Marie Arana

Marie was born in Lima, Peru, the daughter of a Peruvian father and American mother. To friends and family, she is known as Marisi. She moved to the United States at the age of 9, and grew up in Summit, New Jersey. She completed her BA in Russian Language and Literature at Northwestern University, her MA in Linguistics and Sociolinguistics at Hong Kong University, and earned a certificate of scholarship (Mandarin language) at Yale University in China. She began her career in book publishing, becoming Vice President and Senior Editor at both Harcourt Brace and Simon & Schuster publishers in New York. In 1993, she started work at The Washington Post as Deputy Editor of the book review section, “Book World.” She was promoted to Editor in Chief of that section, a position she held for 10 years. In 2008, because of the importance of books in the metropolitan area, “Washingtonian” magazine called her one of the Most Powerful People in Washington. In 2009, she was Northwestern University’s Alumna of the Year. Currently, she is a Writer at Large for The Washington Post, a guest op-ed columnist at the New York Times, and a senior consultant on hemispheric affairs to the Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington.

Marie is the author of a memoir about her bicultural childhood American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood, which was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award as well as the PEN/Memoir Award, and won the Books for a Better Life Award. She is the editor of a collection of Washington Post essays about the writer’s craft, The Writing Life: How Writers Think and Work (2002), which is used as a textbook for writing courses in universities across the country. Her novel Cellophane, about the Peruvian Amazon, was published in 2006 and selected as a finalist for the John Sargent Prize. Her most recent novel, published in January 2009, is Lima Nights. She has written the introductions for many books on Latin America, Hispanicity and biculturalism. Her latest book is Bolívar: American Liberator, a biography of the Latin American founder Simón Bolívar, published by Simon & Schuster, and the winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award (Biography).

Marie has served on the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. For many years, she has directed literary events for various festivals at the Kennedy Center. She is currently the director of the Library of Congress’s National Book Festival. She has been a judge for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award as well as for the National Book Critics Circle. Her commentary has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The International Herald Tribune, The Week, Virginia Quarterly Review, Civilization, Smithsonian magazine, The National Geographic, El País, and numerous other publications throughout the Americas and Europe.

Marie lives in Washingon, D.C. and Lima, Peru, with her husband, the literary critic Jonathan Yardley.

http://mariearana.net/about-marie/

Marie Arana is a former editor in chief of Book World at The Washington Post. Currently, she is a Writer at Large for The Post and a member of the Scholars Council at the Library of Congress. Arana is the author of a memoir about her bicultural childhood “American Chica,” which was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award as well as the PEN/Memoir Award, and won the Books for a Better Life Award. She is the editor of a collection of Washington Post essays about the writer’s craft, “The Writing Life: How Writers Think and Work,” which is used as a textbook for writing courses in universities across the country. Her novel “Cellophane,” about the Peruvian Amazon, was a finalist for the John Sargent Prize. Her most recent novel is “Lima Nights.” She has chaired juries for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Awards, organized literary conferences for the Kennedy Center, and currently sits on the board of the National Book Festival. She has also been an active spokesperson on Latin America, Hispanic Americans and biculturalism. Currently, she is at work on a biography of Simón Bolívar, which is on contract with Simon & Schuster.

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