Adriana E. Ramírez is an American writer and critic of Mexican and Colombian descent. Her writing addresses the history and culture of violence in Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. She graduated from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

in 2005, where she wrote for

The Rice Thresher ''The Rice Thresher'' is the weekly student newspaper of Rice University in Houston, Texas. It was first published in 1916. It has an estimated circulation of 3,000 and is distributed throughout the university and its surrounding areas. The ' ...

and was part of the poetry slam team. She received her MFA from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, where she taught classes in creative writing and literature. She formerly taught nonfiction at

Carlow University Carlow University is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Mercy. The university's athletic teams are known as the Celtics, reflecting its Irish heritage. As of 2017 ...

. In 2015, she won the PEN/Fusion Emerging Writers Prize for ''Dead Boys''. The manuscript was subsequently published as ''Dead Boys: A Memoir'' in 2016 by Little A, an imprint of

Amazon Publishing Amazon Publishing (or simply APub) is Amazon's book publishing unit launched in 2009. It is composed of 15 imprints including AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North, and Topple Books. Amazon publishes e-books ...

. Her debut full-length work of nonfiction, ''The Violence'', was acquired by Scribner and is forthcoming in March 2026. In 2019, she received a grant of $10,000 from investing in professional artists, a joint project of the Pittsburgh Foundation and the

Heinz Endowments The Heinz Endowments is a philanthropic organization in the United States, and was formed with the combined support from two smaller, private foundations: the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. It awards more than $60 million a ...

; she also received that year's established artist Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Award from the Pittsburgh Foundation. The grant describes ''The Violence'' as "a book on the history of violence in the Americas, from Pittsburgh to Colombia and back, blending family oral histories with larger national narratives." In 2024, Ramírez won the Society for Features Journalism Division 2 award for Excellence-in-Features Journalism for General Commentary, for her column in the

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

, and was a finalist for Arts & Culture Criticism. She co-founded the literary journal ''Aster(ix)'' with

Angie Cruz Angie Cruz (born February 24, 1972) is an American novelist and associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches in the Master of Fine Arts, M.F.A. program. Early life and education Cruz was born on February 24, 1972, in ...

in 2013 and continues to serve as publisher. Beginning in 2016, she served as a critic-at-large for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. She competed on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'' in 2022, an experience she subsequently wrote about for ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Adriana E. Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Los Angeles Times people 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers Contestants on American game shows Rice University alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni