Alice Driver

BOOK COVER REVEAL! Arkansas photographer @lizmariesanders spent the past four years working with me on this book to photograph workers at Tyson Foods. We spent time with their families, in their kitchens and gardens, at church, vigils, organizing meetings, and protests. As is evident when you look at the photos on the book cover, most workers requested to remain anonymous because they fear retaliation for speaking publicly about labor conditions. I worked with cover designer @bookcoversbyoj who has designed covers for many books that I love (like You Could Make This Place Beautiful by @maggiesmithpoet ). This book is, by far, the most challenging work I’ve ever undertaken. I am thankful to the workers for their fierce commitment to justice and their bravery in sharing their stories. As you may know, pre-orders help a book tremendously. You can pre-order via the @simonandschuster website in the US and Canada or from Amazon or Bookshop (links in bio). If you would like me to give a talk about the book at your university or book festival, I can connect you with the speaking bureau @simonandschuster . Many thanks to my editor @notdonewithmychanges @onesignalpub @atriabooks & everyone who has supported me over the years @pfdagents . @womenphotograph #coverreveal #booklover #meatpacking #laborrights #immigration #photography #simonandschuster #meat #art

For @newyorkerphoto I wrote about Dominican-Mexican photographer @alexcartagenamex & his poetic book Suburban Bus. We begin the journey in a field, looking from afar at two empty buses, their blue-lit interiors glowing against the backdrop of a starless sky. When Cartagena boards his bus, we find ourselves peering out the window at other commuters, who appear trapped under the harsh glare of headlights while they wait for the bus to stop. In these predawn images, the vehicle’s lights cast an artificial lustre over passing people and cars, transforming oranges stacked in a truck bed into a mass of glowing orbs. The photographer shifts his gaze inside, and we’re now nestled among the passengers, like the fruit in the truck. / A few years ago, I became obsessed with photography and agonized about whether to go to photo school. I don’t like to do things in half measures. But I realized that I could live out my love of photography as a writer & make lists of photographers I dream of collaborating with. To arrive at the New Yorker writing about photos feels serendipitous and delightful. Thank you, Alejandro, for sharing your work with me. I can say with confidence that I’m the only @newyorkermag writer from Oark. #photography #mexico #transportation #publictransport #bus #photobook #dominicanrepublic #urbanphotography

On March 9, 2023, I interviewed writer Elena Poniatowska, 90, at her home in Mexico City for @librarycongress . It was a literary dream to collaborate with @catalucecita & photographer @jackymuniello on this project. I first discovered Elena’s writing @bereacollege when I was learning Spanish. At that time, I thought I would be the kind of writer who lived in a cabin in the woods and wrote novels. Elena’s work gave me a vision for the kind of immersive, committed writing about social justice that I wanted to do. After I moved to Mexico City to study at @unam_mx , I met Elena in the street on International Women’s Day & I chased her down to tell her how she had influenced my writing. At 90, Elena says writing continues to give her life meaning. I want to be like her, writing until my last day. Thank you 📸@jackymuniello for capturing this historic literary moment - what a dreamy portrait. #elenaponiatowska #libraryofcongress #mexico #mexicocity #journalism #writer #book #literature #internationalwomensday

Happy 96th birthday to Jasper Johns. I took these photos on a day spent in the Ozarks working with @lizmariesanders + my mom @weavinglou + letters and postcards from Jasper Johns. My mom has promised to get a tattoo with me related to this project #jasperjohns #letters #postcard #ozarks #arkansas

I interviewed Dolores Huerta for @elleusa the day after she turned 96. We talked about democracy, getting out the vote, her time in the Girl Scouts, her legendary work as an organizer & the forthcoming movie based on her life’s work. The last line of my book @onesignalpub is a quote from Huerta, and this interview and her commitment to the people and the work of organizing labor mean so much to me. Thank you @kaylaw @ivechie @doloreshuertafeaturefilm #doloreshuerta #interview #laborrights #farmworkers #womeninspiringwomen

Thanks to everyone who joined us for What Remains: Archives, Evidence and the Ethics of Representation! If you haven't already, stop by Ross-Blakley Hall 197 and explore "Remainders and Disasters," which features work by @ASUSchoolofArt students including @AlejandroLupercaMorales . The exhibition is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on university holidays. #ASUHumanities Image description: Alejandro Morales and Alice Driver smile in a posed photo in front of Alejandro's installation, Rancho Izaguirre.

