Marie Arana, author of American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood
Moderated by: Vanessa Cárdenas, Director of Ethnic Media, Center for American Progress
Thursday, October 11, 2007 Program: 5:30pm to 7:00pm Admission is free.
A dessert reception will begin at 5:00 p.m.
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WASHINGTON, DC – Join the Center for American Progress and acclaimed author Marie Arana to discuss American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood, a memoir of growing up between Peru and the United States. A finalist for the 2001 National Book Award and the PEN-Memoir Award, American Chica was chosen as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and numerous other newspapers as well as the American Library Association. It was the winner of the 2001 Books for a Better Life Award. The Spanish edition of American Chica was published in 2003.
Ms. Arana, current Book Editor of the Washington Post, is also the author of a collection of columns, The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work. Her novel Cellophane, a saga set in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, was published July, 2006, and was a finalist for the John Sargent Prize. It was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, and Library Journal, as well as receiving positive reviews in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and People magazine. The paperback version of Cellophane was published in 2007.
In this lively discussion, Arana will share insights into her writings, work and experiences growing up and living bicultural in the United States
Center for American Progress 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005 Map & Directions
Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to McPherson Square or Red Line to Metro Center
Biographies
Marie Arana is the author of American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood, a memoir of growing up between Peru and the United States. A finalist for the 2001 National Book Award and the PEN-Memoir Award, American Chica was chosen as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, and numerous other newspapers as well as the American Library Association. It was the winner of the 2001 Books for a Better Life Award. The Spanish edition of American Chica was published in 2003.
Arana is also the editor of The Writing Life, a collection of her popular column on writers, published every month in The Washington Post. Her novel Cellophane, a saga set in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, was published July 2006, and was a finalist for the John Sargent Prize. It was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, and Library Journal, as well as receiving positive reviews in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and People magazine. The paperback version of Cellophane was published in 2007.
Arana is currently the Book Editor of the Washington Post. Before her tenure at the Post, she was a Vice President for Simon & Schuster and a Senior Editor for Harcourt Brace Publishers. She has served on the boards of directors of the National Book Critics Circle and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Born in Lima, Peru, she came to the United States at the age of 10. She has a B.A. in Russian Language and Literature from Northwestern University; a certificate of scholarship from Yale University in China for her work in Mandarin; and an M.A. in Linguistics from Hong Kong University.
She is married to the literary critic Jonathan Yardley. They live in Washington, D.C. and Lima, Peru.
Vanessa Cárdenas is the Director for Ethnic Media at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. Prior to American Progress, she worked as a Policy/Communications Associate and Outreach Coordinator at the National Immigration Forum where she helped bridge the policy, communications, and grassroots advocacy worlds to disseminate the Forum’s message and work. At the Forum, she participated in numerous local and national organizing and legislative campaigns such as the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, the campaign to defeat Proposition 200 in Arizona and the establishment of the We are America coalition. Prior to the Forum, she managed and administered public education and outreach programs serving diverse communities on a range of issues such as education, civic participation, and immigration. Cárdenas was profiled as one of the “100 People to Watch in the Next Century” by Washingtonian Magazine. Cárdenas holds a B.A. in Government and Politics and a masters degree in Public Administration, both from George Mason University, and is a graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. She was born in Brooklyn, NY, grew up in Bolivia, and currently lives in Arlington, VA. Media appearances: Cárdenas regularly appears on CNN en Español, Telemundo, Univision, and the BBC, among others and has been widely quoted in various print publications such as the US News and World Report, the Washington Post and La Opinion.