{{short description|Colombian-American writer|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox writer | name = Patricia Engel | image = Patricia Engel 2023 Texas Book Festival.jpg | caption = Engel at the 2023 Texas Book Festival | occupation = Author, professor, editor | notableworks = ''It's Not Love, It's Just Paris''<br /> ''Vida''<br /> ''The Veins of the Ocean'' | website = {{URL|patriciaengel.com}} }} '''Patricia Engel''' is a Colombian-American writer, professor of creative writing at the University of Miami,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patricia Engel |url=https://people.miami.edu/profiles/p.engel@miami.edu |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=people.miami.edu |language=en}}</ref> and author of five books, including ''Vida'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=León |first1=Rachel |title=How Patricia Engel Turned a Short Story Into 'The Veins of the Ocean' |url=https://chireviewofbooks.com/2016/07/12/how-patricia-engel-turned-a-short-story-into-the-veins-of-the-ocean/ |website=Chicago Review of Books |date=12 July 2016 |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> which was a PEN/Hemingway Fiction Award Finalist and winner of the Premio Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana,<ref>{{cite web |last1=MARÍN |first1=DANIEL RIVERA |title=Patricia Engel gana el premio Biblioteca Narrativa Colombiana de Eafit |url=http://www.revistaarcadia.com/agenda/articulo/patricia-engel-vida-ganadora-premio-eafit-literatura-colombiana/61758 |website=ARCADIA |date=25 January 2017 |access-date=6 June 2018 |archive-date=10 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910122526/http://www.revistaarcadia.com/agenda/articulo/patricia-engel-vida-ganadora-premio-eafit-literatura-colombiana/61758 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Colombia's national prize in literature. She was the first woman, and ''Vida'' the first book in translation, to receive the prize.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lombardo |first1=María Eugenia |title=Literatura sin fronteras |url=http://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/entrevista-a-la-escritora-patricia-engel-87450 |website=EL TIEMPO |date=12 May 2017 |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref>
She is also the author of ''It's Not Love, It's Just Paris'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saenz |first1=Benjamin |title=In an Old House in Paris 'It's Not Love, It's Just Paris,' by Patricia Engel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/books/review/its-not-love-its-just-paris-by-patricia-engel.html |website=New York Times |date=13 September 2013 |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> and the novel ''The Veins of the Ocean'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scholes |first1=Lucy |title=A Novel Explores Tragedy's Aftermath in a Colombian-American Family |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/books/review/patricia-engel-veins-of-the-ocean.html |website=New York Times |date=22 July 2016 |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> which won the 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize.<ref>{{cite web |title=2017 Fiction Winner |url=http://daytonliterarypeaceprize.org/2017-fiction_winner.htm |website=Dayton Literary Peace Prize |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' called Engel "a unique and necessary voice for the Americas."<ref>{{cite web |last1=De Robertis |first1=Carolina |title='The Veins of the Ocean,' by Patricia Engel |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/books/article/The-Veins-of-the-Ocean-by-Patricia-Engel-7399243.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |date=6 May 2016 |access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Engel was born to Colombian parents who immigrated to the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Villarreal |first1=Felipe Sánchez |title=Patricia Engel, literatura colombiana de migrantes en los EE. UU. de Trump |url=https://www.vice.com/es/article/patricia-engel-literatura-colombiana-de-migrantes-en-los-ee-uu-de-trump/ |website=Vice |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> She was raised in New Jersey and attended public schools. She earned a bachelor's degree in French and Art History from New York University in 1999<ref>{{cite web |title=Praise for Alumna Patricia Engel's Debut Novel |url=https://wp.nyu.edu/fas-alumniblog/category/patricia-engel/ |website=NYU Alumni Blog |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction from Florida International University in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |last1=CASE Digital Communications |title=Congratulations Alum Patricia Engel! |url=https://english.fiu.edu/news/2010/congratulations-alum-patricia-engel/ |website=CASE News |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref>
She has studied in Paris and has taught creative writing at the University of Miami<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Miami College of Arts & Science |url=http://www.as.miami.edu/english/creativewriting/creative-writing-faculty/visiting-writers-and-poets/ |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and elsewhere.
