Writing Latinos

Xochitl Gonzalez: Last Night in Brooklyn

In this week’s episode of Writing Latinos, we spoke with bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez about her new novel, Last Night in Brooklyn, a magnificent book about gentrification, attachment to place, upward social and economic mobility, and what Gonzalez describes as the “insuperiority complex” many nonwhite Americans experience in predominantly white spaces. She wrote a 21st-century Great Gatsby set in a majority Black and Brown community in Brooklyn. Last Night in Brooklyn is Gonzalez’s third novel, following the widely acclaimed Anita de Monte Laughs Last and Olga Dies Dreaming. We had a blast talking with Gonzalez, and we hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. Thanks for listening!

Jaquira Díaz: This is the Only Kingdom

Our guest this week on Writing Latinos is Jaquira Díaz, discussing her new novel This Is the Only Kingdom, published by Algonquin Books. This Is the Only Kingdom was named one of the best books of 2025 by The New York Times and was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. A professor of writing at Columbia University, Díaz is also the author of an award-winning memoir, Ordinary Girls. When we caught up with her, we talked about the intergenerational traumas caused by violence, displacement, racism, and homophobia. We also talked about salsa-fueled nights out-on-the-town and the many ways that music inspires her writing. You’ll want to listen to our episode, and then go read this fast-paced story that’s tough to put down.

Mirta Ojito: Deeper Than the Ocean

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mirta Ojito, who has written two non-fiction books, has now written her first novel. Deeper Than the Ocean (published by Union Square & Co.) is a family drama that moves between Spain, Cuba, and the United States. In this episode of Writing Latinos, we talk with Ojito about the meaning of “Spain” for Latinos and the desire to return. We also discuss mothers and daughters, the obligations of love, the sinking of the S.S. Valbanera, and our shared fear of swimming in open bodies of water. Thanks so much for listening!

Álvaro Enrigue: Now I Surrender

In this latest episode of Writing Latinos, we talk with Álvaro Enrigue about the first-ever English translation of his novel Now I Surrender, published by Riverhead Books. Enrigue is the author of many other books, including the widely acclaimed You Dreamed of Empires, set in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Conquest. Now I Surrender is also set mainly in the past, during the Apache Wars in Arizona that led to Geronimo’s capture. It was great to hear Enrigue’s thoughts about Geronimo’s legacy in Mexico, desert borderlands, road trips through the Southwest, and how Latino identity gets shaped through the experience of diaspora. Thank you for tuning in!

Jazmine Ulloa- El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory

We’re back for season 4 of Writing Latinos! Our first guest is Jazmine Ulloa, a national political reporter for The New York Times who just published her first book. Titled El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory (from Dutton), it’s a moving portrayal of her hometown. The 2019 shooting by a self-described white supremacist at a Walmart in El Paso, which left more than 23 dead and 22 injured, haunts Ulloa’s narrative and is the point of departure for her exploration of the city’s history over the past 150 years. From the U.S.-Mexico War, to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, to the charismatic healer Teresa Urrea—also known as La Santa de Cabóra—and to the anarchist Flores Magón brothers, Ulloa shows how El Paso has long been at the center of US and Mexican histories of immigration, race, capitalism, and empire. We talk about the tragedy at Walmart, how her family ended up in El Paso, and her views on the relationship between history and journalism.