Born in New York City in 1950, Julia Alvarez's parents returned to their native country, Dominican Republic, shortly after her birth. Ten years later, the family was forced to flee to the United States because of her father’s involvement in a plot to overthrow the dictator, Trujillo.

Alvarez has written novels including "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents," "In the Time of the Butterflies," "¡Yo!, In the Name of Salomé," "Saving the World," and "Afterlife;" collections of poems including "Homecoming," "The Other Side/ El Otro Lado," and "The Woman I Kept to Myself;" nonfiction including "Something to Declare," "Once Upon A Quinceañera," and "A Wedding in Haiti;" and numerous books for young readers including the "Tía Lola Stories" series, "Before We Were Free," "Finding Miracles," "Return to Sender" and "Where Do They Go?"

Alvarez’s awards include the Pura Belpré and Américas Awards for her books for young readers, the Hispanic Heritage Award, and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award. In 2013, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama.

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