José Skinner

Fiction Writer

Austin, TX
Texas US
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Author's Bio

José Skinner worked as a Spanish-English court interpreter and translator in the courts of New Mexico before earning his MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, with Marilynne Robinson as his thesis supervisor.  He subsequently taught creative writing and directed the bilingual MFA program at the University of Texas-Pan American, on the Texas-Tamaulipas border.  He currently lives in Austin, Texas, where he volunteers for Proyecto Defensa Laboral and, of course, writes.

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Our Lost Border: Essays on Life Amid the Narco-Violence (Arte Público Press, 2013)
,
Las Vegas Noir (Akashic Books, 2008)
Books:
The Tombstone Race (University of New Mexico Press, 2016)
,
Flight and Other Stories (University of Nevada Press, 2001)
Journals:
Bilingual Review
,
Boulevard
, ,
Isthmus
, , ,
Prizes won: 
  • Discover Prize, Writers League of Texas
  • Finalist, Western States Book Award for Fiction
  • Finalist, Drue Heinz Literature Prize
  • Finalist, Steven Turner Award, Texas Institute of Letters
  • Finalist, Florida Review Award for Fiction
  • Editors' Choice, Best Adult Books for Young Adults, American Library Association

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Juan Rulfo, Rachel Kushner, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Emma Cline, Heriberto Yépez, Chris Offutt, Eduardo Mendoza, Mary Gaitskill, Luis Alberto Urrea, Robert Stone.
What I'm reading now: 
Temporada de huracanes by Fernanda Melchor

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, Homelessness, Incarcerated individuals
Fluent in: 
English, Spanish
Born in: 
San Juan
Puerto Rico
Raised in: 
México, D.F.
Mexico
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Apr 09, 2021