Angie Cruz

Angie Cruz is an American novelist. She is a 2020 recipient of the Alex Awards.

Angie Cruz
Cruz at the 2019 Texas Book Festival.
Born (1972-02-24) February 24, 1972
Washington Heights, New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
EducationSUNY Binghamton
New York University
Alma materNew York University
SubjectHome, gender, race, displacement, and working class life
Notable worksSoledad "Dominicana"
Notable awardsAlex Awards
Website
Angie Cruz's personal homepage

Biography

Cruz was born in Washington Heights, New York City on February 24, 1972. She is of Dominican descent, and often travelled back and forth between New York City and the Dominican Republic while growing up.[1]

Cruz has said that education was extremely important to her family “I went to catholic school through the 8th grade,” she said.[2] In high school, she studied visual arts, then realized she wanted to go into fashion.[3] Angie Cruz and her brother both went to college as well as pursued graduate studies.[2] She majored in Art at the LaGuardia School of the Arts.[2] Then she went to (FIT)- Fashion Institute of Technology intending to study fashion design.[2] It took her about 4 years to finish a two-year college degree because she was working full-time.[2] She now holds a BA in English from SUNY Binghamton[1] and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University.[4]

She is currently an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh writing program.[5]

Cruz is also the Editor-in-Chief, Publisher and Founder of Aster(ix) literary journal.[6]

Writing Career

She has received numerous grants for her teaching and writing, including the Barbara Deming Award, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Camargo Fellowship, Van Lier Literary Fellowship, and NALAC Fund for the Arts Fellowship.[4] She has also been awarded residencies: Yaddo, The Macdowell Colony, Fundacion Valparaiso, La Napoule Foundation and The Millay Colony.[4]

Cruz treats themes of home, gender, race, displacement, and working class life in her work. She has published two novels and is now working on a screenplay for a movie version of Soledad. Cruz has targeted her "ideal readership" to be women. Cruz writes novels that are close to home for her and that others can relate to as well and act as a means of giving readers hope.

Cruz's most recent novel is Dominicana, published by John Murray in the UK and Macmillan in the US in 2019. Publishers Weekly described the work as "Enthralling...Ana’s growth and gradually blooming wisdom is described with a raw, expressive voice. Cruz's winning novel will linger in the reader’s mind long after the close of the story."[7] Named a Most Anticipated Book by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, O Magazine, Time, Real Simple, Chicago Review of Books, Kirkus Reviews, Nylon, BuzzFeed, Lit Hub, The Millions, Instyle, Bustle, Refinery29, Hello Giggles, AARP, Domino.[8]

Dominicana was shortlisted for the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction.[9]

Novels
  • Soledad. Simon & Schuster. 2001. ISBN 9780743212021.
  • Let It Rain Coffee. Simon & Schuster. 2005. ISBN 9780743212045.
  • Dominicana. Flatiron Books. 2019. ISBN 9781250205933.

References
  1. "Our History". ANGIE CRUZ. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  2. Torres, Saillant (Summer–Fall 2003). "An Interview With Angie Cruz" (PDF). Calabash. 2 (2): 108–110.
  3. "Our History". ANGIE CRUZ. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  4. "Angie Cruz". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  5. "Angie Cruz | Writing". www.writing.pitt.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  6. "Angie Cruz, Author at Aster(ix) Journal". Aster(ix) Journal. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  7. "Fiction Book Review: Dominicana by Angie Cruz. Flatiron, $26.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-20593-3". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  8. "Dominicana | Angie Cruz | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  9. "Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
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