==Career== Engel's work has appeared in ''The Sun'', ''A Public Space'', ''Harvard Review'', and ''Kenyon Review'', among many others, and has been anthologized in ''The Best American Short Stories'' 2017,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Best American Short Stories |isbn = 978-1-328-76673-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=li-2DQAAQBAJ&q=patricia+engel&pg=PR5 |access-date=8 June 2018|last1 = Wolitzer|first1 = Meg|last2 = Pitlor|first2 = Heidi|date = 3 October 2017}}</ref> ''The Best American Mystery Stories'' 2014,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Best American Mystery Stories |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDR9BAAAQBAJ&q=patricia+engel&pg=PR5 |isbn = 978-0-544-03464-8|access-date=8 June 2018|last1 = Lippman|first1 = Laura|last2 = Penzler|first2 = Otto|date = 7 October 2014}}</ref> and more. She was awarded the ''Boston Review'' Fiction Prize in 2008<ref>{{cite web |title=Desaliento The winner of Boston Review's 15th annual fiction contest |url=http://bostonreview.net/patricia-engel-desaliento |website=Boston Review |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> for her story "Desaliento," and was the recipient of a fellowship in literature from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=NEA LITERATURE FELLOWSHIPS |url=https://www.arts.gov/writers-corner/bio/patricia-engel |website=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-date=12 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412232650/https://www.arts.gov/writers-corner/bio/patricia-engel |url-status=dead }}</ref>
She frequently writes about immigration,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Dwyer |title=Patricia Engel on Florida, the Courage of Immigrants, and Writing a Novel of the Americas |url=https://electricliterature.com/patricia-engel-on-florida-the-courage-of-immigrants-and-writing-a-novel-of-the-americas-633f660f5469 |website=Electric Literature |date=2 June 2016 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> biculturalism,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Queirós |first1=Carlos J. |title=A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Chica |url=https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-09-2010/portrait_patricia_engel.html |website=AARP |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and transnationalism<ref>{{cite web |last1=Araque |first1=Pilar Mejía |title="Escribo sobre los inmigrantes porque es mi mundo", Patricia Engel en Ulibro 2017 |url=http://periodico15.com/index.php/2017/09/01/escribo-sobre-los-inmigrantes-porque-es-mi-mundo-patricia-engel-en-ulibro-2017/ |website=periodico15 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> in both English and Spanish.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Engel |first1=Patricia |title=La intimidad de la distancia: una carta desde Miami |url=https://www.revistaarcadia.com/periodismo-cultural---revista-arcadia/articulo/la-intimidad-de-la-distancia-patricia-engel-escritora-colombiana-estadounidense/65268 |website=Revista Arcadia |date=25 August 2017 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref>
Her first book, ''Vida'', was a finalist for the 2011 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and the 2011 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award.<ref>{{cite web |title=Five Young Writers Chosen as Finalists for The New York Public Library's 2011 Young Lions Fiction Award |url=https://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/2011/03/29/five-young-writers-chosen-finalists-new-york-public-library%E2%80%99s-2011-yo |website=New York Public Library |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> In 2017, ''Vida'' received the Premio Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Saldarriaga |first1=John |title=El libro Vida le dio premio a Patricia Engel |url=http://www.elcolombiano.com/cultura/literatura/a-engel-la-premiaron-por-hablar-de-sabina-AH5823222 |website=elcolombiano |date=26 January 2017 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> Colombia's national prize in literature. ''Vida'' was named a ''New York Times'' Notable Book of 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=100 Notable Books of 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/books/review/100-notable-books-2010.html?pagewanted=all |website=New York Times | date=24 November 2010 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> It also won a Florida Book Award<ref>{{cite web |title=General Fiction |url=https://floridahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Vol_35_No_2_Summer_2011.pdf |website=Florida Humanities |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and an Independent Publisher Book Award,<ref>{{cite web |title=2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results Announcement |url=http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1442 |website=Independent Publisher |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and was named an NPR "Best Debut of the Year."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=John |title=A Little Bundle Of New: Best Book Debuts Of 2010 |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/131932215/a-little-bundle-of-new-best-book-debuts-of-2010 |website=NPR Books |date=16 December 2010 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref>
