018) **2018 Santa Rosa Junior College - Required reading for Hist 21. ** 2020-2021 Common Reading Selection Florida International University ** 2020-2021 Common Reading Selection Concordia University, TX ** 2020 Las Positas College Campus Wide Read Selection, CA ** 2021 One Book Project Selection–CSU Bakersfield/ Kern County, CA ** 2021-2022 San Juan College One Book/One Community Selection, NM ** 2021 One Campus/One Book Club, Palo Verde College, CA ** 2021 Entering Student Experience, University of Texas, El Paso ** 2022 Silicon Valley Reads Selection, CA ** 2022 California State University Channel Islands Common Read ** 2023 One Book Yuma, AZ * ''A Ballad of Love and Glory '' (Atria, 2022) * ''Somewhere We Are Human:Authentic Stories on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings'' (HarperVia, 2022)


References


External links


Author's website

Daniel Olivas interviews Reyna Grande
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grande, Reyna American women novelists Mexican women novelists Hispanic and Latino American novelists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers 1975 births Living people Antioch University Writers from Guerrero People from Iguala Mexican emigrants to the United States American Book Award winners American writers of Mexican descent Undocumented immigrants to the United States