Reyna Grande

Reyna Grande is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Across A Hundred Mountains (Atria 2006), for which she has received an American Book Award (2007) and El Premio Aztlan Literary Award (2006). She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing and Film and Video from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch University. She was born in Mexico and was raised by her grandparents after her parents left her behind while they worked in the U.S. She came to the U.S. at the age of ten as an undocumented immigrant and went on to become the first person in her family to obtain a higher education.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. She is a sought-after speaker at middle/high schools, colleges and universities across the nation. She moderates a book club and teaches creative writing workshops at her local bookstore, Libreria Martinez (Lynwood).

Her second novel, Dancing with Butterflies, will be published in October 2009. She is currently at work on a memoir.

Click here to see a video of Reyna's photo shoot!