Engel's debut novel, ''It's Not Love, It's Just Paris'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gay |first1=Roxane |title=A Literature of Her Own: 'It's Not Love, It's Just Paris', by Patricia Engel |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/literature-her-own-its-not-love-its-just-paris-patricia-engel/ |website=The Nation |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> received the International Latino Book Award in 2014<ref>{{cite web |title=Authors |url=http://groveatlantic.com/author/patricia-engel/ |website=Grove Atlantic |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and was praised by Edwidge Danticat, who said the novel contained one of her favorite passages in literature.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fassler |first=Joe |date=2013-08-27 |title='All Immigrants Are Artists' |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/all-immigrants-are-artists/279087/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> The love story, set in Paris at the turn of the millennium, was also praised by Roxane Gay, writing for ''The Nation'', who called it "an absorbing debut novel."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gay |first=Roxane |date=2013-09-13 |title=A Literature of Her Own: 'It's Not Love, It's Just Paris', by Patricia Engel |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/literature-her-own-its-not-love-its-just-paris-patricia-engel/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378}}</ref>
Her novel ''The Veins of the Ocean'' was awarded the 2017 Dayton Literary Peace Prize<ref>{{cite web |last1=Temple |first1=Emily |title=ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE 2017 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE |url=https://lithub.com/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2017-dayton-literary-peace-prize/ |website=Literary Hub |date=3 October 2017 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and named a ''New York Times'' Editors' Choice<ref>{{cite news |title=Editors' Choice |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/books/review/editors-choice.html |website=New York Times |date=27 July 2016 |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and a ''San Francisco Chronicle'' Best Book of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=De Robertis |first1=Carolina |title='The Veins of the Ocean,' by Patricia Engel |url=http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/The-Veins-of-the-Ocean-by-Patricia-Engel-7399243.php |website=San Francisco Gate |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> The novel follows Reina, a woman in her late twenties who is trying to come to terms with the sadness and guilt she feels after her brother Carlito's incarceration. He is sentenced to death in Florida for throwing his girlfriend's daughter, Shayna, off a bridge.
Engel's fourth book, ''Infinite Country'', was an instant ''New York Times'' bestseller<ref>{{Cite news |title=Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - March 21, 2021 - The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/03/21/hardcover-fiction/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and a Reese's Book Club pick in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caliendo |first=Heather |date=2021-03-02 |title=Reese's March 2021 Book Club Pick is Infinite Country by Patricia Engel |url=https://bookclubchat.com/books/reeses-march-2021-pick-is-infinite-country-by-patricia-engel/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Book Club Chat |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bakija |first=Mary |title=Reese Witherspoon Picks 'Infinite Country' by Patricia Engel for March Book Club {{!}} Book Pulse |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/Reese-Witherspoon-Book-Club-March-Infinite-Country-Patricia-Engel-bookpulse |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Library Journal}}</ref> ''Infinite Country'' won the 2021 New American Voices award<ref>{{Cite web |last=Book |first=Fall for the |date=2021-09-23 |title=Patricia Engel Wins New American Voices Award |url=https://fallforthebook.org/patriciaengel_winner/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Fall for the Book Festival |language=en}}</ref> and was long listed for the 2022 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction<ref>{{Cite web |last=JCARMICHAEL |date=2021-10-17 |title=2022 Winners |url=https://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/carnegie-medals/2022-winners |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) |language=en}}</ref> and the 2022 Dublin Literary Award.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IGO |date=2021-11-09 |title=Infinite Country |url=https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/the-library/books/infinite-country/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Dublin Literary Award |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2021, ''Infinite Country'' was also listed as a Big Read<ref>{{Cite web |title=Infinite Country |url=https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/nea-big-read/infinite-country |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=www.arts.gov |language=en}}</ref> by the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 2023, her fifth book, a story collection titled ''The Faraway World,'' was published. That year it was named a Notable Book of the Year by ''The Washington Post'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-15 |title=50 notable works of fiction |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/11/15/best-fiction/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref> a Best Book of the Year by the ''Boston Globe'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cheuk |first=Leland |last2=LeBlanc |first2=Lauren |last3=Sancken |first3=Renata |last4=Steffens |first4=Daneet |last5=Vognar |first5=Chris |date=December 17, 2023 |title=Here is a list of 55 books we loved in 2023 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/12/15/arts/best-books-2023/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-02-12 |language=en-US}}</ref> and was longlisted for ''The Story Prize''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prize |first=The Story |date=2024-02-07 |title=TSP: The Story Prize Longlist for Story Collections Published in 2023 |url=http://thestoryprize.