Benjamin Alire Sáenz (born August 16, 1954) is an American poet, novelist, and writer of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

Early life and education

Sáenz was raised near Las Cruces, New Mexico. He earned a BA in Humanities and Philosophy from St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado and a MA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. He continues to live and work in El Paso, Texas. After 15 years of marriage to his wife, an El Paso family court judge, he came out as gay, and they filed for divorce in 2009. Sáenz was 54 when he came out. In an interview, he confirmed that he had struggled with this topic for a long time and that he saw writing as a way to overcome it. In 2013, Benjamin Alire Sáenz became the first Latino to win the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Book Award for Fiction with '' Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club''. On October 29th 2022, Sáenz received the Inaugural Hummingbird Award in Literary Arts from the Tulsa City-County Library. The event was hosted by the Tulsa City-County Library and the Hispanic Resource Center.

Awards

* Wallace E. Stegner Fellowship, poetry * 1992

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

, for ''Calendar of Dust'' * Lannan Poetry Fellowship 1993 * ''Carry Me Like Water'', Southwest Book Award 1996 ( Border Regional Library Association) * ''Dark and Perfect Angels'', Southwest Book Award 1996 ( Border Regional Library Association) * ''Grandma Fina and Her Wonderful Umbrellas'', Best Children's Book 2000, Texas Institute of Letters * ''Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood'', Americas Book Award, the Paterson Book Prize, the J Hunt Award, Finalist Los Angeles Book Prize, BBYA Top Ten Books for Young Adults * ''He Forgot to Say Goodbye''. Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, Southwest Book Award ( Border Regional Library Association), Chicago Public Library, Best of the Best Books for Teens, New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen 2009, Commended Title, Americas Book Award 2009 * ''A Perfect Season for Dreaming'', Best Children's Book, Friends of the Austin Public Library 2008 (Texas Institute of Letters), Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year 2008, Kirkus Review 2008 Notable Books for Children, Paterson Book Prize * ''

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe ''Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'' is a coming-of-age young adult novel by American author Benjamin Alire Sáenz which was first published February 21, 2012. Set in El Paso, Texas in 1987, the novel follows two Mexican- ...

'',

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbow ...

; Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's and Young Adult Literature Award, 2013; Honor Book, Michael L. Printz Award, 2013;

Pura Belpré Award The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina author and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It was given every oth ...

, 2013.

Works

"Students I See Every Day", ''Santa Fe Poetry Broadside'', Issue #31, February, 2003''Do Not Mind the Bombs'', Narrative Magazine

Poetry

* * * * *

Short stories

* *

Novels

* ''Carry Me Like Water'', Hyperion, 1995 * * **''En el tiempo de la Luz'', Rayo/HarperCollins 2006 *

Young-adult novels

* * * ''Last Night I Sang to the Monster'', Cinco Puntos Press 2009 * ''

'', Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012 * ''The Inexplicable Logic of My Life'', Clarion Books, 2017 * ''

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World ''Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World'' is a ''New York Times'' best selling young adult novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, published October 12, 2021 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. It is the sequel to ''Aristotle an ...

'', Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021

Children's books

* * * ''A Perfect Season for Dreaming'', Cinco Puntos Press 2008. * ''The Dog Who Loved Tortillas'', Cinco Puntos Press 2009

Anthologies

* * * "To the Desert," "Resurrections," ''Twentieth Century American Poetry'' (2004), edited by Dana Gioia, McGraw Hill

References

External links

Benjamin Alire Sáenz
official page at

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

, Inc.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
official page at

Cinco Puntos Press Cinco Puntos Press is an imprint of publishing company Lee & Low Books. It is a general trade publisher that has received attention for its bilingual children's books and fiction and non-fiction focusing on the Mexico–United States border reg ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz, Benjamin Alire 1954 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American poets 21st-century American short story writers American children's writers American writers of young adult literature American male novelists American male poets American male short story writers American writers of Mexican descent American gay writers Hispanic and Latino American novelists Hispanic and Latino American poets Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature winners Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction winners Stonewall Book Award winners LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people American LGBT novelists American LGBT poets LGBT people from New Mexico PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners People from Doña Ana County, New Mexico Poets from Texas Poets from New Mexico Stanford University alumni University of Iowa alumni University of Texas at El Paso alumni University of Texas at El Paso faculty Writers from New Mexico Novelists from Texas American Book Award winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century LGBT people