Lorraine Avila

Lorraine Avila (she/they), a Bronxite with Dominican roots, is the author of The Making of Yolanda La Bruja, Malcriada and Other Stories and Celestial Summer. Her YA debut, The Making of Yolanda, was voted one of 2023’s Best Books for Teens by NYPL, and it garnered praise from Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, and Shelf-Awareness. In addition to fiction, her popular media essays can be found in various publications, including Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Bitch Media, Tasteful Rude, and Latino USA.

Avila received a BA in English from Fordham University, an MAT in Secondary Education from New York University, and and MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a seasoned literacy educator; her teaching experience spans from secondary education to undergraduate level. She’s also taught writing workshops at schools and organizations like NYU, Brown University, Stanford University, and more

She's a recipient of The Pittsburgh Foundation’s “ Advancing Black Arts,” The Writers Colony's "Illuminating Black Lives" Fellowship, and the 2022 Africana Nationality Room Scholarship, the 2021 & 2022 Dietrich Diversity Research Grant, and the 2020 K. Leroy Irvis Fellowship, among others.

Avila splits her time between Pittsburgh, The Bronx, and the Dominican Republic.