Lorraine M. López is the Gertrude Conaway professor of English at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches in the MFA program. She is a cofounder of the Latino and Latina Studies program at Vanderbilt and an associate editor of Afro-Hispanic Review. She is also the author of six previous volumes of fiction, including HOMICIDE SURVIVORS PICNIC AND OTHER STORIES (BkMk Press, 2019), finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Additionally, she has edited three essay collections. Her awards includes the inaugural Miguel Marmól Prize, the Paterson Prize for Young People's Literature, the Texas Writers League Award for Outstanding Fiction, International Latino Book Award, Independent Publisher Award, Foreword Award, and Borders/Las Comadres Selections. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Her latest book is POSTCARDS FROM THE GERUND STATE (BkMk Press, 2019).