novelist, writer about town, opinionator, literary journalist, university professor
follow me on Twitter @TobarWriter
Instagram @tobarhector
Héctor's most recent book, Our Migrant Souls is the winner of the Kirkus Prize for nonfiction and the Zócalo Book Prize, and was named to best of the year lists by The New York Times Sunday Book Review, Amazon, Time, NPR, and the Chicago Public Library, among others
Héctor Tobar is the author of six books published in fifteen languages, including, Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of Latino, published by MCD/Farrar, Straus & Giroux. In a starred review, Bookpage calls Our Migrant Souls "one of the most important pieces of Latino nonfiction in several decades. Turning the last page, you will feel the weight of history on your shoulders." The New York Times calls Our Migrant Souls, "a resonant and deeply affecting book," And Publisher's Weekly (starred review) calls it "lyrical and uncompromising."
His other books include the New York Times bestseller Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle That Set Them Free; and the novels The Tattooed Soldier, The Barbarian Nurseries, and The Last Great Road Bum, all published in paperback by FSG/Picador.
Deep Down Dark was adapted into the film The 33, starring Antonio Banderas.
His short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories (2016 and 2022), L.A. Noir, Zyzzyva and Slate. He was awarded a 2023-24 Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction.
Héctor is a Professor of English and Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine. He's written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Harpers, National Geographic, and was a contributing writer for the New York Times opinion pages. Héctor has also been also a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and its bureau chief in Buenos Aires and Mexico City.
Watch Héctor discuss his book Our Migrant Souls, Latino identity, and race with Amanpour & Co. on PBS at this link.
