Daniel Alarcón (born March 5, 1977 in

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

) is a Peruvian-American novelist, journalist and radio producer. He is co-founder, host and executive producer of '' Radio Ambulante'', an award-winning Spanish language podcast distributed by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. Currently, he is an assistant professor of broadcast journalism at the Columbia University Journalism School and writes about Latin America for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

.'' He began his career writing fiction, publishing stories in magazines like ''The New Yorker'', ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

'', '' Virginia Quarterly Review'' and elsewhere, and his short stories have been widely anthologized. He served as Associate Editor of the Peruvian magazine '' Etiqueta Negra'' until 2015. He is a former

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, and a 2011 Artist in Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts. His novel '' At Night We Walk in Circles'' was published by

Riverhead Books Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy. Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, Anne Lamott, Carlo ...

in October 2013. His most recent story collection, ''The King is Always Above the People'', was long-listed for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in 2018, and won the 2019 Clarke Prize in Fiction. He received the MacArthur 'Genius Grant' in 2021.

Biography

Alarcón, a native of Peru, was raised from the age of 3, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

, and is an alumnus of

Indian Springs School Indian Springs School is a rural private school for grades eight through twelve, near Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It has both boarding and day students, and is located in Indian Springs Village, Shelby County, Alabama. History Indian S ...

. As a high schooler, he attended the Telluride Association Summer Program. He earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Columbia University in 1999 and a

master of fine arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

degree in fiction from the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative ...

in 2004. He has studied in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

and been a public school teacher in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was a high school classmate of novelist

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is ...

. His first book, ''War by Candlelight'', was a finalist for the 2006 PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award. In 2008, he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

, a Lannan Fellowship, named a "Best Young American Novelist" by ''

'' magazine, and one of 39 under 39 Latin American Novelists. In 2010, he was also recognized by the ''New Yorker'' as one of 20 promising writers under 40. Alarcón's debut novel, '' Lost City Radio'', was published 2007, and has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Greek, Italian, Serbian, Turkish, and Japanese. The German translation of ''Lost City Radio'' by Friedericke Meltendorf received the

International Literature Award International Literature Award (''German'': Internationaler Literaturpreis – Haus der Kulturen der Welt) is a German literary award for international prose translated into German for the first time.Haus der Kulturen der Welt The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of the World's Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and so ...

. In 2009, he published a collection of short stories, ''El rey está siempre por encima del pueblo'' (''The king is always above the people''), and the following year, "Ciudad de payasos", a graphic novel adapted from his 2003 story ''City of Clowns'', with illustrations by Peruvian artist Sheila Alvarado. In 2011, he co-founded Radio Ambulante with his wife Carolina Guerrero, along with Camila Segura, Martina Castro and Annie Correal. In 2013, his second novel, '' At Night We Walk in Circles'', was published to critical acclaim.

Bibliography

Novels

* '' Lost City Radio'' (2007) * '' At Night We Walk in Circles'' (Riverhead Books, 2013)

Short fiction

;Collections * War by Candlelight: Stories (2005) * The King Is Always Above the People * ''El Rey siempre está por encima del pueblo'' Editorial Sexto Piso, Mexico City, Mexico, 2009 ;Anthologies (edited) * ''Zoetrope All Story: The Latin American Issue''. A compilation of stories by Latin American writers. Co-edited with Diego Trelles Paz. Spring 2009 ;Stories * Lima, Peru, July 28, 1979, Virginia Quarterly Review * The King Is Always Above the People, Granta * * The Provincials, Granta * The Composer, Virginia Quarterly Review

Graphic novels

* City of Clowns. Illustrated by Sheila Alvarado. Riverhead Books. 2015. ISBN 978-1-59463-333-1. (Graphic novel adaptation of short story)

Non-fiction

* "What kind of Latino am I?". Salon. May 24, 2005. * "Let's go, country: The new Latin left comes to Peru". Harper's. September 2006. * "Lost in Translation". Granta. January 23, 2009. * "The Inauguration". Granta. January 27, 2009. * "Life Among the Pirates". Granta (109: Work). Winter 2009. * * "The Ground Floor". Granta (117: Horror). Autumn 2011. (Subscription Required) * "A Peruvian Soccer Fan in Exile". The New Yorker. November 13, 2017 *

Awards

* Recipient of a

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and ...

in 2004 for fiction * Recipient of a

2007 * One of 21 Young American Novelists

, UK, 2007 * One of 39 under 39 Latino American Novelists (Hay Festival, Bogota, Colombia, 2007) * One of 7 finalists for the Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize, Mercantile Library For Fiction, 2007 * Recipient of a

Lannan Literary Fellowship The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

in 2007 * One of 37 under 36 selected by the ''

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...

'' (Fall Special Issue, 2007) as Young American Innovators in the Arts and Sciences * ''Lost City Radio'' has made the lists of best fiction for 2007 of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'', ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' and ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' (London). * Alabama Library Association Award for Fiction, Birmingham, Alabama, 2008 * 2008 Pen USA award for Lost City Radio, Los Angeles, CA * 2009 International Literature Award – House of World Cultures (Berlin, Germany) * The "Idiot President" has been selected for the best short stories and a narrative about describing his traveling in Palestine for the best travel stories. Both in 2009. * ''The King Is Always Above the People,'' was chosen as one of three 2017 finalists for The

Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first p ...

. *2021

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

References

External links

Daniel Alarcón
website
Profile at The Whiting FoundationDaniel Alarcón
recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division's audio literary archive on May 9, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Alarcon, Daniel Living people 1977 births 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers Columbia College (New York) alumni Hispanic and Latino American novelists Indian Springs School alumni Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni The New Yorker people Novelists from Alabama PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners Peruvian emigrants to the United States Writers from Birmingham, Alabama