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Xochitl Gonzalez

Biography

Xochitl Gonzalez

Xochitl Gonzalez is a cultural critic, producer, screenwriter and the New York Times bestselling author of OLGA DIES DREAMING and ANITA DE MONTE LAUGHS LAST. Named a Best of 2022 by The New York Times, TIME, Kirkus, Washington Post and NPR, OLGA DIES DREAMING was the winner of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize in Fiction and the New York City Book Awards.

Gonzalez is a 2021 M.F.A. graduate from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her nonfiction work has been published in Elle Decor, Allure, Vogue, Real Simple and The Cut. As a staff writer for The Atlantic, she was recognized as a 2023 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary.

Prior to writing, Gonzalez was an entrepreneur, fundraiser and all-around hustler for nearly 20 years. She is a board member of the Lower East Side Girls Club and the Brooklyn Public Library, and a trustee of the corporation of Brown University, where she received her B.A. in Visual Art. A native Brooklynite and proud public school graduate, she lives in her hometown of Brooklyn with her dog, Hectah Lavoe.

Books by Xochitl Gonzalez

Anita de Monte Laughs Last
by Xochitl Gonzalez - Fiction

1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City. But by 1998, Anita’s name has been all but forgotten --- certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student, is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.

Olga Dies Dreaming
by Xochitl Gonzalez - Fiction

It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can’t seem to find her own...until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets. Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.