Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 and educated in the Midwest. She is the author of three books of poetry, two books of fiction, as well as children’s book— Bad Boys, My Wicked Wicked Ways, The House on Mango Street, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, Hairs/Pelitos, and Loose Woman. Her books have been translated into ten languages and published internationally, most recently in Mexico.

Ms. Cisneros has received numerous accolades for her fiction. Woman Hollering Creek was awarded the PEN Center West Award for Best Fiction of 1991, the Quality Paperback Book Club New Voices Award, the Anisfield- Wolf Book Award, and the Lannan Foundation Literary Award. It was also selected as a noteworthy book of the year by The New York Times and the American Library Journal, and nominated Best Book of Fiction for 1991 by The Los Angeles Times. Loose Woman won the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association’s 1995 Regional Book Award in the category of adult poetry.

Other awards include an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Loyola University, an honorary Doctor of Letters from the State University of New York at Purchase, two National Endowment of the Arts Fellowships for fiction and poetry, the Roberta Holloway Lectureship at the University of California, Berkeley, the Chicano Short Story Award from the University of Arizona, the Before Columbus American Book Award, the Texas Institute of Letters Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, an Illinois Artists Grant, 1984; and an artist residency at the Foundation Michael Karolyi, Vence, France.

Ms. Cisneros’ dedication to the community is demonstrated in her commitment to literacy. She has taught writing at practically every level. In addition, she has taught literacy skills, Latin American Literature, Spanish for Spanish-Speakers, and Creative Writing while working at Latino Youth Alternative High School of Chicago. In 1982, Ms. Cisneros initiated “City Songs,” a weekly community poetry workshop for adults and has worked as a college recruiter and counselor to minority students at Loyola University of Chicago. She created a monthly reading series and an annual book fair as the Literature Director at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center of San Antonio. She has also taught as a guest professor at California State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Irvine, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Currently, Ms. Cisneros is an associate editor for Third Woman Press, a member of PEN; serves on the advisory board of PEN New Mexico and is a member of the Board of Directors of PEN Center West. She is involved in the San Antonio community, acting on the advisory board of several community centers including the Jump-Start Theater, the Blue Star Arts Gallery, and the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center. In addition, she continues to teach a creative writing workshop each summer for the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Further, Ms. Cisneros is a founding member of Grupo de los Cien, a San Antonio collective of Latino thinkers and activists.

Ms. Cisneros has recently released her newest novel, Caramelo.

Additional Resources: Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros