Valeria Luiselli’s fiction and non-fiction work has appeared in the New York Times, Granta, McSweeney’s, and The New Yorker. Her works include a book of essays (Sidewalks, 2013), two novels, and other short stories. Her novel, Faces in the Crowd (2012), won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction. All of her work has been translated into numerous languages. In 2014, Luiselli was the recipient of the National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” award.
From Mexico City, Mexico, Luiselli’s family moved often, and she grew up in the United States, Costa Rica, South Korea, and South Africa and then worked and studied in Spain and France. At age twenty-one, she returned to Mexico and attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico where she received a B.A. in Philosophy. She then moved to New York City to study comparative literature at Columbia University.
Valeria Luiselli’s first novel, Faces in the Crowd, is a fresh and transcendent story of a Mexican writer whose life begins to mirror that of little-known Mexican poet, Gilberto Owen. Her second novel, The Story of My Teeth, is about a man who auctions off his old teeth, claiming that they belong to various celebrities.
Currently a teacher of literature and creative writing, Valeria Luiselli collaborates with a number of art galleries and has worked as a librettist for the New York City Ballet. She lives in New York City.