In 2017, Esteban Andres Cruz brought my character Tacho to glorious life in a Free Street Theater production (Berwyn, IL) of Into the Beautiful North. We’ve been friends ever since and it was so great to see them make their Broadway debut in Dog Day Afternoon! Even better was a glimpse backstage, including their dressing room and to hear the stories of how they researched and came to love their role in Dog Day. So, so proud of Esteban. To watch a dream realized is a special privilege.
I was honored to serve as the chair of the general nonfiction selection committee for this year’s Pulitzer Prize.
As the world spun in tumult around us, we wrestled with how best to represent this time. We agreed our choices should be beautifully written and make significant contributions to our culture. But for this jury, finding books that somehow spoke to our time was of paramount importance.
Over the last year, I and my fellow judges — Marcia Chatelain, Andrea Elliott David Greenburg and David Haskell — read and discussed nearly five hundred nominated books. We were so proud to forward three excellent books: A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland; There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America
by Brian Goldstone; and
Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church
by Kevin Sack.
Congratulations to Brian Goldstone! This book is so deserving.
We believe stories should be reflective of the communities we are in, representative of the city we live in. We also believe that art, theater and storytelling should be accessible for everyone.
On April 2nd from 7-9pm we welcome Luis Alberto Urrea author “The Devil’s Highway”, “The House of Broken Angels” , and many more to imagine what Chicago’s future will look like, what stories will be told about Chicago right now.
Get your tickets for this interactive panel and support arts access on the Southside via link in bio.
Luis Alberto Urrea is a Guggenheim Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist, is the author of 19 books, winning numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. His latest novel, Good Night Irene, was an instant New York Times bestseller and is based on his mother’s service as a Red Cross “Donut Dolly” serving troops on the frontlines of the European theater in WWII. The Devil’s Highway, Urrea’s 2004 non-fiction account of a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert, won the Lannan Literary Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize. His novel, The House of Broken Angels, was a 2018 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He won an American Academy of Arts and Letters Fiction award for his collection of short stories, The Water Museum, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Urrea’s novel Into the Beautiful North is a Big Read selection of the National Endowment of the Arts. His novel The Zebras of Tijuana is forthcoming from Little, Brown. Urrea is a distinguished professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago
Great to be with Luis Alberto Urrea, who interviewed me on stage at Anderson’s Books in Chicago. Luis and I met years ago. His book, THE DEVIL’S HIGHWAY, is one of my favorites of all time. Next, off to New York, Madison, and Pittsboro! #thecovenantofwater
We’re thrilled to announce that Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and best-selling author of The Devil’s Highway, Luis Alberto Urrea, will be a Keynote Speaker at the Latinx Storytellers Conference!
Hailed by NPR as a “literary badass” and a “master storyteller with a rock and roll heart,” Urrea uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. Get ready for an unforgettable experience.
Happy and proud to do every little bit I can to help the effort to save our democracy! Please know what is at stake, make your plan to vote and make sure all your friends and loved ones do the same. We’ve got this!!! Vote Blue!!
Join us at 6 pm this evening at our Manchester location as we welcome Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea (@urrealism )!
“Good Night, Irene” is an exhilarating World War II epic that chronicles an extraordinary young woman’s heroic frontline service in the Red Cross.
For information please visit Northshire.com!
#northshirebookstore #manchestervt #saratogaspringsny #shoplocal #luisalbertourrea
We humans have this drive to erect barriers between ourselves and others, writer Luis Alberto Urrea says in this week’s On Being episode, and yet this makes us a little crazy. He is an exuberant, wise, refreshing companion into the deep meaning and the problem of borders — what they are really about, what we do with them, and what they do to us.
The Mexican-American border was as close and personal to him as it could be when Luis was growing up — an apt expression of his parents’ turbulent Mexican-American divorce. Today, as part of his work as an author and educator, he regularly speaks to migrant children. He says, “I deal with so many kids who can’t tell their story, and they don’t think anybody loves them. They think nobody cares. They think everybody hates them. They’re waiting to be thrown out of the country or their mothers to vanish. So part of it is talking to people who need to say it more. Part of it is talking to myself, to say, “Don’t be a coward. Tell people you love them.” And part of it is, I’m often talking to 600 kids, not you adults, and I tell them, “I love you. I love you all,” because somebody’s got to. You’ve got to — if I could have a radio show, I would just read them a story every night and tell them I love them.”
Listen to his conversation with Krista now, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Luis Alberto Urrea is a distinguished professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois Chicago. His books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction include Into the Beautiful North, The Devil’s Highway, The Hummingbird’s Daughter, and Goodnight, Irene.
Although this event has passed, you can still buy a digital pass to stream Luis Alberto Urrea’s event online! The event will be available through Monday, May 27, 2024 at 11:59 PM (PT) to watch and rewatch.
Choose a ticket price, ranging from $12 to $100, based upon what feels right to you and the number of people who will be watching in your household.
Thank you to the Opus Sponsor, @dwtlaw Davis , Media Sponsors, @crabcreekreview & @knkx885 , and Community Partner, @lasalaseattle .
Thank you to @jodiannburey for moderating our event with @urrealism and to our Bookstore Partner @thirdplacebooks
📸: @dannyngan
#salurrea #sal2324 #luisalbertourrea #goodnightirene
This month marks the 20th anniversary of my book, The Devil’s Highway. I am so honored that readers have supported this work and more than 100 communities and colleges have used it as a way to foster conversation.
Being recognized as a Pulitzer finalist is a highlight of my writing life.
I am also so grateful for the support of my publisher Little,Brown & Co. and my agent Julie Barer of The Book Group. Thank you to my academic home, University of Illinois at Chicago. And the Tuesday Agency has been the driving engine behind everything.
None of this happens without the dedication of my original editor Geoff Shandler and the support of Ben George.
Thank you readers.
@littlebrown@geoffshandler@thebookgrp@thisisuic
#thedevilshighway #immigration #latino #latinoliterature #latinoauthors #border #borderliterature
Hailed by NPR as a “literary badass” and a “master storyteller with a rock and roll heart,” Luis Alberto Urrea is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. Urrea’s newest book, Good Night, Irene, takes as inspiration his mother’s own Red Cross service.
Luis Alberto Urrea is coming to the SAL stage in May! Q&A with @jodiannburey .
Luis Alberto Urrea: In‑Person & Online
Monday, May 20, 2024 7:30 pm PST
🎟️: /event/luis-alberto-urrea/
#salurrea #luisalbertourrea #sal2324