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-story-prize-longlist-for-story.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=TSP}}</ref> ''The Faraway World'' was also named a 2023 ''New York Times'' Editors' choice.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-09 |title=9 New Books We Recommend This Week |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/books/review/9-new-books-we-recommend-this-week.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Engel's short story, "Libélula" from ''The Faraway World'', was published in ''Oprah Daily''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-13 |title=Patricia Engel's Short Story "Libélula," from Her Collection "The Faraway World" |url=https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a42448961/libelula-patricia-engel-faraway-world/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Oprah Daily |language=en-US}}</ref>
Engel is a literary editor of the ''Miami Rail'',<ref>{{cite web |title=The Miami Rails |url=https://miamirail.org/about/ |website=The Miami Rails |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> a quarterly publication providing critical coverage of arts, politics and culture. In 2019, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction and an O. Henry Award for her story "Aguacero".<ref>[https://lithub.com/aguacero/ "Aguacero"]</ref>
In 2023, Engel won the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, "a literary award given annually by Longwood University to a talented American writer who experiments with form, explores a range of voices and merits further recognition."<ref>{{Cite web |last=University |first=Longwood |title=Patricia Engel named winner of 42nd Dos Passos Prize |url=http://www.longwood.edu/news/2023/patricia-engel-winner-of-42nd-dos-passos-prize/ |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=www.longwood.edu |language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life== Engel now resides in Miami<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zuckerman |first1=Alicia |title=The Veins Of The Ocean Plumbs The Depths of Florida's Beauty, Pain and Sea |url=http://wlrn.org/post/veins-ocean-plumbs-depths-floridas-beauty-pain-and-sea |website=WLRN |access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref> and New York.
==Bibliography== ===Books=== *2010 ''Vida'' :Translated to Spanish by Alfaguara, 2016 *2013 ''It's Not Love, It's just Paris'' :Translated to Spanish as ''No es amor, es solo París'' by Grijalbo, 2014 *2016 ''The Veins of the Ocean'' :Translated to French as ''Les veines de l'océan'' by Flammarion, 2016 :Translated to Spanish as ''Las venas del océano'' by Alfaguara, 2017 *2021 ''Infinite Country'' *2023 ''The Faraway World''
===Short stories=== *2019 "Mauro and Elena" in ''Ploughshares''<ref>[https://www.pshares.org/issues/summer-19 ''Ploughshares'']</ref> *2018 "Aguacero", ''Kenyon Review'' May/June *2018 "The Book of Saints", ''The Sun'' March<ref name="sun">{{cite journal |last1=Engel |first1=Patricia |title=The Book Of Saints |journal=The Sun |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/507/the-book-of-saints}}</ref> *2016 "Campoamor", ''Chicago Quarterly Review'' *2015 "Ramiro", ''Zzzyva'' *2013 "Aida", ''Harvard Review'' *2011 "Fausto", ''A Public Space'' *2010 "The Bridge", ''The Atlantic Fiction For Kindle'' *2009 "Día", ''Guernica'' *2007 "Lucho", ''Boston Review''
===Essays and criticism=== *"La intimidad de la distancia," ''Arcadia''
==Awards and achievements==
*Winner of the John Dos Pasos Prize for Literature 2023 *Winner of the New American Voices Award by the Institute for Immigration Research in US, 2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=The New American Voices Award |url=https://iir.gmu.edu/about/award |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Institute for Immigration Research |language=en}}</ref> *Recipient of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in Fiction, 2019 *Winner of an O. Henry Award, 2019 *Winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction, 2017 *Recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, 2014 *Winner of the Premio Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana, 2016 *Winner of the International Latino Book Award, 2014 and 2011 *Pen/Hemingway Foundation Fiction Award finalist, 2011 *New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award finalist, 2011 *Paterson Fiction Prize finalist, 2011 *Dayton Literary Peace Prize long list, 2011 *The Story Prize long list, 2011
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons}} *[http://patriciaengel.com/ Patricia Engel's website] *[http://groveatlantic.com/author/patricia-engel/ Patricia Engel's page on Grove Atlantic] *[https://miamirail.org/ ''The Miami Rail'']
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Engel, Patricia}} Category:21st-century American women writers Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:Living people Category:University of Miami faculty Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American women academics Category:21st-century American writers