Reyna Grande is an award-winning author whose work powerfully illuminates the complexities of immigration, family separation, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Born in Mexico, Grande embarked on a perilous journey to the U.S. at age nine to reunite with her parents—a defining experience that fuels her writing. Breaking generational barriers, she became the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a BA from UC Santa Cruz and an MFA from Antioch University.
Her diverse body of work includes her celebrated memoirs, The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, and the novels Across a Hundred Mountains, Dancing with Butterflies, and the historical epic A Ballad of Love and Glory. She amplifies undocumented voices as co-editor of Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Immigration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She has earned numerous accolades, such as the American Book Award, the Premio Aztlan Literary Award, the Luis Leal Award, and the Hummingbird Award in Literary Arts. In May 2026, her memoir-in-essays, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, will be published in English and Spanish. Grande lives in Woodland, California.
Full Bio:
Reyna Grande’s life story is one of resilience and determination. Born in Mexico, she was just two years old when her father journeyed north to the US in search of a better life. Two years later, her mother followed, leaving Reyna and her siblings behind. This separation would become a defining experience in her life. At the age of nine, Reyna embarked on her own perilous journey to the US, joining her family as an undocumented immigrant. The enduring impact of her border crossing, along with the struggles of assimilation and language barriers, would fuel her writing and her dreams. Reyna became the first person in her family to graduate from college, earning a BA, and an MFA in creative writing. Her work delves into themes of family separation, language trauma, the cost of the American Dream, and the healing power of storytelling, resonating deeply with readers across the nation.
Reyna’s powerful memoirs, The Distance Between Us (Atria, 2012), The Distance Between Us Young Reader’s Edition (Aladdin, 2016), and A Dream Called Home (Atria, 2018), illuminate the realities of undocumented childhood immigration from Mexico to the United States. In 2025, A Dream Called Home was named one of the “Best Books of the 21st Century (so far)” by Kirkus Reviews. Her work also includes the novels Across a Hundred Mountains (Atria, 2006), Dancing with Butterflies (Washington Square Press, 2009), and the historical epic, A Ballad of Love and Glory (Atria, 2022), about the creation of the US-Mexico border. As co-editor of Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival and New Beginnings (HarperVia, 2022), she amplifies the voices of undocumented Americans. Her forthcoming title is a memoir-in-essays, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, published by Primero Sueño Press/Atria in English and Vintage Español in Spanish this May.
Recognized with an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, and the International Latino Book Award, Grande was also a National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist. Her contributions to Chicano/Latino literature have been honored with the Luis Leal Award, a Latino Spirit Award, a Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers, and the Hummingbird Award in Literary Arts. Her essays and articles have appeared in prominent publications like The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post, and she participated in Oprah’s Book Club television special in March 2020.
She attended Pasadena City College before she transferred to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she obtained a BA in creative writing and film & video, and then earned her MFA in creative writing from Antioch University. A dedicated mentor and lifelong learner, Grande is a proud member of the Macondo Writers Workshop, founded by Sandra Cisneros, and has taught at prestigious conferences, including Bread Loaf and VONA. Currently, she is a fiction and nonfiction faculty member at Antioch University-Los Angeles. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children.
Awards & Recognitions
International Literacy Association Children’s Book Award 2017
2016 Eureka! Honor Awards from the California Reading Association
2017 Honor Book Award for the Américas Award for Children’s Literature
Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature 2015
National Book Critics Circle Awards Finalist 2012
2010 International Latino Book Award
American Book Award 2007
El Premio Aztlan Literary Award 2006
Common Reading Programs
2021 Russell Sage College Dean’s Summer Reading (Albany, NY)
2020-2021 Common Reading Selection Florida International University (Miami, FL)
2020 Alta’s California Book Club Selection
Godinez Fundamental High School Common Read 2019 (Santa Ana, CA)
Rochester Reads 2018 (Rochester, NY)
MacReads 2018, Linfield College, (McMinnville, OR)
One Book/One Michiana 2018
All Henrico Reads 2018
Notre Dame Academy Common Reader 2017, KY
CityRead Book 2017, Brentwood, CA
Timberland Reads Together 2017, WA
2017 Telluride, CO One Book, One Canyon
2017 Estes Park One Book, One Valley
2017 Cal Poly Pomona Common Read
2017 Northern Kentucky University First Year Experience
2017 Avila University First Year Experience
2017 Marist College Common Read
2017 Cal State University, Monterey Bay Common Reading Experience
2016 One Book/One Community, Saginaw, MI
2016 Woodland Reads, Woodland, CA
2016 Colorado Mountain College Common Reader Selection
2016 Camarillo Reads Selection, Camarillo, CA
2015 One Book/One Villanova, Villanova University, PA
