Cleyvis Natera is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic. She is the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel Neruda on the Park published in 2022 by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Neruda on the Park was awarded a Silver Medal by the International Latino Book Awards for Best First Book of Fiction in 2023. Prior to publication, Natera’s debut was a most anticipated book of the year by TIME, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly and Goodreads, among other publications. Upon publication, Neruda on the Park was a May 2022 New York Times Editor’s Choice. Natera studied literature and creative writing at Skidmore College and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from New York University.
Her fiction, essays and criticisms have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, URSA Story, TIME, Gagosian Quarterly, The Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus, The Washington Post, The Kenyon Review, Aster(ix) and Kweli Journal, among others. Natera was awarded a 2024 Voices Rising Fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center. Additionally, Natera’s writing has been supported through awards, fellowships and artist residencies by PEN America, Rowland Writers Retreat, Hermitage Artist Retreat, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Disquiet International Literary Program, Voices of our Nation Arts Foundation and Juniper Summer Writing Institute.
Natera currently teaches creative writing at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City and Antioch University’s Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program in Los Angeles. Natera’s second novelis The Grand Paloma Resort,
Genres: Literary Fiction
Novels
Anthologies edited
Cleyvis Natera recommends
God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer (2024)
Joseph Earl Thomas
"God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer is Joseph Earl Thomas' formidable, groundbreaking debut. There's so much magic in the rare combination of tenderness, humor, and heartbreak contained in this story. Our narrator, Joseph, is unlike any character I've read, just as Thomas' debut has no equal."
Village Weavers (2024)
Myriam J A Chancy
"Myriam J.A. Chancy's Village Weavers is a mesmerizing tale of two young girls, Gertie and Sisi, whose tender relationship is fractured by powerful forces around them-much like Hispaniola, the island they are from. As the young girls become women, we witness Chancy's radiant ability to wrestle with history, class, colorism, and racism, while telling a story that is deeply rooted in love. What the novel ultimately reaches toward, both on a personal and political level, is profoundly moving."
Acts of Forgiveness (2024)
Maura Cheeks
"Acts of Forgiveness is a striking debut that asks pressing and urgent questions about reckoning with this nation's history, and what it offers by way of answers is incredibly moving. Cheeks's ability to render a painful past, an unfixed present, and a hopeful future through the Revels' hopes and fears is astonishing. This novel grips with intellect and heart."
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