About Cristina Henriquez

Cristina Henriquez draws on her childhood experiences growing up in Delaware and the stories from her father, who immigrated to the United States from Panama in the 1970’s, to create her unforgettable story of love and loss in her second novel, The Book of Unknown Americans. 

Henriquez, 37, graduated from Northwestern University and obtained a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa.  She previously published the story collection Come Together, Fall Apart, and her first novel, The World in Half.  Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. 

The Book of Unknown Americans is a New York Times and Washington Post “Notable Book” and an NPR “Great Read.”  Other acclaim includes a listing as one of the best books of the year in BookPage, Oprah.com, and the School Library Journal, and was chosen as one of Amazon’s “10 Best Books of the Year.” Henriquez resides in Chicago, Illinois and teaches at Northwestern University.