Happiest 77th birthday to my momma @weavinglou ! Yes, she did make a New Year’s resolution to get a matching tattoo with me. Memories from the roof of the @metmuseum

Black Bear is a work of stark beauty and wildness, a poetic meditation on nature and family. I stayed up late with this memoir, and reading into the night is the best feeling, not wanting to put down a book even to sleep. This memoir is as much about nature as it is about siblings and family relationships. It made me think of my brother. Run to your library or local bookstore and get this memoir by @trinariannemoyles . #bear #blackbear #memoir #blurb #books

The Year of the Italian Book Translation. I kicked off 2025 with a residency at the Bellagio Center on Lake Como in Italy where I made dear friends, signed a contract for the Italian translation of my book, met @aliciadkennedy and spent time with @projdandelion met Mary Robinson, the first woman president of Ireland and Pat Mitchell, the first woman president and CEO of CBS. I flew to NYC to be in conversation with @eyal.press about my book, started working on my first project with my film agent, attended the @bklynlibrary prize finalists event and got a book signed by poet @mosab_abutoha & I took my mom to NYC for the @columbiajournalism @niemanfoundation Lukas Prize ceremony. And I read I Who Have Never Known Men & Good Girl, my favorite books this year & got art in the mail from @dreacofield #writer #italy #film #translation #lakecomo #books #residency #journalist #nyc

Check out my interview on the latest episode of the On Assignment podcast. Recent guests on the podcast include @maddowshow and @jelani1906 . I spoke to Abi Wright and Lisa R. Cohen @columbiajournalism about my Lukas Prize-winning book “Life and Death of the American Worker” @onesignalpub about the toxic labor practices at the largest meatpacking company in America and the immigrant workers who had the courage to fight back. The 2024 Lukas Work-in-Progress Prize helped me finish my book. If you have a book contract, and are in the process of writing nonfiction, enter for the $25,000 Lukas Prize. Deadline: December 4 @niemanfoundation & many thanks to my brilliant editor @notdonewithmychanges #podcast #books #nonfiction #writer #prize #journalism #journalist #arkansas #award

I spoke to the @nytimes about Mexican president @claudia_shein getting groped by a man who tried to kiss her in the street. “My reflection was: If I don’t file a complaint, then what message does that send to all Mexican women?” Ms. Sheinbaum said at her daily news conference, noting sexual harassment was a crime in Mexico City, where the episode took place. “If this can happen to the president, what’s going to happen to all the young women and women across our country?” #mexico #president #sheinbaum #women #equality #publicspace

A new #FutureTenseFiction story is here! In @miradavaga ’s “Coser y Cantar” (Sew and Sing), translated from Spanish by @willvanderhyden , an earthquake destroys a giant Los Angeles fast fashion sweatshop, maiming workers—who are then replaced by AI-powered robots. Left without compensation, the workers unite to demand accountability from the brand and create a sustainable, fair-trade recycled-clothing cooperative. ⁠ ⁠ As one fictional reviewer, Tejerendira, an embroiderer from Tzintzntzan puts it: “We don’t need clothing with brand names, with trademarks, we need clothing with our own marks, marks of love that we or someone before us has made.”⁠ ⁠ In her response essay, @alice__driver shares insights from her work as an investigative journalist covering the meatpacking industry. “Workers’ hands are dry and scarred, hardened territories,” she writes. “If we are willing to hold those hands, to read them like maps, they have a story to tell us.”⁠ ⁠ Read on at the link in our bio. Art by @reysagcal .