Say Hello to My Little Friend

Jennine Capó Crucet is the author of four books, including the novel Make Your Home Among Strangers, which won the International Latino Book Award and was cited as a best book of the year by NBC Latino, The Guardian, The Miami Herald, and others; the story collection How to Leave Hialeah, which won the Iowa Short Fiction Prize and the John Gardner Book Award; and the essay collection My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education, which was long-listed for the PEN/Open Book Award. A former contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, she’s a recipient of a PEN/O. Henry Prize and the Hillsdale Award for the Short Story, awarded by the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Her writing has appeared on PBS NewsHour, NPR, and in publications such as The Atlantic, Condé Nast Traveler, and others. She’s worked as a professor of ethnic studies and of creative writing, as a college access counselor for the One Voice Scholars Program, and as a sketch comedienne (though not all at the same time). Born and raised in Miami to Cuban parents, she lives in North Carolina with her family.