2015 Sandy Springs Reads selection, Sandy Springs, GA
2015 Los Angeles City College Book Program Selection, CA
2015 Mount San Jacinto College Common Read Selection, CA
2015 Read 2 Succeed Selection, Norco College, Norco, CA
2015 Roswell Reads Selection, Roswell, GA
2015 One Book/One Leyden selection, Leyden High School, IL
2014 One Maryland, One Book
2014 One Community, One Book selection from the U of Iowa Center for Human Rights
2014 Santa Rosa Junior College Reads
2014 One Book, One Community-San Juan College
2014 Rolling Meadows High School Summer Reading Program
2014-15 “Book in Common,” Butte College/Chico State University
Grand Valley State University “Common Reading” 2013
California State University-Los Angeles “First Year Experience” Selection 2014
Goshen College, “First Year Experience” Selection 2014
Monroe County’s One Book/One Community 2014
2007 “One Book/One Region”, Eastern Connecticut
2010 On the Same Page (Community Read), City of Watsonville, CA
Ramona Convent Secondary School “One School/One Community” selection 2013-14
Owensboro Community & Technical College Common Reading Selection 2012
Keynotes and Residencies
- Keynote speaker, 4th Annual Joint Conference of Librarians, St. Pete, FL
- Featured speaker, California Association of Bilingual Education, Long Beach, CA
- Keynote speaker, Volunteer & Learner Appreciation Day, Napa County Library, CA
- Keynote, Writing Heights Writer’s Conference, Fort Collins, CO
- Keynote, Conferencia de Padres Migrantes, Monterey County Office of Education, CA
- Faculty, Kachemak Bay Writer’s Conference, Homer, Alaska
- Keynote, Latino Book & Family Festival, Oceanside, CA
- Keynote, Child Migration Across the Americans Symposium, University of Illinois, Chicago
- Keynote Speaker, COLEGAS 2023 Annual Conference, Long Beach, CA
- Featured speaker, CISC 2022 Leadership Symposium, Monterey, CA
- Keynote Speaker, Oxnard Union High School District Professional Development Day
- Keynote Speaker, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Youth Summit
- Keynote Speaker, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Parent Summit
- Keynote Speaker, Pasadena Mayor’s Interfaith Breakfast, CA
- Keynote Speaker, Chicano Federation Unity Luncheon, CA
- Keynote Speaker, Seguimos Creando Enlaces, WA
- Keynote Speaker, Eagle Rock/Highland Park community schools’ Author’s Festival, CA
- Featured Author, Let’s Talk About It, author series from the Idaho Commission for Libraries
- Keynote, CCAC 43rd Annual Conference
- Featured Speaker, National Council of Teachers of English Conference (NCTE)
- 2021 Keynote Speaker, Las Positas Literary Festival (Livermore, CA)
2021 Keynote Speaker, United Nations Association-Pasadena’s Human Rights Day (Pasadena, CA)
2020 Keynote Speaker, Senderos 10th Annual Latino Role Models Conference (Aptos, CA)
2019 Walter W. Stiern Library, Writer in Residence, Cal State University Bakersfield, CA
2019 Keynote Speaker, California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) (Burlingame, CA)
2019 Featured Speaker, California Association of Bilingual Education (CABE) (Long Beach, CA)
2019 Keynote Speaker, Deeper Learning Conference (San Diego, CA)
2019 Keynote Speaker, Dual Language Essentials for Teachers and Administrators Conference (Houston, TX)
2019 Keynote Speaker, Women of Color Community Empowerment Conference, Portland Comm. College (OR)
2019 ERWC Leadership Conference (Sacramento and Costa Mesa, CA)
2019 Keynote Speaker, U of Wyoming, School of Culture, Gender & Social Justice Symposium (Laramie, WY)
2019 Keynote Speaker, California Reading Association Awards Dinner (Sacramento, CA)
2019 Keynote Speaker, Puente Motivational Conference (San Diego and Merced, CA)
2019 Keynote Speaker, Mt SAC First-Gen Week (Walnut, CA)
2016 Keynote Speaker, Reclassification Celebration, Santa Maria JUSD
2014 Keynote Speaker ~ MATSOL, (Boston, MA)
2014 Keynote Speaker, Borders of Diversity Conference, Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA
2013 Keynote Speaker ~ CATESOL, (San Diego, CA)
2013 Keynote Speaker: Puente Motivational Conference, (San Francisco & Riverside, CA)
2013 Keynote Speaker: Comadres & Compadres Latino Writers Conference, (Brooklyn, NY)
2013 Keynote Speaker: Latino Recognition Ceremony, Pasadena City College, (Pasadena, CA)
2013 Cerro Visiting Author: Bakersfield College, Delano Campus, (Delano, CA)
2013 Keynote Speaker: Goostree Women’s Symposium (Fort Worth, TX)
2013 Keynote Speaker: Latina History Day Conference, HOPE (Los Angeles, CA)
2013 Featured Speaker: California Association of Bilingual Education, (Long Beach, CA)
2012 Keynote Speaker: Leonardo Dorantes Lecture Series, UC Santa Barbara
2012 Writer-in-Residence: Pasadena City College (Pasadena, CA)
2012 Keynote Speaker: Latino Youth Summit (Kearney, Nebraska)
2010 Keynote Speaker: CMAA Scholarship Breakfast (Council of Mexican-American Administrators)
2010 Keynote Speaker: CABE (California Association of Bilingual Education)
2010 Nancy R. Chandler Visiting Scholar: Central Oregon Community College (Bend, OR)
2010 Keynote Speaker: PVUSD 4th Annual Parent Conference (Watsonville, CA)
2009 Keynote Speaker : Regional Family Conference, Migrant Education Region XVIII (Santa Maria, CA)
2009 Cerro Visiting Author: Bakersfield College (Bakersfield, CA)
2009 Keynote Speaker: Adelante Mujer Latina Youth Conference (Laramie County, WY)
2009 Commencement Speaker: CSUDH Dolores Huerta Graduation (Carson, CA)
2008 Commencement Speaker: Pasadena City College (Pasadena, CA)
2008 Keynote Speaker: SCTE Fall Conference (Southland Council of Teachers of English)
2007 Keynote Speaker: Conference of the Living Tree, Ventura, CA
2007 Keynote Speaker: ECCTYC Conference (English Council of California Two-Year Colleges)
2007 Highlighted author for LEAP (Learn, Experience, Achieve, and Persevere): Butte College (Chico, CA)
