Lorraine Avila

Lorraine performed at a SpeakTogether student matinee at Bronx High School for Law and Community in the Bronx on November 8, 2023, speaking on the theme, “Owning Your Story.”

Lorraine Avila (she/they), a Bronxite with Dominican roots, is the author of Malcriada and Other Stories and Celestial Summer. Her YA debut, The Making of Yolanda La Bruja, garnered praise from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Shelf-Awareness.

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 spanning middle school to undergraduate levels. She’s a recipient of awards like 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 has taught writing workshops at schools and organizations like NYU, Brown University, Stanford University, and more. Her popular media essays can be found in various publications, including Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Bitch Media, Tasteful Rude, and Latino USA.

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

Purchase this writer’s book via our virtual storefront on Bookshop.org, the bookselling platform that supports independent bookstores. A portion of proceeds from all book purchases will go toward helping support SpeakEasy’s nonprofit mission and our literary programs on stage, in schools, and on the road with The SpeakEasy Bookmobile.