Description:

We invite you to join us on Monday, April 22nd from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM at Harris Hall Room 108 for a book talk with Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Olga Dies Dreaming, which will be followed by a Q&A and reception. Light refreshments and appetizers will be served. 

Students registering for the event may also register to recieve a free copy of the book, Olga Dies Dreaming, to read in advance to programming. There are only a limited number of copies left, so early registration is highly encouraged. Students will also have opportunity to attend a post-event reflection & discussion as part of Unbound: Latinx/e Multimedia Club on Tuesday, April 23rd at 5:30 - 6:30 PM. 

Learn more about the author:

"Xochitl Gonzalez is a cultural critic, producer, screenwriter, and the New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming. Named a Best of 2022 by The New York Times, TIME, Kirkus, Washington Post, and NPR, Olga Dies Dreaming was the winner of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize in Fiction and the New York City Book Awards. Her new novel, Anita de Monte Laughs Last, is forthcoming on March 5, 2024 with Flatiron Books. Gonzalez is a 2021 M.F.A. graduate from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her non-fiction work has been published in Elle Decor, Allure, Vogue, Real Simple, and The Cut. As a staff writer for The Atlantic, she was recognized as a 2023 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary.

Prior to writing, Gonzalez was an entrepreneur, fundraiser, and all-around hustler for nearly 20 years. She is a board member of the Lower East Side Girls Club and the Brooklyn Public Library, and a trustee of the corporation of Brown University, where she received her B.A. in Visual Art. A native Brooklynite and proud public school graduate, she lives in her hometown of Brooklyn with her dog, Hectah Lavoe."

Learn more about the book:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · WINNER OF THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY PRIZE • INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD FINALIST

"It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers.

Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1 percent but she can’t seem to find her own. . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.

Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.

Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history, Xochitl Gonzalez’s Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife, and the very notion of the American dream―all while asking what it really means to weather a storm."

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Students interested in themes of political histories and social movements; colonialism and gentrification; identity and voice; activism and social justice; intersectionality and representation; liberation and freedom; and/or love and dreams--especially at it relates to the intersections of Latina/o Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies will be particularly interested in this book and programming. 

Thank you to all of our co-sponsors who have made this possible: Kreeger Wolf Grant; Gender and Sexuality Studies Program; Latina/o Studies Program; Multicultural Student Affairs; The Women's Center; Alianza; Department of English; Department of Spanish and Portuguese