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Valeria Luiselli

バレリア・ルイセリ

Valeria Luiselli

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1983-08-16 （Mexico City, Mexico）
Nationality
Mexico, United States
Languages
Spanish, English
Residence History
Mexico City (birth) → Madison, Wisconsin (childhood) → Costa Rica → South Korea → South Africa → India (UWC Mahindra College) → Spain → France → New York (Bronx, residence)

Career

Occupations
Author, Essayist, Translator, Educator, Librettist
Active Years
2013-
Affiliations
Bard College (faculty), Inter-American Dialogue (member)
Memberships
Inter-American Dialogue, Royal Society of Literature (International Writer)
Influenced By
Gilberto Owen

Education

National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Faculty of Philosophy / Department of Philosophy
Degree: BA
Country: Mexico
Bachelor's in Philosophy. Exact graduation year unknown.
Columbia University
Comparative Literature / Comparative Literature program
Degree: PhD
Country: United States
Completed a PhD in Comparative Literature at Columbia University (exact year unknown).
UWC Mahindra College
Country: India
Attended UWC Mahindra College (international boarding school experience).

Awards

Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction
2012
Work: Faces in the Crowd (Los ingrávidos)
Category: First Fiction
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: Winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Best Fiction)
2015
Work: The Story of My Teeth (La historia de mis dientes)
Category: Fiction
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: Winner
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist)
2015
Work: The Story of My Teeth (translation)
Category: Fiction
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: Finalist
Best Translated Book Award (Finalist)
2015
Work: The Story of My Teeth (English translation)
Organization: Best Translated Book Award
Result: Finalist
Premio Metropolis Azul
2015
Organization: Blue Metropolis (Premio Metropolis Azul)
Result: Winner
National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35
2014
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Recipient
American Book Award
2018
Work: Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: Winner
MacArthur Fellowship
2019
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: Recipient
Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature
2020
Organization: Vilcek Foundation
Result: Recipient
Folio Prize
2020
Organization: The Writers' Prize (Folio Prize)
Result: Winner
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
2020
Work: Lost Children Archive (Desierto sonoro)
Category: Fiction
Organization: American Library Association (ALA)
Result: Winner
Dublin Literary Award
2021
Work: Lost Children Archive
Organization: Dublin Literary Award
Result: Winner
Royal Society of Literature International Writer
2023
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: Honoree

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Papeles falsos (Sidewalks)

2010 Essay collection

A debut collection of essays exploring motion, travel, transition, and reflection.

movementtravelmemoryself
Translations
  • Sidewalks (English translation)

Los ingrávidos (Faces in the Crowd)

2010 Novel (triptych / experimental)

A triptych novel weaving together three perspectives: a narrator (a young mother/translator), the protagonist of her novel, and the 20th‑century Mexican poet Gilberto Owen.

identitytranslationmemory
Translations
  • Faces in the Crowd (English translation)

La historia de mis dientes (The Story of My Teeth)

2013 Novel (experimental fiction)

Tells the story of Gustavo (Highway) Sánchez Sánchez, an auctioneer who claims to sell the teeth of authors and historical figures; through this whimsical premise the book explores identity and the ownership of narrative. Originally written serially for factory workers.

ownership of storiesidentitywork and community
Translations
  • English translation (translated by Christina MacSweeney)

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions

2016 Nonfiction (essay)

Draws on her experience working as an interpreter for Central American child migrants to pose questions about the immigration crisis and her own experience obtaining a green card.

migrationinstitutional responseethics and empathy

Lost Children Archive (Desierto sonoro)

2019 Novel

Follows a family driving from New York to Arizona; through their journey the novel examines the immigration crisis and the disappearance and fragmentation of children. Informed by the author's work with asylum‑seeking children.

immigration crisisfamilymemory and loss
Translations
  • Spanish translation by the author and Daniel Saldaña París (Desierto sonoro)

Bibliography

  • Papeles falsos (Sexto Piso, 2010)
  • Los ingrávidos (Sexto Piso, 2010)
  • "Swings of Harlem" (2013, in anthology)
  • La historia de mis dientes (2013)
  • Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions (2016)
  • Lost Children Archive (Desierto sonoro) (2019)

Translations of Works

  • Sidewalks (English translation)
  • Faces in the Crowd (English translation)
  • The Story of My Teeth (English translation)
  • Desierto sonoro (Spanish translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental narrationhybrid essay-fiction stylemetafictional techniques
Recurring Motifs
movement and borderslanguage and translationfamily and memorychildren and disappearance

Legacy

Recognized as an international writer addressing migration, language, and memory; recipient and finalist of multiple prestigious prizes since early in her career. Her work has been translated into over 20 languages and she is regarded as an important contemporary literary voice.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (International Writer)

Archives

  • Library of Congress Hispanic Division audio literary archive (recorded 2015)

Quotes

  • I began writing Lost Children Archive as a loudspeaker for all of my political rage.
    Source: Interviews (including statements reported in The New York Times) (2019)

Trivia

  • The Story of My Teeth was first serialized for workers at a Jumex juice factory in Mexico; their readings and comments influenced the writing process.
  • She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2019.
  • Tell Me How It Ends is based on her experience interpreting for Central American child migrants and was a finalist for several major awards.